When English star David Beckham arrived in America last year to play for the Los Angeles Galaxy, he had to correct himself and apologize at the press conference where he was introduced.
Beckham made a mistake, at least he thought so, of calling the sport he plays “football”. He then said, “Excuse me, soccer.”
“It’s something I’m going to have to get use to,” said Beckham, the former Manchester United and Real Madrid star, who signed a long-term deal with the Galaxy.
But what exactly was Beckham’s miscue?
The United States has its own football
Where he comes from, the sport he plays is called “football.” It’s also known by that name in most of the world.
But America has its own game called “football.” And it’s the most popular sport in the land
So where does the word “soccer” come from. And why would one sport have two names.
The English people, especially, get annoyed at their national sport being called something other than what they call it. They invented the game, after all.
Yet when one looks in the dictionary for the meaning of the word “soccer” it becomes apparent that Americans and other people have a perfect right to call the sport by that name.
Soccer is football. Association Football that is.
According to English language dictionaries, Soccer is a short or an acronym for association football. The word “soccer” was first used by the English.
Other countries have their own football
Here is the problem with soccer and football.
There is more than one game called by that name.
In England, the other game is Rugby football, or simply rugby,
In Ireland, there is Gaelic football, a very different game from rugby and soccer.
There is also Australian Rules Football, American Football and Canadian Football (similar to American football).
In those respective countries, the other football is soccer.
From Beckham’s viewpoint, he gave in to the word “soccer” because he is on a mission to popularize the sport on the North American continent.
America is the one place where Beckham can walk down the street in most cities and nobody would recognize him.
They would however, know his wife, Victoria Adams (Posh Spice), who is one of the Spice Girls.
Major League Soccer will improve over time
Major League Soccer (MLS) is the top league in the United States and Canada with 14 teams that will grow to 16 in two years.
MLS is considered an inferior product to the top European leagues, especially in England and Spain where Beckham played.
However, Beckham is on record saying that MLS is better than most European fans think and that it is on the way to being a top flight league.
Although soccer, or football, is played in most high schools and colleges in America, and there is finally a top flight professional sports league in place, the sport will have a hard time becoming what it is in Europe.
The teams sports of baseball, basketball, football (American or Canadian) and ice hockey are known as the Big Four and played collectively year round.
There is no doubt that MLS is here to stay with its corporate backing and the signing of a star like Beckham.
But it will always have to compete with the traditional sports on the continent.
That kind of challenge will make guys like Beckham work that much harder.
