Beckham Does Chicago

[AreliusII]

Beckham Does Chicago

Wednesday, August 03, 2005

By Chris Sprow
Chicago Sports Review - August 2005

It was awkward, really.

Not in a sexual way, no … well, maybe a little. But it was there, and as men stood and clapped, and women stood and screamed, David Beckham was alone, at the center of Soldier Field, nearly every other player having deserted the field. And he was shirtless. His famous long-sleeved #23 was stripped away, and the male Kournikova-with-game basked in his quintessential uber-celebrity moment. But he clapped for the fans.

It was the encore, but was it for us, or him?

Or was he clapping to us for being American - something he might wish to understand given the way he speaks of this country so lovingly?

Heck, his daughter is named Brooklyn, apparently for reasons regarding the geographiclocale of her conception.

But to understand the celebrity that is David Beckham, consider the fact that his team, Real Madrid, had just entertained Chicago soccer fans with a thrilling 3-1 victory over the Mexican club team Chivas Guadalajara. Consider that he was an integral part of the contest, surprising everybody by playing the whole match in what was essentially a warm-up to his season.

And yet after it all, his greatest cheers came just afterward when he stood alone.

It was when the description given to Austin Powers seemed most appropriate:

“Men want to be him, women want to be with him.”

Beckham is a rare amalgam of skill and sexuality, so much so that it’s hard to point to the precise core of his superstardom. What that-it seems almost unthinkable that he is not an American. He reeks of all our greatest (or worst) societal axioms, the conflictions of our greatest stars.

American vice and virtue, simultaneous:

Rich but talented.

Purported playboy but clearly reigned in by his posh (spice), rock-star wife.

Team player but brash individualist.

****y but gracious.

Sporting star but pitch-man for everything from shoes to shaving cream.

Face it, the guy can play the part.

Could he play it here? Someday? He never seems willing to hint otherwise.

“American soccer today is a lot better than it was about five, 10 years ago. We now see the results of the teams in the U.S. greatly improving. Still, soccer is bigger in other countries than in the United States-but there is definitely potential in the U.S. because there are some of the best players here that I have ever seen,” Beckham said after the game “We are coming into the age where American kids are choosing soccer over baseball, basketball, and American football … so it’s really great.”

And Beckham is accurate. The numbers for soccer are up.

Ten years ago, many critics didn’t give Major League Soccer a chance at survival. Now, the league is expanding, and teams are doing two things that many-even in the soccer elite-thought the league could never accomplish.

For one, it is building its own stadiums, beautiful European-sized facilities made for soccer alone, a sport best viewed in a smaller, intimate setting. Secondly, the MLS is now also regularly sending its best on to European teams without a sense of doom. The loss of a great American player to Europe is typically a monetary decision, and only gives evidence to greater depth in the talent pool of U.S. soccer. It hasn’t stifled the league, and fans seem to even embrace the trend as a greater sign of the leagues growing legitimacy.

The Chicago Fire will next year unveil a beautiful facility in Bridgeview, where they can escape the cavernous feel and inconsistent pitch of Soldier Field for a soccer-only stadium in the suburbs, where, frankly, more soccer-moms exist, and the pains of hellish traffic are less prevalent in deciding whether to brave a night out.

Of all this, Beckham has taken notice. He routinely flirts with the notion of ending his career in the United States, which would undoubtedly rankle some pundits back home, perhaps to the glee of the English midfielder.

For years his personal life has been rife with rumors, and his stardom at times the cause of considerable annoyance to his classic private-public personality.

And what about Chicago?

Beckham won’t go on the record and make any promises, but he also won’t rule anything out. Even the rumors of his eventual arrival seem to puff the chest of MLS fans and brass.

The league, more than purely surviving at this point, still needs a bona fide international star to take the plunge. Right now it is a league comprised of an odd balance of young stars like Landon Donovan or Freddy Adu, and older greats. The inclusion of aging foreign stars such as Marco Etcheverry, Carlos Valderama, Peter Nowak, or the interminable Kristo Stoichkov has been the league hallmark.

In this way, it has served as an odd blend of a developmental league for the Euro-leagues, and a barnstorming league for the games old stars. And yet through it all-10 years-the league has still subsisted mainly on an undervalued and under-appreciated level of depth and proficiency in the younger generations of U.S. soccer. It has forced upon us the reality that young players stateside are coming, and with greater skill than ever.

And the American youth consider Beckham a star in the way that young Brits may have considered Michael Jordan one.

For such magnetic players and personalities, borders and oceans dictate nothing to the sporting mass. Sport is nothing less than a religion-based on time spent at the altar, perhaps something even more-and its idols are certain recipients of worldwide worship on this ever-shrinking globe.

Beckham is one. And many in Chicago felt blessed by his presence.

The fact that he would consider making that presence permanent … well, for some soccer fans, and for the brass of the MLS, that could also be described as a potentially religious experience. -CSR

[Stucki]

Wow, that is a good article. It is similar to the one in ESPN. I am too lazy to type the whole thing.

[Hiddnfox]

hope he does come here. even if he is washed up when he does at least it will bring in more press and fans to MLS. which is what we all want in the end 🙂

[devNull]

Originally Posted by Stucki

Wow, that is a good article. It is similar to the one in ESPN. I am too lazy to type the whole thing.

Type?? I would presume that Aurelius is smart enough to copy and paste. :lookaroun

[Stucki]

Originally Posted by devNull

Type?? I would presume that Aurelius is smart enough to copy and paste. :lookaroun

I meant the article from ESPN the mag. They used to have stuff like that on ESPN.com, but they put something else there.

[Aerick]

Originally Posted by devNull

Type?? I would presume that Aurelius is smart enough to copy and paste. :lookaroun

Yeah, but Stucki was reading ESPN the magazine, I believe. <ctrl> C doesn't work for hard copies as well. 😁

[devNull]

Originally Posted by Stucki

I meant the article from ESPN the mag. They used to have stuff like that on ESPN.com, but they put something else there.

Oh, I didn't realize that people actually read REAL paper magazines anymore....my bad. Sorry Stucki.

[Stucki]

Originally Posted by devNull

Oh, I didn't realize that people actually read REAL paper magazines anymore....my bad. Sorry Stucki.

It comes with my ESPN Insider subscription.

[Neil]

Originally Posted by AreliusII

Beckham Does Chicago

Wednesday, August 03, 2005

By Chris Sprow
Chicago Sports Review - August 2005

Heck, his daughter is named Brooklyn, apparently for reasons regarding the geographiclocale of her conception.

He doesn't have a daughter. His son's name is Brooklyn. Research please!!