Beckham invited to the royal wedding; here we go again

I’ve said before and I’ll say again, Beckham was good for the league and good for the Galaxy. The benefits were all macro, not micro. In other words, the payback was in overall awareness.

People who wouldn’t know MLS from MMA gained some level of awareness of Major League Soccer thanks to Beckham’s presence. The Galaxy benefitted because their broad-level appeal and “Q rating” grew in star-crossed Los Angeles. Locally and nationally, the brands grew in value, which helps in TV contracts, sponsorship opportunities, etc. That may not matter to you, but it matters to the bottom line. That bottom line allows clubs to sign better players, which increases the quality and makes for superior overall product – and that stuff probably does matter to you.

So, by my ciphering, Beckham has done his part. He’s earned that handsome salary.

But now we’ve reached the point of diminishing returns.

While the “Beckham factor” has benefitted his club sufficiently since his 2007 arrival, that same “Beckham factor” now serves to mitigate his value. In other words, putting up with everything attached to Beckham may no longer be worth it. In my opinion, he’s just not worth the hassle.

What is the hassle factor, for instance, of having a player who just kind of does his own thing in preseason? Beckham dictated his arrival date, practicing with Tottenham rather than joining his teammates for the first few weeks of preseason training.

Does that significantly undermine the entire team’s preseason prep? No, it doesn’t. But does it slightly degrade team chemistry, when one player demonstrates that team the rules don’t apply to him? Yeah, probably.

Safe to say, rules applied unevenly certainly cannot boost locker room accord.

Now comes the story that Beckham has been invited to the royal wedding. Oh, boy.

Scott French reported in his soccer blog at ESPN Los Angeles that Beckham may attend the big ceremony as Prince William marries Kate Middleton in England. That wedding is two days before Los Angeles meets Dallas on April 29. Prediction: Beckham’s handlers will want him there for the PR advantages to Brand Beckham. As we have seen repeatedly, decisions regarding Becks never hinge on what’s best for the Galaxy; it’s always about what’s best for Brand Beckham. So, he’ll be there.

Is that a killer for the Galaxy? No, of course not. It’s one game. But again, there is a drip effect at work here. Such a decision can do nothing to foster better team chemistry.

With Beckham, it’s always something. I suspect that Bruce Arena says the same thing in private. I suspect that Arena is a bit weary of dealing with it all and would probably prefer to just get on with it – to move on to life after Beckham. After all, this is the final year of Beckham’s MLS contract, and I seriously doubt we’ll see the former England captain’s time with the Galaxy extended beyond 2011.

I suspect that Arena, too, is considering these laws of “diminishing returns.