Hey, Arenaboy- BIG soccer news for the US !

[Barefootgirl]

it seems we are palming our over-paid wally off on you now....good luck and all that. David Beckham has just been on the radio in messianic mode declaiming how he feels its his mission to bring football/soccer to a wider audience in the USA.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/6248835.stm

I guess for US soccer fans this is really, really exciting news.

[Rapscallion]

My commiserations to the US.

May your single eyebrows be iconic.

Rapscallion

[Mr. Rager!]

I'm excited!!

David Beckham is my idol!! What style he has!!

[PuckishOne]

I tend to agree with the overpaid wally side (or one-trick pony, if you prefer) - but, that said, it will undoubtedly raise the profile of the sport here in the US and that's going to be awesome. It's a long time coming.

[ArenaBoy]

I guess for US soccer fans this is really, really exciting news.

It is exciting, just about every American knows who he is. I don't even like our league and I'm going to be paying attention to the press to see how this turns out. Like Puck said, his status is defintely going to raise the sport here and the cool thing about this is that he wants to make soccer big. Plenty of US sports sites are talking about this, I am excited and thanks for the link BFG. I cannot wait for the MLS to start.

[Cia]

Does Beckman play soccer or Australian rules football?

[Rapscallion]

Plays with his wife's underwear, if what she says is correct. This is while he's wearing them.

Her nickname for him is apparently 'goldenballs'.

Rapscallion

[Knightmare]

Who is this guy? What does he do?
Did he cure cancer or something?

[sportsmom]

Sorry, I'm not a soccer (I know, I know, "football." I can't help it, I'm American and football involves pads and helmets ) fan, but I do know who David Beckham is. I do not understand the whole thing about him, though. Is he really that good a player? I'm sure his coming to LA will help raise the profile of the sport, I just don't know why he's so famous for playing a game.

[ArenaBoy]

THe only thing Beckham is good at is taking set pieces. The only reason he's high profile is because he married a Spice Girl and he is pretty much a one-trick pony. Here's a couple videos of what he's good for: http://youtube.com/watch?v=3Yz0Vk0WJQ8

This is his best though: http://youtube.com/watch?v=jOjqCqPfHao

If you want skill, Ronaldinho is the man: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3DTAck4u6o

[PuckishOne]

Is he really that good a player? I'm sure his coming to LA will help raise the profile of the sport, I just don't know why he's so famous for playing a game.

If you've seen or heard of the movie "Bend it Like Beckham," then you know the one trick for which the Beckham pony has become famous. He is quite skilled at "bending" a ball around a wall of defenders - that is, kicking a ball that has been placed on the ground in front of him (as in a free or penalty kick) in such as way as to angle it out of the way of the guys trying to stop it. Once the ball is moving, however, he's really no better or worse than any other player. ArenaBoy's links are great illustrations of this, and he's also right about Ronaldhino - a more all-around skilled player by far.

[TNT]

If Pele couldn't popularize soccer in the states, I don't suppose Beckham is going to, either. It's just not in our mindset to ever say, "What an incredibly exciting game that was, even it it did end with a score of 0-0."