(Originally posted at The Brotherly Game. Please go over there to comment.)
After last night's 1-1 draw, one would think that the columns in today's newspapers would be focused on the positives Philadelphia Union. They battled an injury to their goalkeeper to manage to get their first point ever against the Los Angeles Galaxy, a team that features the most recognizable face in U.S. Soccer today, Landon Donovan. However, unfortunately aside from a pair of game stories and a good column from Bob Ford, the mainstream Philadelphia sports media spent the rest of their morning completely trashing soccer with little factual basis. Here is the first part of the most offensive of the column of the day, from John Gonzalez (a.k.a. Gonzo)
David Beckham didn't make the trip to Philadelphia. Five or six area soccer fans are still upset about that. The rest of you are almost certainly asking yourselves the same question right now: David Beckham was supposed to be in town?
Indeed. The L.A. Galaxy played the Union/Bimbos on Wednesday, but Beckham wasn't at PPL Park. No specific injury was cited as a reason for his absence. It's possible Beckham won't ever play professional soccer in Philly again. He's in the final season of a five-year contract. There's been speculation that he wants one last gig in Europe before he retires and becomes his wife's full-time Ken doll accessory. Those same five or six area soccer fans are probably angry that they missed what was possibly their last chance to see Beckham in person. And everyone else shrugs.
Sadly, he's slipped. His fellow Brits - who have always been fascinated by him and gave rise to his fame with their endless fanboy slobber - don't drool and obsess over Beckham quite as much now. The British tabloids have moved on to Pippa and other current curiosities. He's not even in the top 5 Davids on Google at the moment, trailing such other Davids in Internet search fame as David Yurman, David Foster, David Bowie (he's still alive), David Goetta, and David Letterman. Like Michelangelo's David, Posh Spice's David gets no online love these days.
Beckham's primary talent - ahead of his incredible ability to launch curved crosses into the box with pinpoint precision - was always getting attention. Now that's in question. His fleeting hold on the casual sports fan has long since relaxed, while his grip on the devoted soccer/football/futbol/foot-to-ball fan isn't nearly as tight anymore.
