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The appearance of David Beckham at the Los Angeles Galaxy side a couple of years in the past may not have provided a great deal success on behalf of the club itself, but it has undoubtedly raised the profile of the "beautiful game" in the United States.
Beckham and Victoria brought together the VIP celeb culture and the elevated sections of the soccer world in a style that had by no means been seen beforehand in the USA. Prior to his arrival (in fact even at this point), the eminent American soccer players can only dream of earning a part of the exorbitant numbers bandied about when Beckham's overall wages are mentioned
However still, he appears to have had the desired influence of raising the sport at grassroots level, as well as in the celebrity world. This was emphasised by the great crowds on show when Chelsea, AC Milan and Inter Milan appeared in the USA for a pre-season contest. Every contest was played in front of a sell-out multitude. I seem to recall over 100,000 being at one game involving Chelsea, dwarfing the records seen at pre-season games even in England.
The swelling in the status of "soccer" has also seen a spread in the blogs and fan-sites appearing in the USA, and a few have caught my eye recently as they seem to have a entirely separate manner of looking at football than the English citizens. Maybe we should change it to "soccer" also, it may change our attitudes!
I especially love the curiously named Amongthethugs.wordpress.com (a reference to a hardback by American essayist Bill Bruford about British hooligans from the nineties i think, even though it is not mentioned on the website). This is a blog set up by six West Coast football fans, who between them support five different English clubs, plus they hold a pleasantly entertaining position on the soccer landscape in England. Nobody is safe from their jibes and i notice myself regularly checking back to observe who their jibes are aimed at next.
They have lately asked why Carlo Ancelotti would deliberately throw a match against Wigan which i found quite humorous, and they projected a new eye protection for Van Persie to wear when he next faces Adebayor.
Another article that tickled me is the comparison of Carlos Tevez to a Caveman! You have to see them to get the jokes, so go over and have a look. You will not be dissatisfied. The good-natured ribbing of the clubs supported by the other writers is something you simply don't get in mad old England! If you are into soccer and like a hoot, test it out, you won't be let down with AmongTheThugs (.wordpress.com)
So you can spot that the "David Beckham effect" has had a much further reaching effect on the American football scene than any person had anticipated. Although he may have been earning obscenely excessive wages, he has had the desired effect of enticing more and more "soccer" supporters to matches than has ever been seen in the past.
And the American view of "soccer" is perhaps something that I would like to see exported to Britain, as the fans here just seem to take everything much too seriously!
My name is Pat McLachlan and i have an Article Marketing website called justwebsitereviews.com and I also contribute to www.casinogamesonline.com.au. Pop in and have a look!
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