becks to la...for $250 MILLION

[:bang:]

wow
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=399471&cc=5901

[SideshowTim]

that is a ridiculous amount of money...and i'm not sure if it's a particularly wise idea on american soccers part. from what i've gathered most americans couldn't give two shits about professional soccer...and i don't see how buying a washed up pom is going to change that.

but hey, beckham must be laughing all the way to the bank. his oppositions quality will lower and he'll be earning a shit load of cash.

[Spartan]

http://www.cinematical.com/media/2006/07/onceinalifetime.jpg

...without the fanfare.

[Kuje]

Haha, holy fuck. I knew it would happen, but Jesus. I haven't seen much US football, but I understand the pace is a lot slower, which I think will suit his style perfectly.

[:bang:]

getting becks is fantastic for mls and the galaxy
but that's a fuckload of money. dc united sold for like $40 million a few weeks ago

luke, the american game is kinda slower. passing is shit and the crossing worse

[Spartan]

and wasn't dc's sale twice as much as any other mls franchise ever?

[:bang:]

something like that
dc united is like the celtic of mls

[Run CMB]

that's quite a bit of money. hope it's worth it. i don't much care for him, but if it'll improve the league at all i'm for it.

[smyce]

He's not that good, but he'll be amongst the top talents in the league. Having the most popular footballer on the planet playing in your league can not be all bad.

[box elder]

dc united sold for like $40 million a few weeks ago

yeah, and a couple of dukies are the main holders now, right? i'm not sure i can root for united at this point.

[:bang:]

yeah and they sold alecko :angry:

[Larson Something]

http://www.cinematical.com/media/2006/07/onceinalifetime.jpg

...without the fanfare.
And hopefully without the league folding within a decade.

Seriously, where is this money coming from? Scientology?

[:bang:]

i'm hearing his actual contract is like $9 million a year. think the major number comes from outside income. will look for a link

[Dead Nigga Storage]

yeah danno, the espn article said that it's $250+ million in contract for playing AND endorsements. so i guess in comparison to what the a-rods and lebrons and whoever else make, it's more comparable than it originally appeared. although i have no idea how much those two make in endorsements per year, it does now make beckham's contract look more reasonable. still, i can't see this making THAT much of a difference on the fan base for american soccer. it'll be nice to be able to name at least one MLS player now, though.

[The lesson is never try]

hes just making one last big (x100) pay-off from football, no doubt he'll still probably be a pundit, but thats a stupid amount of money for anyone, i dont care what the sport is, still, cant do anything bad for american soccer, which is a good thing.

[Spartan]

yeah danno, the espn article said that it's $250+ million in contract for playing AND endorsements. so i guess in comparison to what the a-rods and lebrons and whoever else make, it's more comparable than it originally appeared. although i have no idea how much those two make in endorsements per year, it does now make beckham's contract look more reasonable. still, i can't see this making THAT much of a difference on the fan base for american soccer. it'll be nice to be able to name at least one MLS player now, though.

it doesn't make much sense to me neither. beckham has been animate in coming to america for a while now, and that's fine. perfectly within his bounds to do so. and that's what i think this is all about; even though the MLS expanded their salary laws for big time international transfers in preparation.

[:bang:]

it would not surprise me for becks to make $41 million a year in endorsements. shoe deal will be half that i bet, easily. at $9 million, total bargain, great move

[Dead Nigga Storage]

jim rome (for what he's worth) said that adidas is paying more than half of the $250 million. sounds about right, but take it with a grain of salt anyway.

[gravymaster]

He is the only Soccer player I know of in the world (well, RONALDO RONALDO, too) and I still can't be bothered by this news. Meh.

[729]

He's not that good, but he'll be amongst the top talents in the league.

Don't be silly, he'll be the best player in MLS by some distance. Personally I'm very dissapointed with Beckham, he's sold out his career to effectively retire at 31 (and he was never the sort of player whose game would be affected greatly by a loss of pace). Chances are McClaren will be gone around summer 2008 and he could have played for his country again but if he'd rather be a hollywood star then I suppose it's the sort of two-fingers up his critics deserve. Now he needs to win La Liga/the Champions League in his last season with Madrid to avoid being remembered as a celebrity rather than one of the great players of his generation.

[729]

still, cant do anything bad for american soccer, which is a good thing.

Surely if America becomes one of the superpowers we'll have even less chance of winning the World Cup. Nice one Becks! ;-/

[:bang:]

(well, RONALDO RONALDO, too)
ny is hot after him

[DAntae]

not saying its a bad thing mls got him...they just got him past his prime, and it still wont raise the interest of soccer here in the states. just stating the obvious.

[:bang:]

first point doesnt matter, disagree on the second

[DAntae]

the only thing his signing has done has got a few headlines to get people talking for a few days...his signing and the eventual season will be afterthoughts soon. not saying I like it, but its the way it is.

[:bang:]

i'm not sure your talking about his play or his ability to generate interest

becks will be the best free kicker and the best crosser in the mls by a considerable margin. so he was out of favor at real madrid, no one in the mls could even be a squad player there, and if they could they'd go do that in a heartbeat. he was dropped from the english team, sure, but that has more to do with his pace (not that big of a deal in mls) and to make way for lennon and wright-phillips

in the us he's more of a celebrity than a sports guy, imagine how much we'll hear about him on sports center and shit then. he looks like he's more about being famous, but he's extremely fan friendly. he'll sign ever piece of paper and do interviews all the time. he's going to be really great in the press and that's what really matters.

[DAntae]

yeah he will garner attention. guy can still play but his best years are over and done. the potential sportscenter appeal of him being bigger than an athlete will also get people talking. in the end I dont think it will raise the general interest of americans to follow soccer. I hope it does, but I just don't see it happening.

[:bang:]

again, his best years are gone, but he'll still be younger than half the big names in mls, and far better

exposure not helping mls is just silly

[DAntae]

end of the next season show me the numbers. need to see interest up across the board...not just in la.

[:bang:]

mls has all new tv deals, so i'll take that bet in a heartbeat

[DAntae]

substantial increases...percentages of a point dont mean jack. again I want to see this become more popular, I just can't see it though.

I am also still trying to wrap my brain around the amount of money invested for this.

[Kuje]

Oh dear Dan, you really should have aimed for 2nd or 3rd season ratings. The ratings after his first year will be up a hell of a lot for the curiosity factor alone.

[DAntae]

I dont think so. honestly I hope it is, but until I see it in the numbers I cant buy into it. first month could be off the charts then fall back to where it is.

[:bang:]

majority of the money is going to come from endorsements. every soccermom in america will be buying the beckshoes for her rugrats

[Dead Nigga Storage]

no way it makes any long term difference. even if the ratings go up by some for the next couple years, he'll retire and we'll stop caring again. i know i'm not going to watch any games this year, and i know gravy won't. i imagine the majority of non-soccer watchers are the same. not out of stubbornness, but just because most of us have seen soccer and come to dislike it. one player won't change an opinion on a sport. if his presence does bring about a brief interest, it disappears on retirement.

[:bang:]

right. not trying reach people who gayly hate soccer for no reason. still alot of people with open minds, and alot of hispanic people who watch their home leagues

[Dead Nigga Storage]

and what i'm saying is that i don't think there are enough of your supposedly "open minded" people to make a swing difference brought upon by ONE celebrity player, regardless of who he is. there are going to be thousands of people around the country who have never heard of him, thousands more who have heard of him but can't put their finger on who he is, thousands more who know who he is and don't care if he's playing, yet still thousands more who just plain don't like soccer. if soccer ISN'T being watched now, how is one player going to change that? how does one player impact the entire sport heavily enough to bring substantial interest to something that has never come close to being even remotely popular? like i said, IF the fanbase grows substantially, then it'll be gone when he retires. those of us who "gayly hate soccer for no reason" far outnumber the "open minds" of the others. it's pretty much a non-story so that american soccer enthusiasts can get hopeful that the rest of the country wakes up. most of the country will barely notice this even happened. maximum peak from this is 5 years long, if we watch for the rest of his career. it's pele2, except the sequels are always worse.

[:bang:]

hey do you like or know anything about soccer? i can never tell

[Dead Nigga Storage]

it's called realism. i don't like soccer, but i also have no reason to wish ill-will upon its american perception. i just don't see some noteworthy turnaround happening, same as dan and most every friend i know who has heard of it, regardless of whether or not they like soccer.

don't need to know soccer well to know whether or not the country will suddenly love it because of beckham.

[kuumuus]

no one is talking about this at all around here. i'm gonna have to agree with my fellow "gayly hates soccer for no reason" comrade, dns

[:bang:]

look, you are looking at this all wrong

becks isnt going to lead a revolution, and its not pele all over again. its an incrimental increase we are going for here. average mls game on espn was 275k people, which isnt much.

mls needs stars, legitimacy and publicity. got all 3. their on field product needs some spicing up too, and bringing in other aging stars will help this. they arent going to make that much, though. $10 mill a year is a bargain and the league will grow. its not going to be baseball but in 10 years it could be hockey. league has new, rich owners, a new tv contract and the opportunity to get (on a free transfer no less) a huge star a great ambassador. great move

[Dead Nigga Storage]

and i just don't see any of that happening. that's where we differ. sure, the league, IF it is going to improve, both on the field and in the stands, needs to be getting players like beckham, but that is ONLY assuming that the league can be helped...it's assuming that the fanbase is capable of increasing and that the MLS hasn't maxed out on potential as is. and while hockey would be an improvement (yikes) 10 years down the line, that really says alot about where it is now. hockey can't avoid lockouts, can't generate very much in fan attendance, and for a while was getting lower ESPN ratings than bowling (no joke). if we're banking on a steady stream of aging european soccer players to come over here, i can see it creating a novelty factor of some sort for a few, but i can never see people in this country getting that worked up over it. the popularity of the "big 3" already safely consumes an entire calendar year without TOO much overlap, and i don't know if the attention span will ever cross over to a 4th/5th sport.

[:bang:]

hockey's (another sport you know nothing about) problem was no cap. mls has always had one. plus, they pay the players not the owners

your whole premise is that soccer is hopeless in america, so mls shouldnt even try. great we, get it, go back to complaining about the angels of anaheim or whatever

[Dead Nigga Storage]

you can cut the condescending "you know nothing about any sport" angle anytime now, because it's wearing out. "lol" isn't a real rebuttal to an argument, and we're all aware of the fact that you like baiting me, so yeah.

and you're right about me and hockey in one respect: i can't name 5 current players, and might not be able to name all the teams from memory (although i've HEARD of them all). that doesn't mean i'm somehow completely unaware of its popularity in this country, and it's not just an issue from the lockout. even when the rangers were in the cup back in '94, it's popularity PALED in comparison to the other big sports. even before the lockout in '04, it's t.v. ratings on ABC were lower than bowling matches. and now it's major carrier for games is the OLN. didn't a team recently file for bankruptcy protection, too? i may not know stats, stars, and standings, but i can tell you whether or not its popular in the states without bias, and it really just isn't.

and no, i'm not saying soccer shouldn't try, or that all is hopeless. i'm just trying to take the realistic approach, and that is that david beckham playing out the last days of his career in los angeles for a sport that has never had popularity beyond a couple years or months at a time, isn't going to change a whole lot. i wouldn't mind in the least if it got more popular, even if it wouldn't change my personal perceptions of the sport. but i just don't think that the efforts are going to work. sure it's worth a TRY, and it's not going to hurt (never said either point to the contrary), but in the end, i don't see it working.

[:bang:]

yeah i like baiting you, because lols generally come about, especially when you drone one and act oh so certain about sports you ADMIT you know nothing about

[gravymaster]

lol

[Dead Nigga Storage]

yeah i like baiting you, because lols generally come about, especially when you drone one and act oh so certain about sports you ADMIT you know nothing abouti admit that i know nothing about stats, player names, etc. that doesn't somehow make me oblivious as to whether or not the sport's popularity is floundering or stagnant. two different things. you carrying the argument on as long as you have has more to do with the fact that is me than it does with whether or not you disagree.

[:bang:]

really? which teams are floundering in the mls? what course of action do you suggest for the long term solvancy of the league? what do you think of the sale of dempsey to fulham?

i carry on the argument because i like soccer, and you like to be absurd about soccer

[Dead Nigga Storage]

the popularity of the game of soccer, not the individual franchises. you're being equally fucking absurd by completely ignoring or changing what i say to fit your needs while completely disregarding the possibility of this move doing absolutely nothing. none of those talking points have anything to do with the american perception on soccer, which is the ONLY point i've argued. this isn't even me being absurd about soccer. it's not me rambling about how i think it's boring, and how i hate watching it and blah blah. it's a very simple argument that you've tried to change around, and it boils down to this: americans have never watched soccer for any substantial period of time. i don't see that changing. nor does dan, or kuumuus. many of the people i know seem to think likewise, even my soccer watching friends. i'm not being absurd about soccer. i'm trying to take an unbiased, realistic approach because i don't even CARE if it becomes popular. i just think it won't. christ.

edit: for everyone's sake, i'm done with the thread. final thing is this simple: don't care about soccer or its popularity, but i don't see any substantial or sustained popularity arising out of this. all i was ever saying on the issue, all i'm gonna say on the issue. bye.

[Jeff]

That's a ridiculous amount of money.. my goodness.

[smyce]

I think the MLS needs only to get the average soccer fan, not the average sports fan in order to succeed. I am a soccer fan but could care less about MLS same as people I know who care and watch soccer. I would estimate they are more soccer fans in the USA than that watch MLS games on television.

Attendance has been up at games but TV ratings suck. Bringing in names like Beckham and legtiamizing the league may not get average sports fans to watch, but it will get average soccer fans to watch.

Beckham is just a start. If this should succeed, then other players will follow. Once the MLS product gets better, it will spark interest of fans of other leagues. It wont be as big as it is in any other country, but it can have a substantially larger fan base. Their is a fan base in the US that will watch soccer. It just needs to tap into that.

[:bang:]

right. incrimental change.

which i see now will totally never work. cause kuumus said so

[pat]

correct me if i'm wrong, but isn't soccer in america more popular than it's ever been? i mean, it's still behind the four (three?) major sports, but it's on the rise. can't see how beckham coming to the states won't do anything but help the upward momentum even more.

[Jeff]

Without a doubt we can see attendance rating and TV ratings go up next season, as MLS Soccer has been on the rise and with the arrival of Beckham will only help. Granted, don't expect MLS Soccer to be one of the "top" Sports in the US for a while, Soccer itself is pretty popular to the average sports fan here though just not MLS.

[Dead Nigga Storage]

correct me if i'm wrong, but isn't soccer in america more popular than it's ever been?I BLAME THE MEXICANS COMING IN

[Timothy]

Soccer versus hockey as professional sports, I think hockey is more on the rebound than soccer is. Hockey has an already established history in the US, whether the majority of Americans can believe that or not. Soccer in the US is riding the wave of newfound popularity that the World Cup brought (as well as the notoriety from the stories of drunken fans rioting, ZIDANE HEADBUTT, etc.) but how long will that lost? The Beckham signing might bring popularity, but where? Not middle America or the South.

I could see soccer attracting most of its popularity and revenues even from major cities, and the coasts, but aside from that, professional soccer fills a niche. Anything other than that........the popularity isn't there.

Hockey on the other hand, in my eyes, is seeing a resurgence. The Nielson ratings certainly don't back that up, but attendance across the board is going up, and the game itself is much improved since pre-lockout. I've always been a Rangers fan, and find myself enjoying hockey games more and more..

[Toli]

Those bastards. Pay me to go to l.a.

[kuumuus]

right. incrimental change.

which i see now will totally never work. cause kuumus said so

totally!

[smyce]

I've always been a Rangers fan

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a55/smyce/Rangers.jpg
:thumbsup

[:bang:]

only thing better would be if they would have done this right after the world cup

i've been hearing that reyna is coming back and maybe mcbride too. should be interesting

becks is sitting the rest of the season in madrid: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aCBa0jK_2NiI&refer=us

sounds like they are hinting at letting him leave in april