Friday, January 19, 2007

Adam and Jeremy Say: David Beckham?

The following is an actual email conversation between Adam and Jeremy that occurred this week…

Adam: We should talk at length about David Beckham and soccer.

Jeremy: Yes! According a pole on ESPN.com, about 50% of the population says they will be more interested in the MLS now that Beckham is playing. I think he can make huge impact. I guess it depends on how old he is getting and if he will be that fun to watch. If he starts dominating and scoring goals all over the place etc., that would be huge.
I feel kinda like he is doing this just because he is getting bored, and unless he catches on big over here, he will get bored again and leave pretty soon.
Maybe it's a false hope, but I think he will do the prior. Maybe he can land some sweet sponsorship deals, and then get air time in a bunch of commercials before the season starts.
And MLS needs to market the heck out of this, because he will definitely be the face of the league. Maybe they could make a really sweet Super bowl commercial.
I don't think soccer can stay down in America forever; especially with all the youth soccer leagues out there. Not to say that there is a really quality of play in those leagues, but with as big a population as we have, you think we could find some good talent to be proud of. On a side note, I think soccer need to clean up its reputation as being a sissy sport. All those punks out there faking injuries, it really makes soccer look stupid; especially when you compare it to something like football or basketball where athletes are actually injured when they are injured.

Adam: I think you hit a key point when you question Beckham’s talent now that he is in him mid thirties... which is ancient for soccer players. This week the coach of his European club, Real Madrid, basically called him out as a no talent whose hype is bigger than his game is now! So is that the case or has he just lost his desire to play at that level... MLS has some big names like Donavan, Beasley and Dempsy and has even lured some foreign players so it’s not like this league is so bad that Beckham can just show up and be a stud. What I hope he accomplishes is bringing more interest into the game here... I mean during the world cup I had to literally fight to get some sports bars to play the games on their TV's... for a while now we have been a nation that sees soccer as a rec-league activity for the kids but that has yet to translate into a game that those kids then become excited about as teens and adults... maybe this is another step towards that.

Jeremy: I don't think he has lost his talent. The first time I really watched him play was during the world cup, and I was mightily impressed with him, and I don't really care what the European coach for Madrid has to say; he sounds like a big cry baby to me.
I also hope that he bring more interest to the game here...in a sincere manner. I mean, I don't think he’ll miss out on any financial opportunities in Hollywood, but if he can just be cool and go around the country promoting soccer, then I think that will be cool. Unfortunately, I think DC united is the closest MLS team to my location, so ill have to drive 9 hours just to see him. Lucky for you...

No comments:

Post a Comment