MLS 2007 is almost underway, but Register columnist Michael Lev complains that on a recent conference call about ABC/ESPN’s MLS coverage, all anyone could talk about is the pending arrival of David Beckham, which still has no set date. But ABC/ESPN execs couldn’t resist blowing the promotion horn anyway, Lev says. “It’s a perfect storm,” Tim Scanlan, ABC/ESPN’s senior coordinating producer, said of Beckham’s arrival. “It’s going to be a hurricane,” added commentator and analyst Eric Wynalda.
Lev seems to think that no hurricane could match the intensity of all this David Beckham hype. And it would help if Becks were a younger soccer player, he adds. “The key to keeping curious viewers around after the first couple of Beckham appearances is for Beckham himself to play well,” Lev says, pointing out that Beckham turns 32 next month. Despite Wynalda’s assertion, “There are only two kinds of players – good players and bad players. And he’s a good player,” age definitely factors into how good or bad a soccer player is. It’s how the player changes his game as he gets on in years. Beckham, with his vision, passing, and ability to strike a dead-ball, may have the kind of game suited for older age. But could his ability possibly match all this hype?