Delusions of grandeur

Professional American soccer has done it again and has decided that buying marquee names (or one name, anyway) is the way to make the sport a major league in the US. At the risk of exposing my complete lack of understanding, I'll say that paying $250 million in salary and endorsements for David Beckham to come to Major League Soccer is a bad idea.

Beckham is far more a celebrity than soccer deity these days. He's lost his spot on the English national team, for goodness sake. And if you want to get current non-soccer fans excited about the sport, watching a pretty boy stroll up and down the right sideline, taking the occasional free kick and corner kick, is not really going to turn them on. You can imagine the way a non-basketball fan could appreciate or enjoy Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, or Kobe Bryant taking over a game and leading a team with brilliance. Beckham won't do that for soccer.

As for current soccer fans, this seems to suggest that MLS doesn't understand the sport. The league and the Galaxy are paying top dollar for a player who has underperformed for the last few years on one of the premier teams in the world, chock-full of talent and expected to win major titles. Is taking on the Kansas City Wiz, matched with players who - no disrespect - aren't near as good as his former teammates, really going to bring out the legendary Becks? I hope I'm wrong, but I have to guess "no". If MLS doesn't get that, then as a fan of the sport (versus of a local team), why don't I just watch real, top-quality soccer from overseas on cable?

I expect this has to spill over to the players, too. Of course there's always resentment of someone getting a big paycheck, but when it seems to be profoundly disconnected from on-field performance, it will be deeper and wider.

Perhaps most disturbing about this is that I had thought that MLS was adopting a humbler, more realistic, and more sustainable goal by trying to be a successful, second-tier league. Most obviously, the league has been building smaller (~25k-seat) stadiums, designed to be filled for soccer, versus echoing in vast football stadiums. Gambling on Beckham looks like the opposite strategy.

Versus spending loads on one questionable player - and I should note, I don't know that there is any single player in the world today who could do for US soccer what MLS seems to want - I'd have rather seen MLS push for stronger relationships with marquee international clubs. Yes, whisper it, I'm talking about MLS being a minor league of farm teams to Real Madrid, Bayern Munchen, Arsenal, etc (and as the league may have done with Chivas USA). Oh, but what about the good players then going overseas to play? Many do already, and will continue as long as the big money and talent is there. Better to have a system where you get to see the talented players early in their careers, fighting for a shot at the big time. And MLS could strike a good deal, to ensure they got real candidates on the teams, not just a dumping ground. After all, the world may scorn US soccer, but you know those teams love US consumerism and would be delighted to see us snapping up more merch.