US soccer popularity & Beckham
The fact is that David Robert Joseph Beckham didn't do much (anything worthwhile) while playing in LA for Galaxy.
That's why Beckham's US presence didn't had any positive effect improving soccer's popularity for the US psyche.
Jerry_Malasya please remember that culture change goes beyond 1 tattooed celebrity player...even if Beckham had done a super natural job for the Galaxy still it would had been an uphill job to achieve soccer ecstasy in the US.
Soccer is not part of the US sport culture yet...maybe one day it will reach that point and when it does is not b/c of some British tattooed soccer player showing us how...it will be when an American soccer player reaches the highest standards not only US soccer standards but global standards.
There are so many reasons for the low soccer popularity in the US...another one is the salary (economic factors w/ all its permutations):
average MLS soccer player US salary= $115,000
vs.
average NBA player US salary= $5.3 million
Soccer is a substitute for religion in the rest of the world and for millions of people around the world it is an endless supply of hope for them. In the US, our hopes are placed in diverse areas not in single 1 sport.
