David Beckham on 60 Minutes

Last night the 60 Minutes segment on David Beckham aired, so I decided to watch network TV for a change.  The interview was conducted by CNN's Anderson Cooper, and it seemed to be an attempt to reintroduce David Beckham to a national audience without the presence of his pop star wife.  The only mention of Victoria was when Beckham showed off a new tattoo that featured a portrait of her.  The segment covered most of his career trajectory, from his beginnings with Manchester United to his years with the English national team to his move to MLS and the abortive start last season.   

There were two dominant questions in the interview -- 'Why did David Beckham decide to come to America?' and 'Haven't we been through this before with Pelé?'  Beckham gave a good answer about his passion for the game and his interest in raising the game's profile in the States to a new level, which may not be the best answer but still good enough.  Tim Leiweke of AEG handled the second question, but I don't think his answer was all that memorable.  I wish he had said something about the soccer landscape being so different now than in the 70s, thanks in part to Pelé's influence.  I also with he had said that David Beckham's success is not necessary to ensure the long-term success of Major League Soccer.  His success would be very nice to have, to be sure, but it would be nice to see soccer officials not be drawn into the 'One Man/One Event that will establish American soccer' mentality that the mainstream press is all to eager to portray.

In the end, it was a decent piece produced for a non-soccer audience, which is very different from that which reads this and other soccer blogs and publications.   Aside from the news of Beckham possibly becoming a part-owner in MLS, there wasn't anything in the piece that soccer fans didn't already know.  But it is a chance to see David Beckham without having to know that he's married to a Spice Girl.

UPDATE (3/25/08): I added the link from the CBS News website.