Soccer - Beckham headlines a barn burner

Something unusual happened this past Saturday night at the New Jersey Meadowlands. An MLS match exceeded the hype. What made it that more extra-ordinary was that it occured when the stage was set. Considering the Galaxy's historical proclivity to under-perform at the big occasion (shrinks call it performance anxiety), to say nothing of the "not ready for prime time" past of MLS' most cursed franchise, the New York Red Bulls (the late unlamented MetroStars). What was produced must have brought huge grins from the MLS mucky-mucks from Don Garber on down. Last Saturday's 5-4 win for the Red Bulls was an all to rare instance of disparate forces coming together to create a moment of sporting glory at the right time. What remains to be seen is if the planets can align again to propel soccer in America forward.
Those of us whom remember the 1996 beginning of MLS were mostly warmed by what happened. The game we love is slowly moving forward despite many obstacles: only the most obdurate of American sportswriters disagrees with the notion that MLS has replaced the NHL on the North American Pro Sports totem pole. This was mostly due to the NHL's own strategic mistakes than MLS nimbleness. Soccer fans should be happy that the soccer powers-that-be did not bumble this situation a la the Bush administration in Iraq & New Orleans.
As for the play of Beckham, the tattooed one provided something long missing since the salad days of Mauricio Cienfuegos, a midfield playmaker of vision and passion. Though his arrival maybe too late to get the Galaxy into the MLS playoffs this season, his play augers well for the future if Beckham is able to play out the entire length of his contract with AEG. In fact, the Galaxy maybe better served if they do not make it into the post-season...as long as Frank Yallop is retained as Head Coach. One can only hope that Galaxy General Manager Alexi Lalas will be patient with his first head coach hiring and resist the calls for a change. Considering the Galaxy backline has resembled a M.A.S.H. unit rather a defense, to fire Yallop would be unfair. Unfortunately, unfair comes into it all too often.