David Beckham Is “Over-Aged, Overrated And Overpaid”
THE New York Times writer Will Leitch was doing well until he got onto George Best. He was too elfin to break your nose - but he might shag your girlfriend:
DAVID BECKHAM’S gimpy 13-minute Major League Soccer debut for the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday against the English powerhouse Chelsea didn’t impress the critics who feel he’s an over-the-hill player being shoved down our throats by a publicity machine. It seems Beckham’s arrival on our shores is accomplishing something one wouldn’t think possible: It’s uniting those who worship the global game of soccer and those who can’t stand it, on the ground that Beckham is over-aged, overrated and overpaid.
Many have compared Beckham’s arrival to the failed Pelé experiment with the New York Cosmos in the ’70s, but that was an entirely different red card. Pelé was a carnival sideshow, meant to enlighten us ugly Americans to the beauties of a game we didn’t really understand. That’s not what’s happening here — soccer appreciation here has matured in the United States to the point where casual fans can recognize quality play.
Thus Beckham’s value is not to soccer aficionados, but to us average sports fans. And the genius of bringing him here as opposed to any other player is not just that Americans who otherwise couldn’t care less are talking about Major League Soccer; it’s that Beckham has always, in sensibility, been more American than British.
England’s current soccer obsession is Wayne Rooney, a snarling, pub-crawling, double-barreled shotgun of a brawler. He’s in the tradition of George Best, the hard-drinking miscreant who would just as soon break your nose as execute a graceful corner kick. If Rooney had come here, there’d be nothing left of the Minnesota Thunder but some shinguards and a few strands of hair. But Beckham? He wouldn’t look out of place guest-judging on “American Idol.”
American Idol is produced by 19 entertainment. So it Brand Beckham. Oh…
Posted: 26th, July 2007 | In: Twitterings Comments (7) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
Comments
September 12th, 2008 at 5:00 am
I williams you are the master of the understatement!
September 12th, 2008 at 3:34 am
When I was in Britain back in 1978 beckham would have just been a kid. But I’m glad that he became a successful young man. Although he and his wife are a nice looking couple they are a tad bit overexposed in the media. But like all these celebreties I don’t idolize or put any of them on a pedestal.
July 28th, 2007 at 10:02 am
Yes, I agree about his wife, and I think a lot of peoples opinions of her have dropped since her move to LA and since her ITV documentary. But give Beckham some credit, and that still doesn’t justify the falsified comments made in this article.
July 27th, 2007 at 8:59 pm
Beckham’s a terrific player - but his wife has mutated him into a clothes horse. REad this:
http://www.anorak.co.uk/news/tabloids/175220.html
July 27th, 2007 at 8:13 pm
Beckham will bring American Soccer what it has never seen or had before, a bit of class. He is a quality player and the money in which he will bring in for LA Galaxy, American Soccer and American Sport in general way out ways the cost of his wages - hence why he is probably the best known sports personality in the world. Also how has he always been more American than British? Because he is famous, popular and rich you claim that he is American?! I wonder if Beckham would take up citizenship in America? I highly doubt it…He is English through and through. Beckham still has what it takes to play among the elite, as Fabio Capello has said, thats the Real Madrid manager in case you don’t know much about football, as well as several Premiership Managers, so America you are lucky to have him and should be saying what a bargain, considering LA Galaxy didn’t have to pay a transfer fee, rather than complaining about the amount he earns.
And as for Rooney, what evidence have you that he is “a snarling, pub-crawling, double-barreled shotgun of a brawler” and a “hard-drinking miscreant who would just as soon break your nose as execute a graceful corner kick”. You say this purely because he hasn’t got the ‘looks’ that Beckham has and isn’t as popular around the globe. Rooney is a class player through and through, yes at times he has a temper, but what youngster doesn’t when they are so passionate about a sport in which they love, which in my view there is nothing wrong with it, in fact, better that than playing half heartedly.
July 27th, 2007 at 3:55 pm
George Best was a tough little thing. He looked sweet, and I’m sure he shagged more girls, but he came out tops in his fair share of fights too. He once knocked Michael Caine on his arse for insulting his girlfriend.
July 26th, 2007 at 6:30 pm
And over there - with his whole family - there is a god!
Look after em USA and keep em as long as you want.
God bless America…….