In the end, David Beckham simply couldn't let down his adoring public. In Tinseltown, when your name is the one blinking in bright lights on the marquee, you make the most of a gala premiere.
With center stage belonging only to him, Beckman shrugged off a nagging left ankle injury and made it through 12 minutes of late action Saturday night as the Los Angeles Galaxy fell 1-0 to Chelsea in an exhibition match that trumpeted Beckham's celebrated arrival as an MLS player.
The good news for Beckham? He managed to break the ice without breaking an ankle.
There was a scary moment for Beckham, the Galaxy organization and the entirety of MLS when Chelsea's Steve Sidwell came right through Beckham with a clean tackle and caught the injured left ankle as Beckham went down in a heap. But Beckham finished the game and later said that although the ankle is sore, he didn't feel he had made the injury any worse.
"The ankle is swollen up slightly, but that was going to happen anyway," Beckham said. "I saw him coming and I jumped just in time. My foot wasn't actually planted when he hit me. You expect that in games ... he (Sidwell) is going to want to smash some people on the way, even if it's in friendly (games). Unfortunately, it was me tonight, but that's part of football."
The ultimate decision for Beckham to come on as a late substitute was made Saturday morning.
Beckham said the cameo appearance was really a best-case scenario for the Chelsea game because he had not kicked a ball or run hard all week. But with all the attention that he had received, he felt it was important to at least get on the field for a few minutes.
"I'm really pleased because I wanted to be out there tonight," Beckham said. "I know how much attention was on the game."
A sellout crowd of 27,000 at The Home Depot Center, including a Who's Who list of celebrities, erupted with glee when Beckham got off the bench and started to warm up. He replaced Alan Gordon in the 78th minute as flashbulbs went off and thunderous applause rocked the stadium.
Beckham said he got "strapped up" before the game, but removed the protective support at halftime because it felt uncomfortable. But as he began warming up to enter the game, he felt the ankle needed the added protection and rushed to the dressing room to have that done.
Beckham created a stir from the beginning to the end. His initial sighting came after all the other Galaxy players had taken the field.
"This is Hollywood. We know a good script," Galaxy general manager Alexi Lalas told ESPN when asked about the dramatic flair of Beckham's planned entrance.
As he took his seat on the bench, there was a mob scene as photographers pushed closer and were restrained by stout security guards and ropes.
The celebrity list began with Beckham's wife, Victoria, and included Katie Holmes, Eva Longoria, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Drew Carey, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Shriver and Kevin Garnett.
In the end, all the fans got a lasting memory as Beckham finally took the field after 10 days of non-stop L.A. hype.
"I have to say thank you to everybody -- 99.9 percent of it has been positive and that's remarkable," Beckham said of his first days in California. "I hope it continues. But after this game, we've got a long season left and this is where the hard work starts."
In the waning seconds, Galaxy captain Landon Donovan deferred to Beckham for a corner kick. The gesture was appreciated by Beckham.
"It's nice that he let me have one," Beckham said.
Nothing came of that corner kick, but Galaxy fans have every reason to think Beckham will give them plenty to cheer when he's completely fit and healthy.
The Galaxy will play Tuesday and Saturday in SuperLiga and coach Frank Yallop said the club will closely monitor Beckham's ankle progress before deciding on how much he'll play next week, if at all.
"Tonight he felt he had to be on the field," Yallop said. "He might not play in the next two games or he might be involved in both. I would think he'd more likely be involved in the game on Saturday."
Robert Falkoff is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
