British soccer phenom David Beckham and his wife, Victoria, were introduced in Los Angeles today. When he makes his debut with the Los Angeles Galaxy, the whole world will be watching. The Galaxy signed Beckham for $5.5 million per year last winter, and U.S. soccer officials are hoping that his name, talent and reputation will attract new fans to the sport.
Sure, people will watch the games, but mostly out of curiosity. But will they start watching soccer because they’re interested in soccer, or because they want to see some soccer superstar in action? The Galaxy will definitely attract more people to their home games – they already sold more season tickets for this year after signing Beckham – but are they soccer fans or they curious about Beckham’s celebrity?
The reality is Beckham may be too much of a celebrity himself that he might become a distraction to the Galaxy. The soccer star has said he would like to get into acting, which is why he signed with the MLS team in Los Angeles. Whatever success the sport enjoys while Beckham is part of it will be intense and short-lived. If and when the Hollywood lights begin to beckon, he’ll leave U.S. soccer in a cloud of L.A. pixie dust. Then the sport will be back to where it started.
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