14 January 2007
The David Beckham Show (feat. Donovan)
As everyone now knows, the David Beckham show is coming to America. In addition to many other extracurricular activities, Beckham plans to play for the LA Galaxy. Bloggers and journalists have weighed in: this is a big deal, and Beckham will be just as big in the US as Pele was in the 70s.
I could sit here and write a lot about what all this will do (and won't do) for American soccer. However, I'm going to take a more micro view. As you may know, the Golden Child of American Soccer is Landon Donovan (Adu doesn't count, yet). Landon Donovan, until several days ago, was far and away the biggest star on the LA Galaxy. While most of his peers from the US National Team are playing in top-flight leagues in Europe, Landon has chosen to stay home in California, so that he can hang out on the beach and be close to his now-wife, the extremely hot (and intelligent, I'm sure) Bianca Kajlich.
After coming onto the global soccer radar with his brilliant 2002 World Cup performance, Donovan stunk it up in the 06 Cup. Where he was supposed to be a leader, he was a timid crybaby. It appeared his time in MLS had not done much to prepare him to lead the US to success in the Cup. Many figured the only way Donovan would ever truly learn to play at the top level would be to go to Europe and learn from the best. What no one anticipated is that the best might come to him.
Yes, David Beckham is past his prime. He will never again be a dominant force on the English National Team, nor will he play for one of the world's premier clubs. However, he is still an extremely skilled footballer with immense amounts of leadership experience.
The way I see it, this is the best thing that could have ever happened to Landon Donovan. Beckham immediately removes the spotlight from Donovan's face. Simultaneously, he will give Donovan the benefit of playing with one of the game's best set-up men. He will show Donovan how to be a leader on the field. He will show him that, even if your wife is very hot, you still have to play harder than everyone else if you want to win. He will show him that, even if many silly pictures exist of you doing stupid stuff with a soccer ball, you still have to score goals and win games if you want to be remembered. And lastly, seeing the greatness that is Beckham, perhaps Donovan will realize that, like it or not, such greatness can only be achieved by playing your football in Europe.
So, cheers, Becks. We all should be happy that you're here, none more than our own precious Golden Child. ¶ 3:27 PM
As everyone now knows, the David Beckham show is coming to America. In addition to many other extracurricular activities, Beckham plans to play for the LA Galaxy. Bloggers and journalists have weighed in: this is a big deal, and Beckham will be just as big in the US as Pele was in the 70s.
I could sit here and write a lot about what all this will do (and won't do) for American soccer. However, I'm going to take a more micro view. As you may know, the Golden Child of American Soccer is Landon Donovan (Adu doesn't count, yet). Landon Donovan, until several days ago, was far and away the biggest star on the LA Galaxy. While most of his peers from the US National Team are playing in top-flight leagues in Europe, Landon has chosen to stay home in California, so that he can hang out on the beach and be close to his now-wife, the extremely hot (and intelligent, I'm sure) Bianca Kajlich.
After coming onto the global soccer radar with his brilliant 2002 World Cup performance, Donovan stunk it up in the 06 Cup. Where he was supposed to be a leader, he was a timid crybaby. It appeared his time in MLS had not done much to prepare him to lead the US to success in the Cup. Many figured the only way Donovan would ever truly learn to play at the top level would be to go to Europe and learn from the best. What no one anticipated is that the best might come to him.
Yes, David Beckham is past his prime. He will never again be a dominant force on the English National Team, nor will he play for one of the world's premier clubs. However, he is still an extremely skilled footballer with immense amounts of leadership experience.
The way I see it, this is the best thing that could have ever happened to Landon Donovan. Beckham immediately removes the spotlight from Donovan's face. Simultaneously, he will give Donovan the benefit of playing with one of the game's best set-up men. He will show Donovan how to be a leader on the field. He will show him that, even if your wife is very hot, you still have to play harder than everyone else if you want to win. He will show him that, even if many silly pictures exist of you doing stupid stuff with a soccer ball, you still have to score goals and win games if you want to be remembered. And lastly, seeing the greatness that is Beckham, perhaps Donovan will realize that, like it or not, such greatness can only be achieved by playing your football in Europe.
So, cheers, Becks. We all should be happy that you're here, none more than our own precious Golden Child. ¶ 3:27 PM
