Beckham-ania?: Why You Should Care About Soccer

Raise your hand if you're tired of David Beckham.

Keep your hand raised if you don't care about soccer.

Now that every Bleacher Report reader's hand is pointed to the sky, it's safe to say that soccer in America is slowly catching on.

Yes, you read that correctly: America is embracing soccer.

While most people spend their time bashing the sport, thousands of fans in this country actually support it.

Over 60,000 people filled Giants Stadium this weekend to witness Beckham's debut in the tri-state area. Critics will argue that most fans were out to see Beckham the celebrity—and that most of the crowd consisted of prepubescent girls with dreams of taking home a drop of Beckham's sweat.

However, Beckham brought out plenty of fans who actually support soccer. They just don't support the MLS.

The poor quality of play in the MLS is the main reason American fans aren't into it. The English Premier League, Serie A, La Liga, and Bundesliga all offer soccer at a higher level. Not that that should be held against the MLS. Until this year, the league hasn't been able to compete financially on the global stage. 

With Beckham in Los Angeles, though, that's no longer the case.

David Beckham is making the MLS matter in America. The proof is the conversations taking place in prime-time forums like PTI, Around the Horn, and SportsCenter. 

When LA Galaxy faced the New York Red Bulls this weekend, the teams combined for nine goals. That sort of tally is normally unheard of—but the crowd was alive and the players fed off of the energy. 

Juan Pablo Angel, for one, showed why he's MLS's best player. Maybe ever. Yes, better than David Beckham. Jozy Altidore showed America, and many European clubs, that he's a young forward ready to play at the highest level.

Three days removed from his Meadowlands debut, Beckham is on a plane, preparing to face Germany with his English counterparts on Wednesday.

When he comes back to America, will he still matter? Will the sport of soccer matter?

You might say no.  You might deny that soccer is growing in this country. You might look at attendance numbers and TV ratings and assume that no one cares about soccer in America. You might think that the sport is just a bunch of people running up and down the field chasing a ball. 

You might think that soccer is just a waste of time.

And, frankly, you'd be wrong. 

You will say that you'd "rather watch the grass grow" than watch soccer.  Yeah, baseball and golf are real exciting.

Soccer may not matter to you. But it certainly matters to me. And it matters to a lot of other people.

So, instead of bringing up American failures in the World Cup, or the collapse of the defunct NASL, you should open your minds to the "beautiful game."  

David Beckham is only the beginning.  And with that, let the anti-soccer comments...never end.