Well, I thought I'd start this topic as I'm a Galaxy season seat holder and am attending the Beckham 'introduction' event tomorrow.

There has been a lot of hype in the local media and Becks is on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine this week. I've had more questions and ticket requests for Galaxy seats in the last week than in the last year...so, people are certainly talking about it.

I really think, though, that from a sporting perspective, he will do a lot to raise the visibility of the league and improve the LA Galaxy as a team. While MLS is certainly nowhere near the premiership, it is not as bad as it is portrayed by some of the English media. The Galaxy has had a rough start to the season but I think that Beckham's arrival will actually help settle things down a little and his work ethic will be an example to the other players. I've always read that he was liked and respected by his teammates on his former teams.

Anyway, I will try and post my observations about the event tomorrow and also his first game, which will be a friendly against Chelsea on 7/21.
Tim

I am looking forward to seeing Becks in a few MLS matches. I must admit that prior to the arrival of players like Djorkaeff, Angel, Reyna, and now Becks, I really was not interested in MLS at all. As I've started to watch, I agree that, while a gap exists, it is not as broad as portrayed by the foreign media.

I honestly think that Beck's presence will do as much for the EPL, Spanish and Italian leagues as the MLS. "New" fans will be drawn to Beckham when he visits town for sure. That will hopefully develop a larger MLS fan base.

But, IMHO the bigger affect will come in the form of EXISTING MLS fans who are intruiged by the larger-than-sport presence that Beckham brings. Especially if he performs well. There are bound to be loads of references to his career with England, United, and Madrid. Ultimately, I expect more and more domestic fans to start looking to the Euro leagues to see what all the fuss is about. Since these leagues are more accessable than ever before, you will start to see more Arsenal, Spurs, Liverpool, Madrid, Inter, AC, Bayern, etc. shirts on the streets of the U.S.


Notice I left off United because more United shirts is the last thing any of us needs.

One last thing about Becks. Landon Donovan take note: less complaining, more football. Just imagine how Landy-cakes would respond to being dropped from the national team because of a dip in form.

I hope soccer takes off in the states big time, the foundation is there, I hear kids of Primary school age and high school age love football - you just need to make sure they don't veer off into the multitude of other sports that are available to them, keep 'em playing, keep 'em loving the game, and soon with a population of 350 million (or something like that, I guess) you're bound to find a squad of 23 good enough to take to a World Cup final.

from what I hear LA Galaxy need far more than a Becks miracle to take them places, mind you. so good luck to the Galaxy!

The Beckham introduction was quite the scene on Friday. The first thing I noticed was all the media at the event outside the stadium. Reporters and camera crews were grabbing anyone they could find (mostly kids and attractive young women!) to interview as we were standing in line to enter the stadium. There were also lines 10 people deep to buy the new Galaxy shirts ($100 for a Beckham, $80 for just the shirt, no personalization)...

Inside the HDC, it was very hot...at least 90 degrees and we were all sitting in the sun. We waited for about 30 minutes before the event started. The media went crazy when Posh entered and it was pretty funny to see her posing for pictures. It looked like the 'red carpet' treatment when the celebs attedn a movie premiere. The 5,000 or so in attendance gave her a big round of applause and she waved back at the crowd quite a bit.

When Becks entered, the big screen showed a number of highlights from his career and then Alexi Lalas started the show. The fans were prettty enthusiastic and applauding everyone, with the exception of the mayor of LA who was booed loudly. When Becks was introduced, the confetti was shot in the air and then the photo shoot with holding his Galaxy shirt. He said all the right things although it was funny when, at one point, he started to say 'football' and then corrected himself and said 'soccer'.

The first game with Beckham is scheduled to be the friendly with Chelsea on Saturday. I'll post after the Saturday game.