‘Beckham must deliver’
Los Angeles: Now that the glitz, glamour and red-carpet reception is out of the
way, David Beckham needs to show he can deliver the goods on the football field,
America’s newspapers have said.
An explosion of confetti and booming rock music greeted Beckham’s unveiling
at the LA Galaxy’s Home Depot Center stadium, where about 5,000 fans packed
stands to witness what officials described as a “historic” day.
Beckham’s introduction made the front page of the Los Angeles Times and
was the splash story on the sports pages.
“At heart, Beckham is still a kid from a working class family in London’s
east side and marvels at his good fortune every day,” the Times wrote.
“He is insistent about teaching his three sons to say please and thank
you ... he’s serious about succeeding at this business of getting Americans
to embrace his sport.”
Coverage in the Times ran over two pages under the main banner: “Beckham
dives right in”.
‘Biggest star’
Beckham, who helped lead Real Madrid to a Spanish league title in June, has
signed a $5.5 million deal with the Galaxy which could potentially reach $250
million over five years in profit-sharing and sponsor deals.
The Orange County Register headlined with “Biggest star in the Galaxy”
while the Long Beach Press Telegram triumphed “Thousands greet Beckham
in Carson”.
The Press Telegram compared Beckham’s arrival to that of Fab Four in
the 1960s, calling it a “Beatleseque invasion of America”.
Many U.S. papers mentioned Beckham’s uneasiness with using the American
term soccer instead of football. USA Today said the verdict was still out on
whether Beckham was indeed a soccer saviour who could transform football in
A merica from a marginal sport to major league status.
“Whether the ticket and jersey-buying public will be as interested as
the media to take notice of Beckham’s entry into the American soccer scene
will ultimately determine whether this move was a watershed moment for a once-struggling
professional sports league or just another failed attempt to get Americans on
the soccer bandwagon,” wrote USA Today.
Meanwhile, the selling of David Beckham in America got off to a brisk start
on Friday with fans snapping up his new soccer jersey and his first game already
sold out.
Adidas has shipped 250,000 of Beckham’s No. 23 jersey to stores in the
last few days.
“They’re a little surprised,” said Tim Leiweke of AEG, the
Los Angeles Galaxy’s parent company. “They knew it would be good,
they didn’t think it would be that good.”
Beckham gets an undisclosed percentage of every $80 (euro58) jersey sold, with
Major League Soccer also sharing in the profits. The Galaxy only makes money
if jerseys are bought at its team store at Home Depot Center.
