Since making his landmark leap across the Atlantic to Major League Soccer last year, David Beckham has sold an eye-popping 300,000 Galaxy jerseys. And a huge number of those were in the stands at McAfee Coliseum on Saturday night.
Along with a huge number of something else that isn’t usually in the Oakland stands: warm bodies.
A crowd of 39,872 - the largest home crowd in Earthquakes history - turned out to see the world’s most famous athlete. Beckham drew more fans to Oakland than Derek Jeter. More than Big Papi and the Boston Red Sox. More than the A’s drew during the 2006 American League championship series. Because while that event wasn’t deemed important enough for Lew Wolff’s organization to remove the tarps from the Coliseum’s third deck, Beckham’s arrival was worth it.
That’s how big Beckham is. He can make the tarps come down in Oakland.
The soccer game against the struggling Earthquakes - a 3-0 Galaxy rout that marked the sixth time the Earthquakes have been shut out this season - was a break in Beckham’s busy schedule. In the past week, he has been courtside at Lakers games with Justin Timberlake; at Disneyland with the family in tow; and on the Jimmy Kimmel show.
He has embraced the California lifestyle, from Mickey Mouse to Kobe Bryant. And he isn’t just limiting himself to the Southland. Next week, he’ll be in San Francisco’s Union Square selling skimpy underwear.
He recently bought a Napa vineyard as a gift to his wife Victoria.
“We’re big red wine fans,” Beckham said. “It’s nice to take the kids down there in the harvest. Napa’s beautiful so we’ll be there more - I’m just not going to say when.”
He’s Mr. California. All that’s missing is surfing - something he did on a Pepsi commercial a few years back. It’s exhausting being David Beckham.
But not so much on the soccer field. He spent a lot of Saturday trotting along on the wing, observing the action. But when he is involved, his play appears effortless compared with the choppy work of his teammates and opponents.
Beckham, even at 33, is operating on a higher plane than the rest of the MLS - an unflattering contrast that is the flip side of selling all those jerseys.
“I think the standard is higher than a lot of people talk about,” Beckham said, generously, of MLS play.
Last year, Beckham showed up, turned the Galaxy into a circus and immediately got hurt. His impact on the field was a question mark.
This year, his impact is obvious. His presence has put the Galaxy in first place. When he was away playing for England, the Galaxy was shut out in Toronto. But when No. 23 is on the field, the team has a swagger and the goals come easily.
In the sixth minute Saturday night, Beckham chipped a pass to teammate Josh Tudela, who nicely headed it back to forward Edson Buddle, who shot past Earthquakes keeper Joe Cannon. Good work by his teammates but it doesn’t happen without Beckham’s touch and delivery.
It might have been the most hodge-podge roster Beckham has been on since he was in short pants. Among the missing were Landon Donovan, absent because he will start tomorrow in the United States’ first World Cup qualifier, against Barbados in Carson. Carlos Ruiz is with the Guatemalan national team for World Cup qualifying. So Beckham was playing with “the others” - the Galaxy players who fill out the roster with what little is left under the Galaxy’s strained salary cap.
You would never mistake either team in Saturday’s match for Netherlands in Euro 2008 (Beckham expressed physical illness over the fact that England didn’t qualify for the European Championships, calling it “a disaster”).
But Buddle - in his eighth year in the league - stole Beckham’s spotlight. Given a start, he ended up with a hat trick, his second of the season.
“Edson’s finishing tonight showed what a quality player he is,” Beckham said, adding that he tries to be a teacher as well as a teammate. Clearly, some of his young teammates are listening.
The Earthquakes had a few scoring chances but never really found an offensive rhythm. They have been out of sorts in both games in Oakland. That didn’t deter the crowd though.
While many showed up to see The Famous One, they also took the chance to boo Beckham on every set piece. The fans were mostly loyal to the Earthquakes.
When Beckham left the field he waved to the fans. He stripped off his jersey and handed it to a small girl. He posed for pictures. No one left until he exited.
“Our goal is to take advantage of this,” said Earthquakes executive vice president David Alioto. “If we can convert some people, one Beckham game at a time, that’s what we’re looking for.”
Of course, it would help if the Earthquakes did their part to help convert fans. But at least they can say they played in Oakland with the tarps off.
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Check out the gallery for MQ pics of the match. HQ pics coming!
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