Is Beckham a Jerk or do I just not Understand Soccer?

July 20, 2009 SoItGoes 18 comments

So last night David Beckham returned to the LA Galaxy for their much publicised home game against AC Milan, and it was not quite the return I’m sure he was hoping to get. Evidently some of the fans were not too pleased with him not wanting to play the first half of the season with the LA Galaxy in order to stay over in Europe and play on his other team which coincidental was AC Milan.

One section of the crowd known as the “LA Riot Squad” booed him vehemently and held many signs letting them know just how they felt about him only playing half the season with their team. These signs included such pleasantries as:

Go Home Fraud
Hey Becks, Here before you, Here after you, Here despite you
Is evil something you do or something you are

At one point during the half time break David Beckham walked toward that area of the field and did not like what one fan was saying to the point that he suggested that fan step onto the field with him. When the fan attempted to do so he was apprehended by the police and taken away. When later asked about the incident Beckham said:

“One of the guys was saying things that wasn’t very nice. It was stepping over the line,” Beckham said. “I said, `You need to calm down and come shake my hand,’ and he jumped over.”

I’ll be honest for me the most surprising thing about this story is I never knew anyone in the US cared enough about soccer to get so upset over Beckham spurring their team! It is kind of cool in a way to know folks would go to that extreme.

So you people who watch soccer is what he did normal? As a Yankee fan if during the middle of the season Derek Jeter said he was going to play the first half of the year for a Japanese team and then come back for the second half that would not sit very well with me. I guess they do this in soccer though? How do you keep a team together if the whole team is not playing the entire season together?

I understand Beckham not wanting to play for the Galaxy because the competition level is far inferior to that of the European clubs, but he had to have known that when he did this right? He is getting paid a LOT of money and my first instinct is to assume he should be playing the entire year with the Galaxy.

Maybe there is a good reason and this is just part of the game I don’t understand, but if it is someone in the sports world needs to explain this to the average sports fan in America because our sports teams don’t work this way.