Beckham and Miami: Doomed to Fail?

With the newest report from the Daily Mail, it is looking increasingly inevitable that David Beckham's triumphant return to MLS will be in the city of Miami.

 Ever since the rumblings first began that Beckham was interested in exercising his expansion clause, it seemed as though Miami was the only city he was considering.  It feels as though it is the move that makes the most sense on paper for the league, but I have significant concerns.

First of all, any fan of American sports will tell you that Miami doesn't exactly have a sterling reputation for fan support.  Much was made of Heat fans leaving the arena early during their epic comeback in the NBA Finals this year, but it goes beyond just showing up late or leaving early.  There have been many stories over the last year, particularly since Don Garber hinted at MLS expansion plans, about various supporter groups from around the country that are desperate for a team.  But I haven't heard so much as a peep from any sort of organized group in Miami, and that scares the hell out of me.

It feels like there is almost no chance that Miami will garner the sort of fan support that MLS is looking for.  We're no longer living in a time where it is acceptable for a brand new MLS team to be filling up only half their stadium, and to have no immediate impact upon the community.  There seems to be a real sense in certain places, Orlando for example, that an MLS team would be jumping into a situation in which they already had an established fan base.  It feels almost as though Beckham and his array of billionaire suitors have convinced themselves that such support must be repeatable in Miami, because it has so much to offer that Orlando doesn't.  But it might be precisely because of Miami's appeal as a city that an MLS team is doomed to begin in mediocrity.

I don't begrudge Beckham wanting to plant his flag in Miami whatsoever; it is an infinitely better location to set up shop from a media stand point than somewhere like Orlando.  Miami could have the ability to attract big stars (although Orlando has a claim of it's own), and to grow into an iconic world-wide club.  If managed correctly, and if support for soccer in America breaks the way we all think that it will, then an investment in an admittedly substandard market for fan support is completely justified.  Orlando will just never have that sort of appeal to big name athletes, and that alone might be enough to tip the scales south.

So basically it feels as though this will be a terrible look for the league short term, but could turn into the wise decision down the road.  I don't believe that a Miami MLS franchise will generate adequate fan support within the first couple years of their existence, and I'm going to absolutely hate watching them play to half empty crowds on TV.  But that might not end up mattering, because I will certainly be watching if they can attract premier level talent down the road.  MLS isn't quite to this point yet, but there will come a time in which we need multiple franchises that can pull top level talent away from other Leagues.  The Galaxy, Red Bulls, and NYCFC all play in cities that are appealing enough to accomplish this goal, and there are only a select few cities in the states that fit the bill.

Miami just happens to be one of those cities.  I think it will be a disappointment at the outset, but if MLS is to be a top league in the world by 2020 then Miami needs to be one of the destination franchises.