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Before the start of the game, I wasn’t sure who to support. The 3 big galaxians (Arena, Beckham, and Donvan) have all won loads already. Plus, Becks is a bit of a muppet with an awful haircut. RSL is the 8 seed, a plucky side with a white, neo-Rastafarian captain, an ex-Galaxian forward, and a young manager. However, as a USMNT fan looking forward to the World Cup, it has become clear that Landon Donovan is the best US player, and I wouldn’t mind seeing him do something fantastic to win it.

As soon as I started to think that I didn’t like the neutral site, the fans began a deafening “Sound-ers” chant. It made it feel slightly less sterile than a Super Bowl. While the Seattle fans are great, they don’t have a true rooting interest. Home and home has to be a better option if MLS fans will not travel for the Cup final.

The other major problem with the game being held in Seattle is the field turf. It is an awful surface for soccer. Players were falling, the ball acted more like a ping pong ball, and both teams passing was off.

The game started pretty sloppy with neither team looking like they had trained on the artificial surface. Other than Clint Mathis coming on for the injured (and crying) Javier Morales, there wasn’t much to report until the Galaxy’s fantastic first goal. Beckham led Donovan well, and Landon played an inch perfect pass to Magee to tap in on the left side of the goal.

Salt Lake had to put Ned Gravaboy (best name in MLS) on for Will Johnson to begin the second half. Both sides got their sea legs in the second half, and the play on the field increased significantly. Robbie Findley got clear on the right and came in hard as Donovan Ricketts came out to challenge him. The two came together in a collision that initially appeared to hurt both players equally. However, it became apparent that Ricketts’ right hand got the worst of it. Minutes after play restarted, Findley slotted home Real’s equalizer.

Ricketts had to go to ground once before Findley’s goal, and it appeared that he had a hard time using his right hand to help himself back up. He also didn’t fully extend his arm in his attempt to save Findley’s shot, and wisely pulled himself off after giving up the game tying goal.

For as much as the first half was relatively bad to watch, the second half offered a great deal of excitement for the American soccer fan. It wasn’t a particularly well played half, but between the collision, injuries, and the game tying goal, there was enough drama for even a non-devotee.

Each team had a few chances at the end of regular time, but neither could convert. As the extra 30 minutes went on, it was clear that these players were not in shape to run as much as they had earlier. The field turf had to play a part in their fatigue.

When the match went to penalties, Real was the favorite. While L.A. had fantastic attacking players in Beckham, Donovan and Buddle, Salt Lake had Nick Rimando. One week ago, Rimando’s work in penalties in Chicago got RSL to the MLS Cup final.

Each team began by converting their first two penalties. Then each side missed their next attempt before Landon Donovan Roberto Baggio’d his shot over the crossbar, to leave Salt Lake with the advantage. They would lose it shortly thereafter when Andrew Williams’ meek attempt fell right to Josh Saunders. In the seventh round Edson Buddle’s shot was saved by Rimando, and Robbie Russell converted to give Real their first MLS Cup.

…he’s coming back. Really. Truly. Wouldn’t miss it. LA in the summer? He wants him some of that. Kinda. Go Beckham:

“I respect the Los Angeles Galaxy and I have a mission to accomplish. I want to promote soccer in the United States. It’s possible that I will return in January to play for Milan but there are still some factors to clarify. Before I arrived here, they warned me that I would remain fascinated by Milan and they were right.”

Former Manchester United and Real Madrid star Beckham has been a huge hit in Italy. But he admits a deal to keep him at the Rossoneri would likely prove too tricky to negotiate.

“In life nothing is certain, but I believe it’s a complicated path,” Beckham said. “In order to remain three further months at AC Milan, I had to make many financial sacrifices. It’s not a decision that you can take from one day to the next in your living room.“

No, but perhaps it is one you make from your bank vault?

The Beckham’s appear, by some accounts, likely to not come back to the states following their stay in Italy. Milan, she calls to the soul. Or something like that. Certainly her level of futbol does, if you retain memories of once playing at that level. And Beckham does. And it appears that the desire to continue to do so has been rekindled. Negotiations for a transfer fee continue, and at some point, it is likely the right number will be reached.

In the end, there will be a wrap up column or two written (or pre-written) about what Beckham’s star-crossed stay in LA playing in MLS meant. And I suspect the majority of those will be critical of his two years in the states. Or profess disappointment. But if that is the tact taken in those wrap-ups, it misses what his presence did do for MLS, at least initially. He created a buzz that MLS had never had. He made people (beyond the hard core fans) want to catch a Galaxy game, at least initially. He generated significant revenue streams to MLS that did not exist before he agreed to come to LA.

All in all, if this the end because Italy beckons, it will have been a success for MLS. Only for those who thought Beckham’s arrival somehow would transform MLS into a sporting giant in the US landscape will the stay be a profound disappointment.

Edited to add:

Or, scratch all the above, if he stays. The incomparable Grant Wahl, who is writing a book on Beckham’s time in the US, thinks the possibility of Milan bringing Beckham to Italy looks dead. If that’s the case, then Wahl is on point with this question:

The latest misconception about Beckham in the wake of his revival for Milan is that he needs world-class players around him to succeed. Anyone who saw his sterling performance for L.A. during the first half of 2008 knows otherwise. But excellence requires that you try in the face of difficulty, and that is the biggest question surrounding Beckham heading into the 2009 MLS season. Does he care about America anymore? Do we care about him? Or has the Beckham experiment been star-crossed from the start?