David Beckham might already be in trouble

By: Robert | July 17th, 2007

When David Beckham was introduced to the LA faithful a few days ago he spoke about a new challenge on the horizon as the reason for his coming to America to play footba- I mean soccer. The challenge he was referring to was placing soccer into the upper-echelon of American sports consciousness along with baseball, basketball and football (the American version.) But as time passes and I have more time to think about it, its becoming increasing clear to me that David Beckham may have an altogether different challenge on his hands, one that I doubt figured into his decision to jump to MLS; David Beckham may have to prove himself on a soccer-level.

David Beckham, the advertising campaign and money making machine is already operating a near-full capacity. As the first soccer player on the cover of Sports Illustrated in a non-World Cup year, since three days past never; America is being introduced to David Beckham whether they want to or not. And if early indications are true, they want to; 250,000 Beckham jersey’s sold from the time they went on sale to the time he was introduced (roughly 48 hours) at 80 bucks a pop has already generated a whopping 20 million dollars (Becks gets a 40-50% cut of that off the top…feel free to put the back of your pinky finger to your lip anytime you want.) Business men in America are literally whetting their appetites thinking of the possibilities that come with Beckham crossing the Atlantic.

But with that money comes expectations. Yes, David Beckham is the only player in the league that can move the needle on those Nielson ratings (Eddie Johnson could carry Freddy Adu on his back, score six goals a game, all off bicycle kicks of increasing difficulty and not do one-third the numbers of Mr. Beckham.) But MLS is still a young league, a young league in search of direction and David Beckham’s name will mean he’s a target. Not for cheap shots and late tackles (MLS will protect him more than the NBA protected Michael Jordan,) but for players looking to upstage him and make a name for themselves. As the guy with the biggest name recognition David Beckham needs to be one of the best players in the league (that’s true for any league, in any sport, anywhere, but maybe more so for MLS considering the significance of his arrival) But what happens when he meets someone like FC Dallas midfielder Juan Toja? (There’s always an FC Dallas slant somewhere, just wait for it.)

The four-letter up in Bristol and other major media outlets won’t properly introduce you to Mr. Toja (and his hair) until he plays against the guy from across the pond. But those that truly know the beautiful game know that Toja’s hustle, work rate, speed and aggressiveness make a meeting versus Becks in the middle of the field a complete mismatch, and not in the way that teeny-boppers desire. And when that happens what’s next? (There are other players besides Toja, but being that this is an FC Dallas blog and he’s my favorite for MVP at this point, I’m going with him.) MLS needs a direction and when Beckham gets beat (its going to happen, its not 1999 anymore and this league is better than people give it credit for) will the decision makers look to bring in other players of his caliber to raise awareness of the league around the world or will they re-focus their efforts in scouring Latin and South America (I’ll get back to you on Africa, I’m doing some research on it now) looking for young talent to raise the level of play. And if that happens does that mean that the David Beckham era is a failure because it didn’t lead to other stars following in his footsteps, nor did he raise the level of soccer awareness in the States? Americans love a winner and in most people’s mind David Beckham is already that, but what happens when people’s minds change? He may be able to affect the bottom line, but Juan Toja will affect the point total.

Most teams have yet to use their designated player slot because they want to wait and see how Beckham works out. The overarching question that will inevitably be asked is whether is makes more sense to pay $6.5 million for a David Beckham or $100,000 for a Juan Toja? There’s plenty time to fully think this through though, because no one will ask the question until the Beckham novelty wears off and sanity returns to MLS (and who knows when that could be.) But the future of the league is at stake and the Beckham-question needs to be answered in every MLS boardroom, not just in Dallas where the FC stands for “fiscal considerations.”

HOOPS PRIDE!

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