A Shot At Redemption

Sports' fans; we sure are a fickle breed, aren't we? One week we can love a player, a team, and the next week, just as quickly and, perhaps more surprisingly, just as passionatley, we can absolutley loathe the same player, the same team. But that's the nature of the game isn't it?

Those that can, do; those that can't, watch. Something like that, right? So we set up fantasy leagues; we buy big screen televisions and cases of beer; we wear the same shirts that are beloved sports heroes do; we become well educated experts on every aspect of the sports that we love so much.

However, it is quite frustrating to be a soccer fan in the U.S. With a league that, at the moment at least, is sub par to almost every other; with a sports network that has no passion for the game and certainly does not understand the game; and with a general public that is simply unwilling to even give the game a chance, to let its beauty and grace take over you, to let yourself enjoy it, understand it, worship it. What's a soccer fan to do?

However, in the States, along with every where else in the world, there is one name who it has been damn near impossible not to hear: David Beckham. Perhaps it is because of his celebrity wife, or maybe it is his stunning good looks that has landed him one endorsement after another, it could be how much money teams are willing to put out to have the name of Beckham standing out on their rosters, or perhaps it is because he is a damned good player that has made him perhaps the most dominant name in the game, the most recognizable face. But the why doesn't really ever matter, does it?

David Beckham's move to Major League Soccer hasn't been what the sport needed, at least not yet. Injury after injury has left Beckham off of the Galaxy's starting eleven, even off their bench. The Galaxy have not played well, not up to their standards, not up to anyone's standards. Is that Beckham's fault? Hardly, but the fact remains that someone must be blamed so why not the highest paid player, why not the player that was supposed to save the organization, save the league, save the sport?

But, alas, it's not too late. It's funny how the end of the season works out, how sure fire bets wind up sitting out the playoffs and teams that never had a shot are suddenly in the running, all because of one goal. In this particular case it was an 87th minute goal by Real Salt Lake striker Robbie Findley that put the Colorado Rapids out of the playoff hunt and reopened the window for the L.A. Galaxy.

With a win today the Galaxy are in the playoffs. However, it is not as simple as that. The team that they are facing, the Chicago Fire, playoff's hopes also depend on todays game. The Galaxy need a win to get in, the Fire only need to draw.

Enter David Beckham. A man who has thrived on pressure for more than a decade; a man who not only captained the England team in the game that lead them to the 2002 World Cup but also netted the goal that got them there; a man who scored the goal to get England to the quarterfinal of last year's World Cup; a man who carried a country on his back for so long; a man that carried possibly the world's most popular team, Manchester United, on his back for so long. Beckham knows the pressure he will be up against, and to have the fans that turned on him so quickly, yet again, return to singing his praises, now is the time when David Beckham must shine yet again.

The Galaxy need a leader, they need someone to follow, they need someone to emerge as a winner. And David Beckham will be that man. He must stretch Chicago's defense and he will with those perfectly targeted crosses. He must hussle and put pressure on Chicago's midfielders and he will with a speed and motivation that is so rare to find in a player of his age. He must be spot on with his free kicks and he will, just as he's been his entire career.

The time for David Beckham to write history in United States soccer is now. With one game he can silence the critics that he's had since he moved to this country. With one game he can prove his worth. With one game he can get the Galaxy into the playoffs.

One game. The only question is will you love him or hate him after the final whistle blows?