How David Beckham has boosted "soccer" in America

The arrival of David Beckham at the Los Angeles Galaxy team a couple of years ago may not have provided much success for the club itself, but it has certainly raised the profile of the “beautiful game” in the United States.

Beckham and Posh brought together the VIP celebrity culture and the higher echelons of the footballing world in a way that had never been seen before in America. Before his arrival (in fact even now), the top American footballers could only dream of earning a fraction of the astronomical figures bandied about when Beckham’s overall wages are mentioned.

But still, he seems to have had the desired impact of raising the game at grassroots level, as well as in the celebrity world. This was emphasised by the massive crowds on show when Chelsea, AC Milan and Inter Milan appeared in the States for a pre-season tournament. Every game was played in front of a sell-out crowd. I seem to remember over 100,000 being at one match involving Chelsea, dwarfing the numbers seen at pre-season games even in England.

The rise in the popularity of “soccer” has also seen a rise in the blogs and fan-sites appearing in the States, and a few have caught my eye recently as they seem to have a completely different way of looking at football than the English natives. Maybe we should change it to “soccer” too, it might change our attitudes!

I particularly like the strangely named AmongTheThugs (a reference to a book by American writer Bill Bruford about UK hooligans from the nineties i believe, although it is not mentioned on the site). This is a site set up by six West Coast football fans, who between them support five different English teams, and they have a delightfully humorous outlook on the football scene in England. No-one is safe from their jibes and i find myself regularly checking back to see who their jokes are aimed at next.

They have recently asked why Carlo Ancelotti would deliberately throw a game against Wigan which i found quite amusing, and they projected a new eye protection for Van Persie to wear when he next faces Adebayor!

Another one that tickled me is the comparison of Carlos Tevez to a Caveman! You have to see them to get the jokes, so go over and have a look. You will not be disappointed. The good-natured ribbing of the teams supported by the other writers is something you just don’t get in angry old England! If you are into soccer and like a laugh, check it out, you won’t be disappointed with AmongTheThugs!