“Overused … over-traveled, wearied, injured and sidelined,” thus sums up the first season of David Beckham in Major League Soccer, says the Wall Street Journal’s Stephen Barbara. Unlucky, might also be an appropriate adjective: Becks seems to have used up his luck for the year in helping Real Madrid win last season’s La Liga title. Overextended though he may have been, the sprained knee Beckham sustained in the SuperLiga final against Pachuca is no doubt the most significant news of Beckham’s season.
Why, because everybody loses: Becks, the Galaxy, fans, certainly MLS. Expectedly, there has been considerable fallout since Beckham’s season-ending injury. The league has had to deal with furious fans demanding refunds for tickets that were based solely on his presence. Many offered refunds, but Real Salt Lake and the Kansas City Wizards did not. Other business will also been affected: attendance, merchandising, ratings and media buzz, in particular. The L.A. Galaxy was supposed to be the hottest ticket in Tinseltown, but with no Becks and extremely slim hopes of the Galaxy even making the playoffs, there will be no Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes at the Home Depot Center, fewer shirts sold and far less media coverage.
Meanwhile, America’s top talent wants to move to Europe to play rather than learning to ply their trade in the U.S. Recent departures include Clint Dempsey, Freddy Adu and Danny Szetela. Even more recently, 18-year-old Jozy Altidore declared his intention to move abroad someday, too.