‘Egypt Hearts Becks’: Notes from David Beckham’s MLS Debut
Travel Blog • Michael Yessis • 08.10.07 | 1:31 PM ET
Photos by Michael Yessis.
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.
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Michael Yessis is the cofounder and coeditor-in-chief of World Hum.
TambourineMan 08.11.07 | 3:51 PM ET
So did you root for DC or LA?
I await your answer, traitor.
Michael Yessis 08.12.07 | 6:09 PM ET
I cheered for the losers, of course.
TambourineMan 08.12.07 | 6:17 PM ET
Ok. Just checking. I know what a big Wizards-Nationals-Capitals fan you are these days.
Girls Aloud Tickets 04.10.08 | 5:57 PM ET
David Beckham is the only reason I started watching football games. As a girl I detested seeing my friends gathering for a game on the green field. Now I’m there for every game of David’s.
nfl electric football 07.15.08 | 10:24 AM ET
David Beckham might be grossly over rated as a football but he sure knows how to present himself..!