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發表於 2007-1-11 23:54:51
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Do we want Beckham?
The question isn't "is he worth $36 million", it's do we want him here, in MLS?
Reasons yes:
1) Improved attendance: Say what you want about Freddy Adu, but he put butts in the seats for two years. Beckham will do the same, and the theory is the more people who come to the games once, the more will come back a second time.
2) Improved ratings: Maybe the only people who want this deal to happen more than the folks in LA are the folks in Bristol. ESPN bet big (relatively speaking) on MLS this offseason, and the Beckham signing means they threw a 7 on the come-out roll.
3) Improved sponsorships: Obviously goes hand-in-hand with #s 1 and 2 from a cumulative point of view, but even on his own Beckham has greater brand recognition and marketability than MLS in its entirety. The league, as they should, wants a piece of that.
4) Improved onfield performance: Beckham, though limited in so many other ways, remains the best crosser of the ball I've ever seen and is, of course, equally brilliant on dead-balls. Unless there's something at stake. With the addition of Nate Jaqua and the late-season emergence of Alan Gordon, the Gals already look like a team that wants to beat you in the air. With Beckham serving them from the right, they'll do so early and often. Wide-open, high scoring games (the opponents will have to open it up if they go down early) are a recipe for leaguewide improvement.
Reasons no:
1) What if it's too easy for him? This fear was raised by a friend of mine, and I don't think it's a legitimate one. Beckham will be one of the three best players in the league - probably the best - if he stays healthy, but he won't be a man among boys. MLS is a very good league with some very good teams, and anyone who's had success here has had to earn it. Beckham will be no different.
2) What if it opens the floodgates? Nobody wants to see our thing turn into the NASL, least of all Don Garber. Signing one marquee player per franchise (and I sincerely doubt it'll be that many) is not going to turn the league away from its original intent: developing a viable, American first division soccer league. The Beckham Exemption hasn't had any effect on the GenAd project, nor on the number of Americans (and Canadians) contributing to the league as a whole.
3) Aren't the new fans going to be the "wrong" kind of fans? The kind of fan that a potential Beckham signing generates for the league isn't likely to be a BigSoccer regular, but MLS can't afford to turn anybody away. Plus given how instrumental the "hardcore" MLS fans have been for the league's development through the first 10 seasons - the beta test - it's easy to flatter ourselves into thinking we're more important than we actually are. Financially speaking, ours is a dry well; MLS has tapped us, be it with season tickets, the DirecTV package, kits, camps, and my morning Red Bull, to the point of diminishing returns. The new sports market is for the casual soccer consumer using the same blueprint the NFL used 20 years ago and NASCAR 10.
4) Couldn't the money be better spent elsewhere? Logical fallacy. It's unlikely Uncle Phil has a giant piggy bank with "soccer funds" on the side. There's nothing saying this $36 million would have gone to the league, anyway, just as there's nothing saying the $50 he spends to fill his tank with gas is going to come out of Chris Rolfe's next contract. Yes, I'd like to see him match or better the $36 million he's planning to spend on Beckham with $36 million invested into youth development, but the man has saved the league time after time after time with methodical, calculated investments designed to build slowly with minimal risk. Now he wants to roll the dice; clearly, he's earned that right 10 times over. Especially now because, if it backfires, the league's not going to go under. Not with 9 other owners and more on the way.
5) Euros will make fun of us: "Retirement League", "Second-rate Old Folks' Home", "American Vacation", etc etc. I don't recall those sentiments when the All-Stars kicked Chelsea's ass. MLS isn't the best league in the world, but it's also, very clearly now, not a place to spend your golden years waddling around the 35 yard line like a bloated Gerd Mueller.
So yeah, we want Beckham for all the reasons above, and because, for the fans of 12 other teams, he'll be fun as hell to boo. Especially when he sends an important PK to row z, or scuffs a last minute free kick into the wall.
It's a new era for MLS, folks. The beta test is over.
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發表於 2007-1-11 23:48:52
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發表於 2007-1-11 23:49:00
發表於 2007-1-11 23:51:25
