L.A. meets Becks

Yesterday I ditched summer school to attend the "unveiling" of the Galaxy's new player (and savior?) David Beckham. The event was open to season-ticket holders. I also went so I could get my hands on a new jersey - we changed colors and logo to welcome our $250 million midfielder.

Side note: I was once asked why I use "we" and "us" and "our" when talking about the Galaxy when I don't play for the team and am not employed by the team. Well, there are two answers: #1- I have probably given this team somewhere in the area of 5,000 of my hard-earned dollars in the last 6 years or so (season tickets, 6 jerseys, extra tickets, hats, scarves, t-shirts, beer) which I consider a pretty heavy investment. #2- You are obviously not much of a sports fan if you ask that question and shouldn't be bothering me with such quibbles.

Back to the point: So I got to the Home Depot Center, bought two new jerseys (without Beckham's name) and one t-shirt that looks like a jersey (which has a big 23 and Beckham on the back). Needless to say, there are a crapload of people buying this stuff. Yesterday was supposed to be the first day that anybody saw these new uniforms. I saw a leaked picture about a month ago. Someone at Adidas leaked official pictures on Monday. So they released them in Sports Authority (exclusive rights to sell new Galaxy stuff) stores on Wednesday. From Wednesday to Friday there were 250,000 sold. That is how the Galaxy has already made back what we paid for Beckham.

Moving on. It was hotter than a mofo inside since we were seated in the one section of the stadium without shade. I have the sunglass tan only on the right side of my face to prove it. I join my regular gametime friends - the L.A. Riot Squad - and they are already singing and chanting. (also, many of them were in the parking lot before 8am drinking). There are cameras everywhere


This picture shows maybe a third of them.


Then Posh shows up. In case you live in a cave, Beckham is married to Spice Girl Victoria "Posh" Beckham. In any case, she is one skinny-ass chick. As you can tell from the picture, the camera guys like her a lot.

Eventually we got down to business and Becks came out. They showed him on the jumbotron (or whatever you call the giant scoreboard screen) walking out from the dressing room with music blaring. It was all very exciting and I'll admit that I got a little excited and maybe a little emotional (my eyes may have watered up a bit) but I'll explain this later.

Former player and current GM Alexi Lalas spoke, AEG Pres. Tim Liewiki(sp?) spoke, MLS Commissioner Don Garber spoke, and Galaxy Coach Frank Yallop spoke. Finally, they introduced Beckham officially and we all went nuts. They shot out a buttload of confetti and played some loud music while Becks posed with is new kit.

Oh, but it gets better. Of all the people in L.A. that love getting attention, but who should really avoid it right now, guess who showed up? Yep, Mayor Villaraigosa (or maybe its Villar again?). When he is introduced, the crowd boos. Don't believe me? Here's the video. Then, just as it got perfectly quiet, one of the Squad yells "is your girlfriend covering this?" There's no way he missed it. Hell, the comment even made the New York Times. Let me explain. First, obviously most of the heckling was directed at him for being a cheater. However, this douche showed up at the first Galaxy-ChivasUSA game with a Chivas jersey on, which is why most of us were giving him a hard time.

Finally, a comment. You might want to practice getting used to soccer in the U.S. It will take over. The World Cup final got better ratings than the World Series. Soccer is the #1 sport played by American children. The entire civilized world is now watching Galaxy games. The most recognizable face in the sports world plays here in the states.

Will David Beckham save the Galaxy? In a sense, he already has. However, in our last game, only 3 of the starters were with the team last year. One of those three joined in mid-season last year. 5 of the 11 starters were added in the last month. Now that becomes 6 of 11. This is a team that has been struggling. One player won't change that right away. Galaxy may not win the title this year. Beckham is not over-the-hill. He still starts for England. Only after being put back in the starting 11 did Real Madrid come back and win the Spanish title. He may not be in his prime, but he has showed that he can make an impact on a team.

Its going to be a fun ride and it starts Saturday with Beckham's debut against Chelsea. And I will have an extra ticket to three Galaxy games starting on September 23rd. Line up now with your bribes.