Beckham another bright light in L.A.
Peers hopeful newest Galaxy injects life into MLS
From Hollywood Boulevard to Figueroa Street, Los Angeles has seen its share of mega-watt stars plug in to make a town already awash in light even brighter.
Yet there they were Friday, giddy as schoolchildren, giving the latest sports superstar a hero's welcome as the David Beckham era officially dawned.
Fans cheered, reporters scribbled and executives calculated but everyone wondered where exactly this road will lead.
Beckham said he's just here to help.
"It's not about one player on the team. It is about 11 players on the team and more than 11 players," Beckham said. "It proved that in '99 with Manchester United and it proved that last year in Real Madrid. It is not just about me, it is about the whole squad."
See the Galaxy in actionNomar Garciaparra, Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman and husband of two-time FIFA Women's World Player of the Year Mia Hamm, knows teamwork produces the ultimate result but said Beckham should help Americans appreciate the game.
"What he can do with his right foot is unbelievable. It's a beautiful thing to watch," Garciaparra said. "It's not that he'll score three goals a game. I hope people don't expect that. It will be the little things he does that are so difficult to do that he makes look so easy. I wonder if people will understand how difficult those things are to do."
L.A. has had its share of major sports stars.
Wilt Chamberlain came to the Lakers in 1968, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did as well in 1975 and Shaquille O'Neal came calling in 1996. All three added championships to the city's trophy case.
A pair of stars that need no introduction, Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant, helped in the aforementioned run while the University of Southen California's Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush recently captured the college football scene.
Perhaps the greatest acquisition of an established star the city experienced, though, was the arrival of Wayne Gretzky from the Edmonton Oilers in a surprise trade that moved the Great One to tears but moved the NHL to ultimately expand throughout the U.S.
Gretzky helped skate the Kings to their lone Stanley Cup appearance, when they lost to the Montreal Canadiens in 1993. But before Gretzky became a King, there were no Ducks or Lightning yet both franchises, Anaheim this past season and Tampa Bay in 2004, have won two of the last three Cups.
Whether or not Beckham leads the Galaxy to a title and catapults Major League Soccer the way Gretzky did for the NHL remains to be seen. But those within the organization see nothing but the growth for their sport.
"There's going to be a billion-dollar impact," said Tim Leiweke, president and chief executive of AEG, the Galaxy's parent company. "No question about it."
While Beckham will be somewhat of a focal point for the success of his sport in the U.S. over the next few seasons (he's signed a five-year contract) he'll also be competing in his own town for headlines.
Both the Dodgers and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim head into the second half of the season at or near the top of their respective divisions. By the end of the MLS season, college football and the NHL will be in full swing while the NBA will be close to opening its season.
But for the league to make a splash and break through that consciousness, it needs a breakthrough star.
Angels shortstop Orlando Cabrera feels Beckham can be that player and said the move is the best since bringing Pele to play for the Cosmos in the North American Soccer League in the '70s.
"I think it's going to help the league a lot," Cabrera said. "There are a lot of Latinos, South Americans living in the U.S. that follow the league a lot. Now, with Beckham it's more people getting to (see) that stuff. David can attract other players to come down here, too."
Garciaparra agrees.
"He has that star quality. I hope he can help people understand what soccer is about," Garciaparra said. "The league has improved year after year and he can help it get even better. It's definitely a step in the right direction."
Closer to home are those within MLS, who know they have a viable product that is on the cusp of breaking out. What they see is piece of the puzzle, albeit an integral one.
"First off, our sport and our league doesn't need a savior. It doesn't need to be saved. What it does need is an injection and a moment of truth the way any other product needs and this is about as big and bold as you can possibly get," said Galaxy president and general manager Alexi Lalas."
MLS Commissioner Don Garber agrees and hopes the hype fades so Beckham can become more a member of the community and less a fixture of the front page.
"I want this to settle in to a routine where David comes to practice, goes to games," Garber said. "He can go out to dinner with his family. He can have a nice life here in Los Angeles so that his experience can be one that can be replicated by other players. If this hype continues the way it is today, then it's going to be difficult for everybody to manage."
Beckham is well aware that Pele helped create a stir in New York but did little for the sport elsewhere in the U.S. Thirty years have passed and he sees a better foundation.
"The league is much more stable and that is why I think it is a good time for me to come over here and be an ambassador and try and push the sport to another level," Beckham said.
If that were to happen under his watch, the Beckham star could prove to be the brightest of them all.
Mike Scarr is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs. Ken Gurnick and Larry Santana also contributed to this report.
