Becks, the white elephant

Forevermore, David Beckham’s name will have the words $250 million attached to it. Arguably (and I emphasize arguably) the brightest star of European soccer on the dark side of 30, Beckham will earn that amount — inclusive of endorsements — in half the time that Alex Rodriguez will, just five years.

On the surface, there are many questionable aspects to this move to the LA Galaxy. First of all, professional soccer in the US barely even gets mentioned in the sports pages. It is not a marquee sport, falling well below the radar in comparison to baseball, football, basketball, boxing and even car racing. The most successful sports business model in the US is, in fact, NASCAR. So that gives you an idea where American hearts are.

Secondly, Beckham (who has not, and will most likely never will win a World Cup), is not a scorer, but a set-up guy. He is a marvel at placing the ball in the control of a teammate in full sprint from half a field away. But put him in America, the land of instant gratification — where their own favorite pastime of baseball is losing ground because of low scoring — and he will definitely make less of a ripple.

Third, Beckham is no longer the same spectacular player who lobs in seemingly impossible free kicks into the depths of the net. His vision and timing have seen some slippage. When Steve McClaren took over the English national team, the first thing he did was open Beckham’s place on the squad. In matches in the European league this season, Beckham has started for Real Madrid only five times in 17 matches. And although he played extremely well in his first two seasons for Los Galácticos, it seems new manager Fabio Capello’s plans don’t include him. Real is thinking ahead.

Fourth, Beckham’s honeymoon period will likely be short, considering that, although many of his teammates are on the US national team, they are, as a lot, inferior to most European squads. There is no way soccer in the US will gain popularity until they have success in the World Cup. Although they did make the quarterfinals in 2002, all those games went kaput in Germany last year. And a large reason for that is Major League Soccer. The quandary for Major League soccer is that they need to develop players to ensure they have a product that people will watch that is also entertaining. But any player who wants to get better will naturally want to leave for Europe to improve his game, and hopefully, by extension, the US national team. So MLS has sat on the fence, unwilling to sacrifice its own product for the good of the overall American game.

US coach Bruce Arena assailed MLS after the disaster in Germany, saying "We need [American players] playing in more intense games to help develop them mentally, as well as soccerwise." MLS executives said he was crazy.

Fifth, the emphasis on Beckham will make more American players either want more money at home, or seek greater compensation and fame in Europe. The average player makes less than $100,000 a year, so there will be more pressure on Beckham to perform, but also more animosity from other players. Freddy Adu or Clint Dempsey, two rising stars of MLS, will likely end up in Europe to become better players and earn more. Dempsey is already on his way to England. And let’s face it, that’s where everybody would rather be playing.

Sixth, what about the next generation? With all the hype over Beckham and his Posh Spice wife Victoria bringing wattage and their Hollywood posse to the stands, there will be less attention on younger players who probably deserve media hype, too. Beckham has proven to be a merchandising phenomenon wherever he has gone, but it’s probably more for his looks, endorsements (and maybe the revelation that he enjoys wearing his wife’s underwear) than his abilities on the pitch.

Let me recall some similar situations to back up what will happen to the new megabuck man. When the game is on the line, all his teammates will pull back and let him do all the work, like what happened to Alvin Patrimonio when he signed his first P25-million plus contract with Purefoods back in 1990. Secondly, other players will either demand to be paid more, or be shipped out, like what has been happening in the NBA since the 1990’s. Then, teams will end up with one over-the-hill star fronm a bigger league, and several lower-paid players, and will be unsuccessful, like what happened to the late MBA at the turn of the millennium.

At least Shaquille O’Neal won three championships, and Wayne Gretzky was an unquestionable winner when they both moved to LA. The question is this: Is David Beckham more of a soccer player, a celebrity endorser, or Hollywood commodity?

What do you think? E-mail this writer at [email protected].

* * *

gameface.ph has announced its Hardcore Five and Hardcore Mythical Player of 2006. They are Ateneo de Manila’s Macky Escalona, Philippine Christian University’s Jason Castro, Joe Rizal University’s Floyd Dedicatoria, University of Santo Tomas’s Allan Evangelista, and San Beda College’s Sam Ekwe, who is also their players of the year. For more information, visit www.gameface.ph.