Sports isn't sport anymore - it's Entertainment!
And the most important thing in Show Business is the Star!
And Mr Beckham is a Star!
Over 80,000 people give a fuck and they paid money to prove it!
They turned up to see him do his party piece and they got their moneys worth.
Here's a review of the gig - I mean match:
They came to see one thing - David Beckham bend it like Beckham - and they did not go home disappointed.
Eighty thousand fans rose as one when the 32-year-old footballing icon rocketed home a free kick from 25 metres to spare LA Galaxy's blushes in last night's exhibition match against Sydney FC at Sydney's Olympic stadium.
Who cared that Beckham's team didn't make it much of a contest, leaking three goals inside the first half hour and going down 5-3?
Who cared that Beckham played a largely defensive role in midfield?
Who cared that he got himself booked, or that one of his teammates was sent off for stomping on an opponent's arm during an occasionally unfriendly friendly?
Beckham's party trick came a minute before half time.
It was his first chance to show why he is one of the world's most lethal set-piece specialists, and he did not disappoint.
His sweetly timed right-foot strike curled into the top corner of Clint Bolton's net, and the crowd went wild.
This was the man, and this was the trademark, that all 80,000 of them had come to see. How else to explain such a bumper crowd for a friendly club match, an Australian record?
How else to explain the first live appearance of an A-League team on a commercial network, Channel Ten?
Beckham, who has become a global celebrity as a star for Manchester United, Real Madrid and England, now earns as much in a week as some of his LA teammates make in a year.
Which helps explains why the fans wanted to see as much of him as possible. They were concerned halfway through the first period when Sydney's Brendon Santalab slipped into him accidentally, catching Beckham painfully on the ankle.
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There was a massive roar when Beckham stood up and limped away to carry on.
Beckham had another fiery moment in the second half, wagging a finger at Sydney's Robbie Middleby after a crude body check.
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But when Beckham, not normally a physical player, was yellow-carded later for a get-square tackle, the LA captain won plaudits and laughter when he embraced his opponent in a playful hug.
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Even as a villain, Beckham was a darling.
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SYDNEY FC 5 (Alex Brosque 20m 26m Ruben Zadkovich 29m Robbie Middleby 54m Iain Fyfe 87m) bt LA GALAXY 3 (David Beckham 44m Edson Buddle 50m Landon Donovan 90m) at Telstra Stadium, Sydney.
Referee: Mark Shield (Aus).
Crowd: 80,295.
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