So, David Beckham is coming to America. What does this mean? Well, according to the well oiled PR machines of Beckham, Inc and the Los Angeles Galaxy, this means the second coming of soccer in the U.S. but I’m skeptical to say the least. While I remain hopeful that Beckham’s record-breaking move from Real Madrid will somehow shift more a focus to the sport, I don’t have any faith that it will occur solely on his move.
Let’s face the reality of the situation. Soccer isn’t looked down upon singularly because it doesn’t have a face or name to identify with the sport, it’s looked down upon because the media doesn’t buy into it and, as a league, the MLS hasn’t captured the attention of the nation.
How can this change?
First, sign more names. Beckham needs competition: Ronaldo, Pavel Nedved, or Zinedine Zidane are all considered over their prime in soccer terms but would serve as plenty of competition in the MLS and would draw crowds.
Secondly, keep the top talent in the country. With the MLS SuperDraft recently held it’s amazing how many top players are choosing to go to Europe rather than stay in America (Clint Dempsey, anybody?). From a player’s perspective this may make sense as the level of play is higher, but as long as the U.S.’s top talent continues to leave, it will never raise competition to a higher standard.
This factor is what allowed the league to exist in the first place. When the league was created it was founded on the backs of the U.S. men’s national team coming off of the achievements in the world cup. This worked because the top players in the nation were still playing domestically rather than running off to European leagues.
So, to recap, the first two primary steps are to utilize big names to bring eyes to the league and to raise the level of play in the league to give new fans a reason to stay tuned.
Lastly, league administrators need to realize the success of soccer will not be reliant on promotions and public relations. As long as there has been soccer in the United States it has been a PR stunt. Remember, we’ve tried this before (Pele, considered one of the best players ever to play, was imported to the New York Cosmos in a prior professional league). As long as soccer is treated the way Vince McMahon treated the XFL in in 2001, it will never be an American pastime. It’s the most popular sport on the planet for a reason and $250 million dollar contracts are not part of that. It’s time for talent, passion and authenticity, not hype.
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