A fortnight ago, I had the pleasure of rendezvousing with a friend whom, and I apoligised to him for this, I have somewhat neglected over the past few years, due to the hectic schedule weighted on my shoulders courtesy of an Honours degree. With all the deadlines, all the studying, all the research, I have barely had time to even sleep, never mind meet him online for a game of Call Of Duty. If you are reading this, for the last time, I WILL PLAY WHEN I HAVE THE TIME!
He says that I don’t have the time for him anymore, and I suppose, regrettably, that on some level he is right. However, he needs to shoulder some of the blame for the deterioration of our friendship. For it is not I who is always on the move; I never leave this place! If he is not in Manchester, then he is in Madrid; if he is not in Madrid, then he is in London; if he is not in London, then he is in L.A; if he is not in L.A, then he is in Milan! It is unbelievable (Jeff)! His work takes him everywhere! He won’t even poke me back on Facebook! He is a changed man - a family man and a public hero. To me though, as far apart as we have grown, he will always be plain old Dave!
However, the cheek of him to turn-up unannounced at Glasgow Airport two weeks ago was the last straw. Fair enough, he came with quite a few mates, and there would have been no way that I could have possibly accommodated them all, but come on, at least give me a text to say your in town! I could have easily got a decent group together for a night in the Garage!
But no, it seems like Dave has now grown-up into Mr. Beckham; the adult - the global superstar and the most famous man in the world. He is the man who men want to be, women want to see, and kids all around the world idolise as a sporting great.
He has what many would debate is still the finest right-foot in the game, millions upon millions in the bank, endorsement deals with, to name but a few of the world’s most recognised brands, Pepsi, Gillette, Adidas, Police and Vodafone, and, coming on thirty-four - stone-age in football - is still one of the hottest properties in the sport.
However, ask anyone the simple question “Why?”, and the answer that you are sure to get will be no more than a mumbled clothesline of simple Beckham-trivia - “Good at football…Married to Posh Spice…erm…England Captain…Attractive…”.
Sure, an amalgamation of these factors in any sports icon is bound to make him or her the big name for a period of time, take Gavin Henson as a prime example, but what is it in David Beckham and the Beckham ‘franchise’ that has made the midfield maestro such a sustainable force within the football world for well over ten years? It is agreed that he has certainly never been the single best footballer in the world, so on what grounds were the blocks of Beckham’s career built upon, as a sportsmen, to have grown the former Manchester United player into, the slightly enviable, “iconic man of our time”, as declared by men’s magazine GQ?
I ask this question after witnessing the most extraordinary scenes outside A.C. Milan’s hotel a fortnight ago. A crowd of around fifty fans had gathered to meet the Rossoneri. Carlo Ancelotti, the A.C Milan manager, emerged first, puffing on a cigarette and signing a few autographs for those who didn’t think he was a security guard. Then, a minute or so later, the tracksuit-clad squad appeared, led by none other than Becks’ himself!
The crowd turned to fever pitch. There was pushing, shoving, velvet safety rope discarding; it was chaos! But the mayhem that ensued was in no part down to the seven-time Champions League winners, but purely ignited by the presence of David Beckham alone. He was mobbed by literally everyone who was there. At a time when Manchester City were offering the world’s best midfielder Kaka £500,000 per week, for a transfer fee of £108Million, he seemed rather unimpressed with former World Player of The Year Ronaldinho by his side, as together they asked uninterested autograph hunters if they could squeeze by to get onto the bus! It was an unbelievable scene!
So why is David Beckham still the main man? Throughout his career, Beckham’s public status has been a pendulum long dictated by his actions both on and off the park, magnified by our ever-growing tabloid culture. There have been months between Beckham firing his country into the World Cup finals with a free-kick from thirty yards, and finding burning effigies in an England shirt with ‘Beckham 7’ on the back on his return to Old Trafford after the demise of the Three Lions. It is the combination of these extreme highs and extreme lows that Beckham has constantly bounced back from or topped even further that make his success satisfying to the public, as the people feel that he has the right to do well and enjoy success due to our inexplicable enjoyment when he hits extreme lows: a perfect example - the player who singled handedly destroyed England’s World Cup dream in 1998 after his petty kick at Argentine Diego Simone.
As a footballer, he is hardly short of talent. Twice the runner up for FIFA World Player of the Year, he has enjoyed success at the two biggest clubs in global football, Manchester United and Real Madrid, winning twelve major competitions, helped market Major League Soccer in the USA after his ‘£128Million’ move to L.A Galaxy from Madrid, and is now plying his trade, for the time-being, with the talent-shy A.C Milan.
However, it is his off-the-pitch lifestyle that makes him the envy of men, and even women, all over the world! He is a fashion icon, the sex-god, the bad-boy, the good-guy, the guy who all the girls want - heck - he is the guy that every man would love to be! On top of all this though, he is the charitable David Beckham, David Beckham OBE, and even “Britain’s Greatest Ambassador”, according to a poll of the 100 Greatest Britons.
So is it wrong of us to not only depict the superstar that is David Beckham as the “iconic man of our time”, but also as the iconic footballer of our time? Well, I think it is safe to say that the latter falls under the umbrella of the iconic man of our time, and in no way is it wrong to describe Beckham as both. As children, we dream of being sports heroes, of riches and fame, and as we grow older, aim to achieve happiness, the best possible version of ourselves and honour. David Beckham has all of this, so is justifiably the main attraction, even if sharing the stage with the finest players in the world. He truly is an icon.
And, yes, we are friends. He signed me an autograph outside the Marriot hotel around thirteen years ago!
He says that I don’t have the time for him anymore, and I suppose, regrettably, that on some level he is right. However, he needs to shoulder some of the blame for the deterioration of our friendship. For it is not I who is always on the move; I never leave this place! If he is not in Manchester, then he is in Madrid; if he is not in Madrid, then he is in London; if he is not in London, then he is in L.A; if he is not in L.A, then he is in Milan! It is unbelievable (Jeff)! His work takes him everywhere! He won’t even poke me back on Facebook! He is a changed man - a family man and a public hero. To me though, as far apart as we have grown, he will always be plain old Dave!
However, the cheek of him to turn-up unannounced at Glasgow Airport two weeks ago was the last straw. Fair enough, he came with quite a few mates, and there would have been no way that I could have possibly accommodated them all, but come on, at least give me a text to say your in town! I could have easily got a decent group together for a night in the Garage!
But no, it seems like Dave has now grown-up into Mr. Beckham; the adult - the global superstar and the most famous man in the world. He is the man who men want to be, women want to see, and kids all around the world idolise as a sporting great.
He has what many would debate is still the finest right-foot in the game, millions upon millions in the bank, endorsement deals with, to name but a few of the world’s most recognised brands, Pepsi, Gillette, Adidas, Police and Vodafone, and, coming on thirty-four - stone-age in football - is still one of the hottest properties in the sport.
However, ask anyone the simple question “Why?”, and the answer that you are sure to get will be no more than a mumbled clothesline of simple Beckham-trivia - “Good at football…Married to Posh Spice…erm…England Captain…Attractive…”.
Sure, an amalgamation of these factors in any sports icon is bound to make him or her the big name for a period of time, take Gavin Henson as a prime example, but what is it in David Beckham and the Beckham ‘franchise’ that has made the midfield maestro such a sustainable force within the football world for well over ten years? It is agreed that he has certainly never been the single best footballer in the world, so on what grounds were the blocks of Beckham’s career built upon, as a sportsmen, to have grown the former Manchester United player into, the slightly enviable, “iconic man of our time”, as declared by men’s magazine GQ?
I ask this question after witnessing the most extraordinary scenes outside A.C. Milan’s hotel a fortnight ago. A crowd of around fifty fans had gathered to meet the Rossoneri. Carlo Ancelotti, the A.C Milan manager, emerged first, puffing on a cigarette and signing a few autographs for those who didn’t think he was a security guard. Then, a minute or so later, the tracksuit-clad squad appeared, led by none other than Becks’ himself!
The crowd turned to fever pitch. There was pushing, shoving, velvet safety rope discarding; it was chaos! But the mayhem that ensued was in no part down to the seven-time Champions League winners, but purely ignited by the presence of David Beckham alone. He was mobbed by literally everyone who was there. At a time when Manchester City were offering the world’s best midfielder Kaka £500,000 per week, for a transfer fee of £108Million, he seemed rather unimpressed with former World Player of The Year Ronaldinho by his side, as together they asked uninterested autograph hunters if they could squeeze by to get onto the bus! It was an unbelievable scene!
So why is David Beckham still the main man? Throughout his career, Beckham’s public status has been a pendulum long dictated by his actions both on and off the park, magnified by our ever-growing tabloid culture. There have been months between Beckham firing his country into the World Cup finals with a free-kick from thirty yards, and finding burning effigies in an England shirt with ‘Beckham 7’ on the back on his return to Old Trafford after the demise of the Three Lions. It is the combination of these extreme highs and extreme lows that Beckham has constantly bounced back from or topped even further that make his success satisfying to the public, as the people feel that he has the right to do well and enjoy success due to our inexplicable enjoyment when he hits extreme lows: a perfect example - the player who singled handedly destroyed England’s World Cup dream in 1998 after his petty kick at Argentine Diego Simone.
As a footballer, he is hardly short of talent. Twice the runner up for FIFA World Player of the Year, he has enjoyed success at the two biggest clubs in global football, Manchester United and Real Madrid, winning twelve major competitions, helped market Major League Soccer in the USA after his ‘£128Million’ move to L.A Galaxy from Madrid, and is now plying his trade, for the time-being, with the talent-shy A.C Milan.
However, it is his off-the-pitch lifestyle that makes him the envy of men, and even women, all over the world! He is a fashion icon, the sex-god, the bad-boy, the good-guy, the guy who all the girls want - heck - he is the guy that every man would love to be! On top of all this though, he is the charitable David Beckham, David Beckham OBE, and even “Britain’s Greatest Ambassador”, according to a poll of the 100 Greatest Britons.
So is it wrong of us to not only depict the superstar that is David Beckham as the “iconic man of our time”, but also as the iconic footballer of our time? Well, I think it is safe to say that the latter falls under the umbrella of the iconic man of our time, and in no way is it wrong to describe Beckham as both. As children, we dream of being sports heroes, of riches and fame, and as we grow older, aim to achieve happiness, the best possible version of ourselves and honour. David Beckham has all of this, so is justifiably the main attraction, even if sharing the stage with the finest players in the world. He truly is an icon.
And, yes, we are friends. He signed me an autograph outside the Marriot hotel around thirteen years ago!
Published: February 2009, Strathclyde Telegraph
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