Adam Rose

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 13:34:35 -0800

Good point! There was the NZ (and Australia) tour about three months ago, and I think one of those games may have set the all-time soccer attendance record for the Kiwis. Since then, Beckham has been officially axed from England. I hope there's not a correlation between that and attendance at the last few games. Hawaii was especially disappointing. With the lack of any other major sports out there, it should have been a much better draw. Their fans generally root for local players who go on to play elsewhere -- and they even had a big-name local in the tournament! This is probably a good moment to explain my position on Beckham ... as much as I rant about the price tag on him playing here, I am really hoping the Galaxy can pull in huge crowds and do a lot for the game's popularity. I also like watching him play and think he's probably an awesome person. I'm just frustrated with the decision that brought him to LA. $250,000,000 could have been used for 100 million-dollar salaries over and the rest could have been spent on advertising and marketing. I believe that ultimately that could have done more for the sport in this country. So when I sound down on Beckham and the Galaxy, I'm not trying to outright hate on them ... just vent frustration at something the players don't actually control. (Though it'd be nice to see Becks spend more time in town.)

Lewisham

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 12:35:16 -0800

It did, however, go down very well in Wellington, NZ, where the stadium was almost full, despite a very high ticket price and general apathy to football. NZ is a rugby nation.

LAist: Galaxy Tour Falling Flat

Adam Rose

Lewisham