Comments on: Does “The Beckham Experiment” Prove Wahl’s Thesis?

By: Magnakai Haaskivi

Magnakai Haaskivi — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:29:58 +0000

The most interesting thing is that, now that the Galaxy are in the playoffs, there’s still next to no additional MLS coverage in the mainstream press regarding the sport. Beckham or no Beckham, you still can’t make people who don’t care care just by adding one guy.

MLS really needs to learn this lesson, too, because it didn’t happen with Freddie Ljungberg and it won’t with Thierry Henry. American soccer fans have such a tenuous relationship with the sport that they probably hadn’t heard of Ljungberg and have maybe only sort of heard of Henry. They’re a novelty act, not the main attraction, and once the novelty wears off you’re still left with a substandard product.

By: Eric

Eric — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:28:34 +0000

Yeah, tosser definitely implies malicious intent and the one thing Beckham’s friends and foes agree on is that he’s a nice guy.

Fantastic column, I second jjf3′s entire response. Good for highlighting how Donovan might have felt when the guy who coined the Adidas “impossible is nothing” catch-phrase arrived in his (previous) safety zone.

Its interesting that I’ve heard Donovan, in interviews, mention Beckham’s positive impact since arrival on his own game and attitude — fitness, focus, commitment — as well as the personal support Beckham gave him when he was in Germany last year. But that was completely drowned out by what Wahl did and did not choose to include in his book, from a series of interviews that took place during the lowest moment in Donovan’s club career, and what Donovan chose to emphasize following its publication.

Fair enough for people to criticize Beckham for his obvious frustration level and dip in form during the second half of last season, all players are open to criticism. But anyone who thinks its a coincidence that Donovan scored a career high number of goals, by a long shot, during Beckham’s only full season with the Galaxy is kidding themselves. If I were part of the Galaxy attack I would be paying a lot more attention to what Beckham brought me on the field than at the bar.

By: Magnakai Haaskivi

Magnakai Haaskivi — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 12:18:44 +0000

I would actually tend to agree with you, just based on feel. If you’re going to write an entire book about how big a tosser he is, though, than he actually needs to come off as one to make it work. In the book, he kind of comes off as a little stupid, perhaps a little clueless as to the mechanisms that’ve been put in place around him, but not generally as a bad guy with malicious intent.

By: Adam

Adam — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 03:20:48 +0000

Shhh…don’t give him any ideas, if he became a member of the media the rest of us would need to start posting a whole lot more.

By: Drunk with Lust

Drunk with Lust — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 02:33:13 +0000

I do believe my much more versed in footy acquaintance, Tha Quizmastah*, would suggest Becks’s is a bit of a tosser. So, I don’t think Landycakes or Wahl is too far off.

*Englishman in good standing, though betrothed to a Fox Valley gal, & West Ham supporter.

By: jjf3

jjf3 — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 01:06:33 +0000

No, no, no, Mags, this is much too:
1) nuanced
2) thoughtful
3) intelligent
4) balanced
5) and involved the use of critical thought…

This has already de-volved into:
Beckham = arrogant manipulative prick who pissed on LA
Donovan = the aggrieved priss without the balls to play overseas or talk to Beckham directly, but the balls to talk to a guy writing a book (OK, that’s my view – probably more like “aggrieved captain in good standing who was wronged”).

Stick to the proper script, and you could work for the MSM soon…

By: The Rookies » Blog Archive » Last Call: Moving Day

The Rookies » Blog Archive » Last Call: Moving Day — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 22:17:09 +0000

[...] Examining The Beckham Experiment. (Avoiding the Drop) [...]