****Official Beckham Mania Thread****

[Victor]

becks didnt seem to favor his ankle and passed very well. i got the sense that his mates were very willing to play off him and use him as an escape valve. the game def flowed better for the galaxy when db came on.

this is no minor thing bc generally the quality of play in mls is atrocious and consists of kicking and running and hoping the other team [censored] up. was def nice to see the gax string some passes together and db was the catalyst.

on the negative i didnt see becks make a single challenge or tackle in 20min. hell, he wouldnt even close on an opponent, simply drifting off 6-8 yards and letting the guy pick out a pass. for a central mid that is simply unacceptable and makes it clear hes not ready for play.

[Pinchot]

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No bump for him playing against DCU? First MLS game action, McClaren was on hand to "see the quality of play in MLS" or something like that. About 47k fans on hand for the game.

DC went up 1-0 and held on to win by that score. Kyle Martino got sent off with a red in the 67th minute and Beckham came in shortly thereafter playing the last 20-25 minutes. He didn't seem to favor his ankle at all, and was moving very well. Looked a little rusty on some plays, but made a few very good passes including one free kick that almost led to a goal and another to Donovan that took a diving challenge from the keeper to stop a breakaway.

Hopefully he recovers well from today and is able to play again Sunday. However, I wouldn't be surprised to see him sit it out since it's at NE which means it's on turf. I don't However, I would expect to see him play every game after that unless he reinjures it.

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I was at the game tonight, crazy atmosphere. The skies opened up in the middle of the 2nd half and it was pouring for about 15-20 minutes. DC United supporters were in rare form and were displaying signs including "We Sing Better Than Your Wife" and "Where's the Olsen Cam?".

The reaction when Beckham came in was very mixed. Definitely got some cheers from the casual fans. The regular DC United fans booed him for the most part. Flashes were going off all over the stadium as he entered the game.

When he was on the field I didn't notice him too much. Played a few long balls but other than that, nothing of note. I'm glad he got into the game though.

[mmbt0ne]

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on the negative i didnt see becks make a single challenge or tackle in 20min. hell, he wouldnt even close on an opponent, simply drifting off 6-8 yards and letting the guy pick out a pass. for a central mid that is simply unacceptable and makes it clear hes not ready for play.

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I think that's partly true, but the fact they were playing a man down also factored into it. He's not good enough defensively to go balls out man to man on a player like Fred or Emilio.

[ThaSaltCracka]

glad his debut is over with, for his sake and for the leagues sake. beckham can now go about his business. Not surprised he played 21 minutes. I doubt he starts next game either, but will probably play 20 minutes again. He's not match fit. Been off for, what, 2 months now?

[ThaSaltCracka]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...080902422.html

Wilbon article on last night.

[ThaSaltCracka]

Commentary on Becks


Interesting quote added at the end:

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IMPORTANT UPDATE: From a Sports Business Journal story by Bog friend John Ourand:

When Beckham finally entered the game in the 72nd minute, ESPN kept a camera on the Englishman at all times, cutting to him frequently, even when he didn't have the ball. ESPN Senior Coordinating Producer Tim Scanlan says viewers should not expect as much Beckham coverage in the Galaxy's next game on the network, next Thursday against Chivas USA. "Tonight, we were much more aggressive with the Beckham-cam," Scanlan said. "He was making his MLS debut. He was the story tonight." Scanlan said ESPN will adhere to MLS requests that its telecasts do not remain all-Beckham-all-the-time. "We don't want to create the Tiger Woods effect when it comes to Beckham, when fans think it's not worth watching if he's not in the game," he said.

So that's good.

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[ThaSaltCracka]

Beckham ratings bump


Over half a million viewers watched the game while Beckham was playing. Pretty good numbers considering the he came on around 5:30ish PST, so a lot of people were still coming home from work. Still, pretty crazy.

[ThaSaltCracka]

Landy cakes losing his lollypop

Looks like we could have some beef soon. Hahahahaha, excellent.

[mmbt0ne]

Whatever. Landon won't be on the Galaxy next year either way.

Either he's going to leave for another unsuccessful shot at Europe or he'll go back to the reborn San Jose franchise, where he used to be a star, as their DP.

[ThaSaltCracka]

haha, yeah I saw his quote that he liked to play in England. I doubt that will happen, but maybe. He's a cocky little [censored] though, isn't he?