and now, what it is about to become.
Here was David Beckham, star of Real Madrid and the English national team, in the prime of his career, about to play his club football right here.
Looking dapper as always, Becks took the stage with team and league executives, as the Galaxy fans sang and chanted the words "One of Us." Nice.
And Becks didn't talk about his television career or his Hollywood friends or the Sports Illustrated cover.
He talked about getting ready for training next week. He talked about football - or actually soccer, as he quickly corrected himself.
And that is what this is all about. As much as this column likes to mix soccer and Hollywood, David Beckham is here to play soccer first and foremost.
He is here to set up his teammates and kick people and even score a goal or three. That's it - he is not here to save anything, except maybe the Galaxy's 2007 season on the field.
On my way out to the parking lot a dad and his little daughter were walking back to their cars.
"I can't wait to see him play," she said.
"Yeah, we'll definitely have to pay more attention to the Galaxy now," dad replied.
And so will the other 12 teams in this league. Playing the Galaxy just got a lot tougher.
The hype is over, it's time to just play some soccer.
And he's one of us.
The Clean Sheet runs each week on MLSnet.com. Views and opinions expressed in this column views and opinions are the author's, and not necessarily those of Major League Soccer or MLSnet.com. Send any questions and comments to tcsresponses@yahoo.com.
