When David Beckham said that he was going to America to try and enhance football in that country it was widely thought that he had probably headed the ball too many times or it was just a line to cover his £120m LA Galaxy contract. Football in America was down the list after Baseball, Basketball, American Football and Ice Hockey but you have to hand it to the guy, in a year he has certainly raised the games profile to new heights.
Beckham was recently named by American sports network ESPN as the Major League Soccer Player of the Year and average attendance at LA Galaxy games is 28,000 which beats the likes of FA Cup winners Portsmouth last season.
Major League shirt sales have risen 780% and internet traffic on the Major League site has increased by 80% so maybe football really is taking a hold over there.
The American businessmen are certainly taking an interest in English teams with Aston Villa and Manchester United in the hands of American owners and my Arsenal team entering into an agreement with Stan Kroenke and his stable of Basketball (Denver Nuggets), Hockey (Colorado Avalanche) and football (Colorado Rapids) teams with the primary aims of building the Arsenal brand in the US.
Even Barack Obama has came out as a West Ham fan ever since a trip to England five years ago and admitted that he watches Premier League games whenever his schedule allows so our national sport is obviously starting to make in-roads into the national US psyche.
4 comments:
"so our national sport is obviously starting to make in-roads into the national US psyche. "
Surely you jest, with the Cubs in first place, the Brett Farve saga, training camp opening up, and the rest of us preparing for our Fantasy Football drafts, we don't have time for that silliness.
From what I understand, it's basketball making people stand up and take notice in the U.K. Who knew?
I did read about some Brit signing a massive deal with a basketball team there but can't name him or who he signed to without googling. Has the Arsenal basketball season started yet? My city has a basketball team, maybe i should pop along one day to see what it is all about.
A quick google shows The Cubs are a baseball team, just hyped up rounders isn't it? Maybe we should do a UK sports V US sports concurrent post next.
And here I thought the national sport of Britain was drinking warm beer! Silly me.
We usually drink the warm beer while watching our nmatioanl sport david. Drowns our sorrows when we lose yet again.
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