OPINION: Beckham Crowd for the Birds

SNE's Weekly Columnist Examines the Crowd at Gillette Saturday

September 3, 2008

By Mark Goodman

During the pregame introductions for Saturday�s match between the New England Revolution and California Beckhamball All-Stars (CBAS), the visiting Golden Boy himself received the loudest ovation.

Early in the first half, Rev winger Khano Smith put a series of moves on a defender who simply poked the ball away from him at the edge of the penalty box. The crowd roared with delight at all the pretty, twinkle-toed stepovers.

Just seconds later, Beckham lofted a glorious 50-yard pass (no joking here, it really was a magnificent ball) toward a streaking Edson Buddle and hit him in stride in the Revolution�s final third. Aside from the guy sitting behind me who said, �Oh, what a ball,� the silence was astounding.

David Beckham

David Beckham was the star of the show on Saturday. (CHRIS ADUAMA/aduama.com)

Do you people know what you�re watching?

It got worse.

About 20 minutes through the first half, a kid in our section - probably sporting �Beckham 23� on his back - shouted �No penalty!� to a foul committed against CBAS star Landon Donovan. The foul occurred at the edge of the center circle.

And when Taylor Twellman scored the game�s first goal in the 22nd minute - a brilliant, gutsy header that earned him a punch in the face from CBAS keeper Steve Cronin - the crowd erupted. Well, most of it, anyway, as there were some - including the trio sitting right next to me in the front row of Section 204 - who couldn�t be bothered to put down their hot dogs, let alone �stand� and/or �clap.�

And people wonder why I�m an MLS cynic.

Look, I love soccer, and there are few things in life I would love more than to see the game really, truly take off in this country and take its place among football, baseball and basketball in terms of popularity. And if the mere sight of David Beckham is going to attract an additional 20,000 fans to Gillette Stadium - and have similar impact on other stadia across the league - well, I guess that�s a start.

But what kind of fans are we attracting here? Clearly, for the most part, not the ones who actually know much about the sport.

The incident I described above about Beckham�s pass sums it up, for me. Here are all these people, at the stadium strictly because one of the world�s biggest celebrities is showing his wares, and yet there is no appreciation for his efforts when he does something good.

HELLO! THIS IS WHAT THIS MAN DOES!!

Strip aside all the paparazzi nonsense for a moment and analyze Beckham purely on his footballing merits, and you have a player with relatively limited athleticism, but a strong work rate and ability to put a ball on a dime from anywhere on the pitch. If nothing else, Beckham is still one of the best passers in the sport, and that has to count for something.

Imagine attending a Phoenix Suns game where Steve Nash throws a fast break alley-oop to Amare Stoudemire for a dunk, and nobody reacts. Or attending a Chicago Bears game where Brian Urlacher runs 40 yards across the field and lays out an opposing running back, and nobody reacts.

That would be exceptionally bizarre, wouldn�t it?

Nearly as strange was the crowd�s decision to boo Beckham whenever he lined up for a free kick or corner.

�OK, I�m one of the most famous guys in the world, the only reason two-thirds of you are here is because of me, you cheered me before the game, half of you are wearing my shirt, and now you�re going to boo me as I prepare to do what I�m best known for and have had a movie named after me because of it?�

It was yahoo central.

And if this is the future of soccer fandom in America, help us all.

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