The Beckham Effect
The crowds at New York Red Bulls games are atrocious. They technically average around 11,000 per game, but the "real butts in seats" number is probably a fraction of that.
This weekend, with the L.A. Galaxy in town, New York drew almost 67,000 people. And those in attendance were treated to a very American-friendly score of 5-4. The same effect has occurred in DC and Toronto. When Beckham didn't play in New England, the crowd wasn't there.
This should help to silence the critics a bit. Yes, it's his first time around the league. So maybe the Beckham Show will get old. But if he keeps playing like he has been - and he is playing hurt right now, so there's no reason to think he won't improve - the crowds will stay up.
What was the effect of 50,000+ additional fans at a Red Bulls game? Between tickets, concessions, souvenirs, and parking, it could easily be in the $3 million range of profit. For one game. And that's just gameday revenue. That doesn't include the real profit, like advertising at the park or the television rights. TV networks are in a tizzy to show Beckham. You can see him play live on no less than six different channels. And the MSG network purchased the rights to show the Red Bulls game again in 60-minute replay format.
It's far too soon to determine whether this is just a nice bump for MLS, or the beginning of a long climb towards respectability for the league. But early signs are good. And the anti-soccer crowd that was screaming "I told you so" when Becks was hurt and missing games - and yes, I'm looking directly at Jay Mariotti's Well-Shaped Eyebrows - is notably silent.
