Maybe we can get past the hype now - Beckham has arrived

You know how some (but not all) Ron Paul supporters make a bigger deal out of his Technorati rankings than on his stands on the issues?

Well, all things Beckham have been leading to...the press conference. Luckily, that's finally out of the way.

Beckham...was introduced at a press conference at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, the Galaxy's stadium, to a crowd of media and cheering fans.

``I'd like to say how honored I am for so many people to come here and see me be presented today,'' Beckham said. ``It's nice to see so many fans and I thank you for that.''...

``It's very fair to say this is a historic day for the sport of soccer here in America,'' MLS Commissioner Don Garber said. ``We have one of the game's greatest players coming here to our country, to our league, to our city and to your team. It's a moment we should cherish.''

With all due respect, Mr. Garber, today is not a historic day. The friendly with Chelsea on July 21 won't be a historic day. The historic day will occur on August 5, when the L.A. Galaxy play a real game that counts in the MLS standings.

Let's continue:

Beckham will have to make a few adjustments in moving to the U.S., including calling his sport soccer instead of football as the rest of the world does. After stating the most important thing was his family, he said the second ``is the foot-, is the soccer.''

``I'll get used to that at some point, I'm sorry,'' he added.

But everyone involved has to admit that the business aspect will be the part that will be watched the most. And I'm forced to admit that you don't have to wait until August 5 to watch that:

Beckham already has brought enough revenue to the Galaxy to pay his base salary, Tim Leiweke, chief executive officer of Anschutz Entertainment Group, the company that owns the team, said in April.

However, as T.J. Simers was pointing out this morning, the question still remains regarding whether this will result in long-term financial success for Major League Soccer.

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