If you haven’t bought your tickets for the March 7 CONCACAF Champions League game between Toronto and the LA Galaxy, you might want to hurry up. The Galaxy re-signed Posh Spice’s husband today.
Flippancy aside, locking up David Beckham for two more years is a good piece of business for MLS, potentially just OK for the Galaxy and spectacular for Toronto FC ticket sellers. If 30,000 seats have moved already, you can bet that the rest will be gone soon now that Beckham will be part of the show. Hopefully, the tickets end up in the hands of legitimate TFC fans rather than greedy scalpers or screaming celebrity chasers.
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I wouldn’t hold your breath on the greedy scalper front. It’s already been suggested that a good quarter of the sales so far are to the speculators. We’ll follow that story as the game gets closer, but today we shall focus on other aspects of the move.
Clearly, the business end of this deal is good news or the league. Regardless of your opinion on the player, there is no denying that he still puts butts in the seats. Even in markets like Toronto, where some fans claim indifference (and some are), there was no game with greater buzz in 2011 than when Beckham finally came to town.
Another two years of the player means more packed houses, more money and more attention for the league. And, that’s a good thing.
How much he’ll mean to the Galaxy on the pitch remains to be seen. Even at his advanced age he’s still a very good player, likely one of the league’s best, but the question with Beckham and MLS has never been about talent. Rather, it’s been about how dedicated he is to the cause.
In 2011, Beckham put all of his focus on the Galaxy. There was no off-season loan to distract him and England had stopped calling. It won’t be the same in 2012 and 2013.
Next year, it’s about the Olympics and Team GB. Beckham famously chased another England call-up long after it was reasonable to do so. With that dream dead, he’ll turn to the next best thing – to be the face of the London Olympics.
It’s not a bad dream. For Beckham. The Galaxy, however, kind of get the short end of the stick. It’s been suggested that his new contract requires him to be released for as much as six weeks. He’ll be back for the stretch run, but how fresh will he be? Emotionally it’s clear that a MLS Cup repeat is priority No 2 in 2012. The Galaxy are OK with that apparently, but I wonder whether Galaxy fans feel the same way.
In 2013, likely Beckham’s last of his career, he’ll not be pulled by international football, but it seems likely it will be a collection of distracting final moments. The play one half for Manchester United, one half for the Galaxy testimonial will be a particular circus. Obviously, he’ll also be two years older.
That’s Beckham though – a very good player (if not great) that has always been two parts sizzle, one part steak. MLS fans can decide for themselves if that’s a good thing.