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The Beckham Experiment by Grant Wahl By Richard W. Kozak, Jr.  |
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Marketing a mass distributed sports themed book to the American public is often a tough sell. If not packed with sleazy or at least semi-salacious details of excess and over indulgence in a vice of varying choices, a novel can go unnoticed by the general public. Double or quadruple that thought exponentially when the subject of one’s novel is soccer, even if the subject matter is one of the more recognizable sports figures/celebrities on the planet.
Even with the United States sporting public’s more than casual indifference to the rest of the world’s “Beautiful Game,” and the seeming failure of David Beckham’s arrival in American soccer to change the sport’s culture, Grant Wahl crafts perhaps one of the most literate written endeavors on any sport. With American fans’ personal biases firmly on one yellow card, Wahl creates a wonderfully readable passion play with kings, queens, fallen angels, devils, demons, and jesters all under the umbrella of The Beckham Experiment.
In the summer of 2007, David Beckham left top flight European soccer to foray into the almost “Dances with Wolves”-esque outpost of the game by signing with Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles Galaxy. The deal was multi-faceted spurred on by the megalomaniacal involvement of entertainment giant AEG and American Idol creator Simon Fuller. At first, the hype was almost Beatles-like. Beckham and his wife Victoria in tow were almost treated to what amounted to a coronation of sorts.
The thought was that the highly marketable Beckham “brand” could come to the States and win the American public over with his charisma, talent, charm, and even a little soccer playing, too. Unfortunately, nagging injuries coupled with organization chaos and personality conflicts put a monkey wrench into the “machine’s” mechanics almost right from the start.
One doesn’t have to be a sports fan or soccer fan for that matter to enjoy The Beckham Experiment. The insight into the inner workings of a professional team’s existence truly sheds a light on a darker side of pro sports that “Joe Fan” rarely gets to witness.
A tremendous effort that’s a sure winner, and earns a 4 ½ out of 5 goals on the scoreboard.
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