Beckham In Mission Unnecessary

After all, Beckham is coming to America to save football. Isn't he?
Well, actually, probably not. The perception is that Beckham will do for soccer what Pele could not do and put it right at the heart of sport in the United States.

 
But the Major League Soccer that greets Beckham is a far different beast than the North American Soccer League that Pele and George Best desperately tried to promote.
Soccer now is far more deeply entrenched in American sport than we might think.
Consider a few facts to dispel the myth that US sports fans do not give a fig about soccer.