David Beckham arrived at Manhattan’s posh (no pun intended) Barclay Hotel to a crush of flashbulbs and paparazzi, and left via a shrewd escape through the kitchen door. The iconic star will draw more than 60,000 people to Giants Stadium tonight, and reaffirm his status as the greatest cash cow in sports.
Yes, apparently Beckham-mania has arrived.
The Red Bulls, minus injured captain Claudio Reyna, host Beckham’s Los Angeles Galaxy, expecting an atmosphere rarely seen in MLS. And while the British midfielder isn’t daft enough to think soccer is going to overtake football or baseball anytime soon, it’s a vibe he’s determined to see more of.
“I came to America not just to be a soccer player; I came to be an ambassador of this league, to take the sport to another level in this country. I’m enjoying it so far,” Beckham said. “I want to achieve something: Raising the profile of MLS and the profile of soccer as a sport.
“I’m not silly enough to sit here and say it’s going to be bigger than baseball or football or basketball because there is so much tradition and so many great sportsmen that play these sports. But if we can raise it to level higher than it’s ever been . . . and since I’ve been in MLS we’ve succeeded. It’s in parts of the world they’d never heard of MLS until now.”
Yes, like East Rutherford. The Red Bulls’ 11,573 average attendance is the second-worst in MLS, but they’ll more than quintuple that against the Galaxy and break their franchise record – all because of Beckham, who is expected to make every MLS team a cool extra $1 million, and already has paid for his $5.5 million salary twice over.
After being limited to a pair of gimpy cameos on his injured ankle, then openly ripping artificial turf, Beckham at first seemed unlikely to play tonight.
That all changed Wednesday. He shrugged off his injury and strapped on the captain’s armband in his first Galaxy start, scoring a goal and setting up another in a 2-0 Superliga semifinal upset of D.C. United. He laughed off a nasty Ben Olsen tackle and displayed grit that belied the image of a man nicknamed Goldenballs.
“I’m always motivated to play well. I know to be accepted in this country and in this league I have to perform the highest I can,” said Beckham, who – despite planning to play Wednesday in Wembley Stadium against Germany and also in the Galaxy’s Thursday tilt against Chivas USA – wouldn’t miss this East Coast-West Coast battle.
“It’s a huge game for us, both places,” he said. “When teams come together like the Yankees and Dodgers – am I right there? – it’s a huge rivalry. It’s great to have. It’s always nice to have a bit of a rivalry. It puts an edge on the games. I like to play in games like those.”