Actually, as any follower of American soccer knows, the British have been heavily involved with the game here for a long time, most particularly following the arrival of the N.A.S.L. However David Beckham can still play, which is quite a bit more than almost all of the rest of them can say.

And unlike Beckham, who was quoted as wanting to bring the game to kids of America or some such thing, (A Soccer Star Heeds Lure Of Hollywood) (it’s the NY Times, so get it while you can!), they should know better.

They should know better because they make up the core group of people who have been coaching us and our kids for the last 30 years, just as they’ve been the ones writing much of what passes for soccer journalism in the States, and they’re the ones who make sure that people like Nick and Steven on Fox Soccer Channel can pretend to be sports personalities. Whether you personally are fans of more traditional American sportscasters like Keith Jackson, John Madden, Bob Costas, et al, you have to admit that they are miles ahead of the "competition" @ FSC in terms about just about every qualitative standard imaginable other than soccer knowledge.

As recent graduates of broadcast journalism programs start anchoring prime time shows, the days of utter lack of comprehension of anything soccer related on the Sportscenters and local sportscasts of the major networks are becoming more and more rare. I mean, it would take a willing denial of one’s own past to forget a sport that you have played, and soccer is far and away the most played sport among American youth and has been for some years now.

All those coaches have seen the impossible traffic jams and miles upon miles of parking around weekend soccer tournaments all over the country, in small, suburban towns and big cities, each and every year for quite some time now.

Unfortunately for us, most of the times the writerly of the afore-mentioned Brits will likely be the same ones we’ll be hearing more and more of as the days lead up to Beckham’s debut for the Galaxy^* at the Home Depot Center in June (or April if some reports are to be believed). Then we’ll get the usual litany of how backwards, violent, greedy, etc., everything bad and wrong in the world is in or because of the US and how we play "their" game from some of Fleet Street’s finest. Not that some of what passes for professional journalism over here is always that much better, as we will continue to hear stories telling us how this won’t/can’t work from the Nativist press a la Mr. Kornheiser, Mr. Rome, et al., plus the whole range of perspectives in-between from everybody else in the world.

For a pre-emptive rhetorical strike on the Brits, notably exempting the Irish of course^**, see this recent story from American Public Media’s Marketplace. Then for better or worse, you’ll find the first examples of such below. Read at your own risk.

All Articles Indexed for the Updated Topic: Beckham signs with L.A. Galaxy

^* I went looking on the LA Galaxy and MLS’s online stores, MLS Gear, expecting to find Beckham’s name on the back of the 2007 Galaxy jersey prominently displayed, complete with $100 price tag I’m sure they could command, and found nothing, nada, nil. They both had the 2006 Galaxy jersey, on which you could helpfully place "Beckham" on the back along with your choice for his number, but for some inexplicable reason they are leaving money on the table by not having anything reay-to-go so to speak for sale, for that is what it is when the team and league are clearly in the public’s spotlight. That’s when you want to capture as much revenue, marketshare, whatever it is that you measure financial success by as you can. There may of course be limitations on his official licensing being possible until he completes his transfer from Real Madrid, but couldn’t they at least offer pre-sales?

While I’m sure they are planning on eventually releasing a customized jersey, just like you can find ones of his future teammates Landon Donovan and Cobi Jones, here’s a free suggestion I’m offering to Galaxy management that they may not already have in mind. How about have Beckham and Posh work with some hot LA designer and come up with a customized "Beckham edition" version of the LA Galaxy jersey, just like you have customized versions of so many of the rest of American professional sports teams’ jerseys. Make sure it’s good of course, then sell it for $200; include iPod shuffle integration for $400. You know where to send the royalty checks.

^** Full disclosure: as astute readers of my biography or those who otherwise know me know, I once played soccer for 2 beer-wine-and-cheese-filled years in Paris, France for the Paris Gaels, an Irish Embassy-affiliated team, so I know the Irish aren’t included as Brits, unlike the Welsh and Scots, but some of my countrymen may not so wanted to point it out.