I sort of knew that there'd be some publicity surrounding David Beckham's arrival in Los Angeles for the Galaxy, but I hadn't grasped how big it would be. Or how distorted a view of Beckham the average American has.
Each American I talked to about Beckham seemed to think that Beckham was essentially Pele all over again. Each of them was surprised when I explained that Beckham has never even been the best player on any of the teams he's been on, let alone the best player in the world.
Granted none of these folks was a soccer fan or cared that much, but that's the point. These are the people that the MLS is hoping to attract - sports fans and others who, the league hopes, will pay attention to the MLS. But, if Beckham can't lift the league it will be a big media bust and that's all anyone will know about it.
