I’ve attended a German Bundesliga game in Hamburg, a Japanese J-League game in Osaka and a Mexico-Argentina friendly in Los Angeles, which, during 90 minutes of ”Si se puede” chants, could have passed for Mexico. The atmosphere at last night’s D.C. United-Los Angeles Galaxy match in Washington D.C.—the Major League Soccer debut of David Beckham—was equal to any of those games in electricity, sometimes greater. The three Brits sitting in front of us said it exceeded the atmosphere at most Premiership matches in England, where Beckham first made his name and gave birth to his global cult. 

Sure, the screaming girls made themselves heard when his face appeared on the video screen (pictured above), and cameras flashed even when Beckham stretched and duck-walked behind the bench of his new squad, the Galaxy. But for me, the highlight was the global experience.

Almost all major sports have gone global, of course. The National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League and Major League Baseball all have their share of international players. The world’s best players stock those leagues. Major League Soccer, too, has many international players. Yet, while basketball, baseball and hockey are, at their roots, North American sports, soccer—or, as the those three Brits at the game liked to remind me, football—is the world’s sport. The U.S. is famously behind when it comes to embracing it.

Last night, though, on a stormy night in a rickety stadium on the edge of an international city, the U.S. truly felt part of the global soccer community. I saw fans wearing jerseys emblazoned with the names Beckham and Cruyff and Ronaldinho and Olsen. Drumbeats and songs filled the air. The Brits took photos, beer in hand, to show their friends back home. A Brazilian scored the winning goal. Fans from Egypt proudly represented. 

Thank you, David Beckham, for helping make it happen.

Related on World Hum:
* Can Soccer Explain the World?
* ‘The Soccer People’: Heartbreak and Triumph in Clarkston, Georgia
* Soccer, Football or the Beautiful Game (Call it Whatever You Want): Three Great Books

Photos by Michael Yessis.