MLS on Fallon, and the "Brazilian Beckham"

Fallon ribs MLS players on Late Night

It's not exactly front page of the New York Times, but I was pleasantly surprised to see Jimmy's playful joking at the expense several MLS All-Stars.  Light Night talk shows aren't exactly the barometer for public interest that they were in the past, but even a passing reference to MLS wouldn't have made it past the editing room floor ten years ago.  And what's more, the segment actually has a couple of legitimately funny moments.  I'm not expecting anybody outside of MLS nerds to have any idea who Marco di Vaio or Brad Davis are, but the fact that you can at least tell people "hey trust me, these guys play in MLS" and they won't then say "what the fuck is MLS?" actually represents progress.

It might not seem like much, but hey one step at a time right?  Small steps.  Baby steps even.  Steps so small that it might not actually feel like you're moving whatsoever.  More of a sideways shuffle really.


The Brazilian Beckham?

Brazilianaire Flavio Agusto da Silva, owner of the USL Pro team Orlando City, made some waves today by re-hinting that if Orlando is granted entry into MLS, a certain 'Brazilian Beckham' will be sure to join them.  Now, it is no secret that Silva is good friends with Brazilian Midfielder Kaka, so the natural assumption is that he is the one that Silva is referring to.  That would be great, but let's just get one thing straight:

There is no such thing as a Brazilian Beckham.  There is no Spanish, no French, Ghanian, Russian,
Turkish, Argentinean,  or Chinese David Beckham.  Beckham came along at a time in MLS history that was wholly unique, and he was just the right person at the right time.  He was already a global brand before he ever came to the States, and could sell clothing or perfume just as easily as sell out stadiums.  His wife and young family brought along the whole reality TV / Kardashian vibe that is always such an intriguing story line, and he made the bold (and previously unheard of) decision to cross the Atlantic and make a go of it in MLS.

The first year with Beckham was like lighting had struck.  Teams across the country set attendance records driven by fans who wanted to catch a glimpse of Beckham, and local and national media outlets featured regular stories about Beckham and his exploits in MLS.  For those that already followed the league it felt tedious to constantly be bombarded with updates about the seemingly mundane details of Beckham's season, but fans were being exposed and introduced to the league for the first time without even realizing it.  Even if they couldn't care less about Beckham, or even actively disliked him for his fame and the personal image that he has cultivated, they were thinking about the MLS ten times as often they would have had Beckham not come to the league.

Kaka is a great player, and I would love to have him in the league, but there is no chance that his arrival could have a galvanizing effect similar to Beckham's.  Even if Kaka was a similarly famous cultural icon (which he is not), the league is different now than it was seven years ago.  Here's hoping that he and everybody else involved in the endeavor realize that fact, and don't expect his arrival to be anything like Sir David's.