David Beckham Brings Viewers and Credibility to U.S. Soccer

The exhibition between the LA Galaxy and Chelsea in July gave a glimpse at the impact that David Beckham is going to have on professional soccer in the US. With ESPN and Nielson confirming that just under one million people watched the exhibition at which Beckham was predominantly a spectator, the game was the most viewed major league soccer telecast in the ten year history of the league. With soccer rated in the lower tier of professional sports, the future looks bright for a league with its first international superstar in it.

Fifteen years ago, professional soccer in the United States was an exercise in futility as leagues like Major Indoor Soccer League and others were unable to survive longer than one or two seasons. With the best players in the nation choosing to compete in leagues overseas, the game of professional soccer never captured an audience of its own to rival that of the other major professional sports. With Major League Soccer's LA Galaxy recently signing a $250 million contract with international soccer star David Beckham, one has to wonder if one of the world's best has the ability to do what no one else has. And that is, make soccer a relevant, major professional sport.

David Beckham has spent the last fifteen years as one of the world's greatest soccer players and sports figures. In 2002 and 2003, he was the most recognized sports figure internationally. Having played for Real Madrid and Manchester United, David Beckham was a perennial all-star and World Cup participant for England, being their captain in their last two appearances. Even at the age of 32, David Beckham is still one of the game's most electrifying players. That electricity is part of the reason the LA Galaxy brought him to the States. Against the backdrop of the European Leagues where soccer is king, playing before nearly a hundred thousand fans was the norm. Not so in Major League Soccer where David Beckham will have to adjust to a league where the average attendance is closer to 25,000. But that may be changing. If David Beckham's press conference when he arrived in the US was any indication, as five thousand Beckham fans arrived to say hello to the Galaxy's newest player and the league's first real superstar.

The game of soccer in the United States has always taken a back seat to the established major professional sports like the National Football League, Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, and professional golf's two leagues (USGA and PGA). Those five leagues are the preeminent sports leagues in the country. Underneath them are a host of leagues that capture a smaller audience. The National Hockey League, Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts, and the United States Tennis Association are all secondary major sports, of which Major League Soccer is a part.

While the major professional sports leagues are rich in revenues and attendance, the minor professional sports struggle to build an audience and brand of its own, succumbing to being a second-class league. And with that distinction has come a television contract that is neither as beneficial nor profitable as those had by the major professional sports. Soccer has suffered like its brethren to build a league with solid talent but little fan support and apparel income. It is sources of income like apparel that have been the bread and butter of leagues like the National Football League where apparel licenses authenticate the quality of a product sold with an NFL team on its label.

When you look at Major League Soccer against the other professional sports leagues you find that in addition to a lack of audience, brand, and revenues there are some fundamental facts that may be the reasons why Major League Soccer has never been able to compete for the attention of the numbers of people as the National Football League or Major League Baseball. When you look at high school sports, football, basketball, and baseball are where the best players play. In college, the funding and the focus go to those same three sports. It was not until the last ten years and the explosion of Tiger Woods that golf became a mainstream sport. With those facts, it seems simple to understand why Major League Soccer has been unable to build a national following. It never had one to begin with.

When men think of football, they think of Ray Lewis knocking someone out or LaDanian Tomlinson making would-be tacklers lose their jock straps trying to tackle him. When they think of baseball, they see Alex Rodriguez hitting towering homeruns out of Yankee Stadium. When they think of basketball, they see Michael Jordan flying or Shaquille O'Neal dunking. But when they think of soccer, they think of nothing. There is no image that resonates with the men that make professional sports go. If anything, the one soccer image they have is of Brandi Chastain pulling her shirt off after scoring that final goal during the World Cup in the 90s. That distinction will be something that David Beckham has to deal with as he engrosses himself in American soccer. No longer will he play before rabid fans as he did in Europe where a soccer match resembled American football in fervor and enthusiasm.

But the question remains, can David Beckham make Major League Soccer relevant? The LA Galaxy certainly hope so. They have signed Beckham to the largest contract in Major League Soccer history with the purpose of making Beckham and the league relevant in the minds of sports fans. One thing in their favor is, when David Beckham suits up for the Galaxy in August for his first game the one entity needed for relevancy will be there. ESPN is certainly going to be there and any time Beckham scores or does something spectacular it will be on the SportsCenter highlight show. With the audience that ESPN has if they want to make something relevant, putting it on their network will do it.

Up until five years ago, no one thought of poker as a sport. That was until ESPN broadcast the World Series of Poker. Now, it has reached cult-like status with viewers tuning in to watch a game built around decision-making and very little athletic prowess. ESPN, the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network wields immense power and control in what is relevant. Moreso than David Beckham ever could. But if you put Beckham on SportsCenter, Major League Soccer benefits.

So tune in this fall. If you see David Beckham, you will see Major League Soccer. It is the only way the game will be played.