Hearts Minds and Soccer
It has now been over three months since David Beckham shocked the world of football by announcing his decision to move from Madrid to the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer. In doing so he has accepted the richest contract in the history of the sport. The general reaction has been skeptical at best, most commentators accusing the former England captain of effectively accepting early retirement and a pile of cash to showboat in an inferior league whilst enjoying the Hollywood lifestyle. One can only assume that Posh didn't raise too many complaints. Yet through the media storm Beckham stuck to his guns manfully and kept returning to the theme of his ‘mission' – to ‘make a difference' by raising the profile and status of the beautiful game in North America. I hope he doesn't take his task too seriously!
In fairness to Beckham, the last few months has seen him demonstrate both his professionalism and how much he still has to offer on the pitch. He had been negotiating a contract extension with Real Madrid when he dropped the bomb and it is an understatement to say that they did not accept his decision gracefully. Club president Ramon Calderon attacked his technical ability and suggested he was an actor in waiting, while coach Fabio Capello announced that Beckham would no longer be considered for selection now that he had committed to another club. Beckham was permitted to train alongside his teammates and after a string of poor results, and amid rumours of players pressuring their coach, Beckham was returned to the starting lineup. He dutifully scored in his first game back and, excitable as ever, earned an ovation by getting himself sent off in his second. In the Champions League home leg against Bayern Munich he was clearly the most influential Madrid player on the field. Just shy of 32 and with plenty left in the tank, he should be well able to dictate games from what will likely be a more central role.
GalaxyMajor League Soccer (MLS) was born of an agreement between US soccer authorities and FIFA that a professional league be established in exchange for the right to stage the 1994 World Cup. It started its first season with 10 teams in 1996. The league has a central structure where the players are subject to a salary cap and are contracted to the league rather than their individual clubs. Although initial attendances were promising they quickly fell off, very visibly in big stadiums, and within two years the league started a series of expansions, contractions and franchise relocations. Public attention at this time was stolen by the success of the US women's national team, who won the Olympic Gold in 1996 and the Women's World Cup in 1999, but interest in the league seems to have lifted since the national team's remarkable showing at the 2002 World Cup. MLS has pinned its hopes of capitalising on this by funding mid-sized ‘soccer specific' stadiums for its franchises, with better views and facilities for fans. Average attendance last season was just over 15,000, hardly inspiring, but they sure went big to get the punters in this year.
Although I live in Vancouver and there are clear differences between Canadian and American sporting preferences, it is wholly valid to speak of a North-American sporting culture, within which there are regional variations. No matter where you go (unless it is into the heart of an immigrant community) soccer is widely viewed as a poor relation to American football, baseball, basketball, ice hockey – even Nascar and golf. The game has no real history here, no social significance, and this is the single largest cause of the uphill battle that professional soccer faces in North America today. It is a foreign game, nowhere more visibly than in the media, but the huge playing base, primarily kids of both sexes, is a sign of progress. Yet most youngsters still want to be the next Jordan or Gretsky – trying to copy and emulate figures like these certainly helps young prospects to push themselves and their game to the highest level. Presumably this is where Beckham steps in for soccer but converting these youngsters into committed fans by manufacturing loyalty to a team is a process that doesn't come easily. Professional sport here is commercialised to an extent that is rarely pretty. Competition for one's sports/entertainment dollar is ruthless and nods to an amateur past are few and far between – clubs are franchises that need to improve the quality of their product so as to get more consumers through the turnstiles. There are a number of reasons why a lot of these consumers are just not interested in giving soccer a go.
The most significant reason for the general apathy towards soccer is the very nature of the game itself. Soccer is a complex game, focused on developing attacking positions and creating chances which are relatively scarce. Everyone wants goals for the highlight reels, not hard tackling, neat passing and a few half-chances. Three goals in 90 minutes is a fair return while in contrast, North American sports are very much focused on the payoff. Fans here have short attention spans and scores generate excitement. Most basketball fans only applaud key baskets, such is their regularity. NHL rules which have increased the goal tally by creating more penalties and making it harder for defensemen have been well received by the general public. Low-scoring games of any sort are dismissed as poor or worthless – heroic defending is for avid fans only. The notion that soccer is boring is not helped by the quality of the MLS itself, which is comparable to the English championship at best. At the two most recent MLS Cup finals, the standard was disappointing, physical, tight and error-strewn. In 2005 the Galaxy beat the Revolution 1-0 after extra time. In 2006 the Revolution were edged again, this time by the Dynamo on penalties after a 1-1 draw. Of course winning is more important than looking good but the MLS is trying to sell itself and needs to serve up better quality to have a chance at earning any significant number of converts.
On top of a lack of excitement, soccer has a bad reputation to overcome. The theatrics in the sport, the diving, feigning injury, intimidating the referee – these are negative aspects of the modern game that North American fans always express distaste for. Most hockey fans love the fighting, shot-blocking and big hits that are such a large part of the NHL. European players tend to shy away from this physicality, and this may contribute somewhat to the idea that soccer isn't an honest game for real men. It may be an unpleasant truth, but the popularity of soccer amongst girls only serves to reinforce this misconception.
From a commercial viewpoint, soccer is not as attractive as competing sports because play runs uninterrupted, thereby providing less space for commercial intrusion into the game itself. Of course the money follows the market and the MLS has always been very business-orientated in taking advantage of this. Bigger crowds will simply lead to bigger deals.
Returning to the positive and as one would expect, things have been going rather well for the MLS so far this year. Ticket sales have taken off and the Galaxy reported an astonishing 2000 per cent increase on the number of visits to their website in the month following the Beckham announcement. The profile of the game has been greatly raised by all the fuss and further exposure will come by way of Posh's new reality show about the Beckham family and their big move to LA. They do worship celebrity over here and whilst the glitz and glamour is nice there will be some football to focus on also. Beckham is expected to make his Galaxy debut on 21 July at a game (appropriately against Chelsea) in an exhibition tournament grandly called the ‘The World Series of Football'. He should do well although it's easy to see problems caused by resentment amongst his teammates who are earning a fraction of his wage. The MLS reports assists, an alien concept to European fans, but this is the category in which Beckham should excel. The bigger picture will be the league's numbers a few years down the line.