Official David Beckham Calendar
The Official David Beckham Calandar for 2008 has been out for a few weeks. Here's the front and the back. The images are all on a plain white background and a number of the images from David Beckham's official site, which are really nice, have been used for the calendar. Bigger versions are in the gallery. The calendar is available through amazon UK
and ebaySir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United Manager, has said that David Beckham can't transform US soccer alone, you can read his comments online here.
Becks and the symbolic 6.5M
A few days ago articles began to appear claiming David Beckham was paid 6.5 million for playing 310 minutes and scoring 1 goal etc. This was blatantly inaccurate and I am not a fan of sensationalism, even though it is a standard practice in today's media, so I sent an e-mail to ESPN inquiring how they had determined that figure and I received this reply -The 6.5 million comment. It just stands as a symbol of the league's significant commitment here ... I understand that, this year, he may not literally be making $6.5 million.
The trouble is that I think the symbolic nature of the figures er just may not have been fully understood. What with all those very literal looking, to the dollar, breakdowns based on games, starts etc. You think?
I have seen these figures from ESPN quoted far and wide and no one is suggesting that they are symbolic. I appreciate that they responded and I appreciate that they as good as admitted they have inflamed an already unfortunate situation by using journalistic license. However, as injury doesn't discrimate by pay-check and as all professional players in the world remain under contract during injury spells it seems a wholly pointless story line.
The story that is going mostly untold is that David Beckham has made a huge committment to MLS. A committment that can be valued in dollar terms as substantially greater than 6.5 million and so far the short-sighted opportunists running the league have shown little or no regard for building soccer, they have no meaningful strategy for retention of initial fan interest that can be readily identified. Their sole focus seems to be making a quick buck? There is a good story on this here.
Hopefully, I will have something more interesting than my running battles with the media to post on later :)
posted by rpm at 9:11 AM
28 Comments:
This site is AWESOME and so are you!!! You seriously need to get into journalism/reporting lol. Great job!
11:49 AM
Anne you are fantastic ,speak to name about all we that we admire David. Espn not to say how much he has already made to earn to the soccer movement Americano.Who knew the sad Galaxy.It is all therefore and offends the class and professionality of David.The incidents to make part of the life of every sportsman, but as it is always attempted to put in bad light he. We hope that David to recover soon and the field will answer for he. Ciao, Loredana, Samuele, Gabriel
12:32 PM
*wild applause* You're so on the money! (All the time, and yeah I'm biased but I'm also smart enough about the sport and the way of the world to get that you're right on target.) Cheers for the great site.
1:19 PM
Thanks Anna. This whole line of discussion is equally annoying to me. First, your point about any player with a contract being paid whether they play or not. But also, where is there mention of the fact that the profit the Galaxy has "made off of" David Beckham has not only already paid his salary for the rest of this year, but very likely the rest of his contract. And that is only their immediately quantifiable return, and only the Galaxy's, all of Becks' investors and sponsors have done quite well off of this deal thank you. The people who are not doing well are Becks, his fans and teammates.
Any controversy over the amount of Becks' salary is equally disingenuous. Although $6.5 million may be an astronomical salary in the MLS world, it is hardly noteworthy among highly successful, and more important to their bosses, highly visible athletes today. It is standard in the world Becks came from--and could have made more in had he remained--and it is certainly standard in U.S. sports. In England alone, the EPL's costly injured list is highlighted by the national teams' struggle to gather a fit starting XI.
It's absurd for ESPN, or any other U.S. sports outlet, to act as if they suddenly discovered that players contracts are paid whether they are healthy or not. Not only does it happen all of the time here, but they are ALWAYS listing statistics regarding how much players make per game, per win, per whatever, according to their number of appearances--the practice seems almost to be a sport in itself.
It takes on a meaner tone in Beckham's case because most Americans don't have the context of years of watching his sport to be able to understand his value to it, and to take these statistics with the grain of salt they afford similar "page-fillers" regarding athletes in sports they follow.
One more mis-step by the Galaxy and MLS! If they had introduced and treated Becks as the professional he is instead of a side show (grrrrr!), he would be treated with that much more respect in both press and public...to say nothing of the fact that both would have had the chance to see a healthy Becks play, and that he would be in England today with a chance of joining his team in Euro 2008 next year :(((((
4:04 PM
great post anna, and i'm gald that you followed through with writing a letter, where so many of us bitch and don't.
high five, for calling them on their irresponsible comment.
4:20 PM
Thanks ana, sigh about salary, don't even get me started. Beckham's pay check base not only on European Football but on top athletes in America as well is fairly below the average. For years, his sponsorship deals encompassed his teams as well, and he doesn't mind, not to mention he plays for England for free...and I wonder why this part of his salary deal was not often mention in the media, may be it would have highlighted how poorly he has been treated.
Marie
6:16 PM
ESTO NO TIENE NADA Q VER CON LO Q PUBLICASTE PERO LO UNICO Q QRIA DCIR ES Q DAVID BECKHAM ES UNO D LOS MAS LINDOS Q HE VISTO EN MI VIDA Y ME MAS LINDO QUEDA CUANDO ESTA CON VICTORIA, SON EL UNO PARA EL OTRO, OJALA YO FUERA VICTORIA JEJE
8:10 PM
It seems they are always looking for an angle to make the lad look bad. You can't believe anything you read anymore and there's next to no good newspapers. Used to be you could hang your hat on The Times but since newscorp bought them... well they're not much better than a red top. Who owns ESPN does anyone know?
10:28 PM
Syd, I think Disney owns ESPN
Thanks everyone for the nice comments I appreciate it :)
11:05 PM
Thanks Anna! You do a great job! I really want the calendar but I don't know where I could hang it without my hubby complaining ;-)
12:47 AM
I really don't care much about all the big salary talk.
First it was the 128 million and blah blah blah.
As far as I know his salary will be much less than the big money the press was and still is talking about.
The big money will come from the use of his image. And we know he sells a lot.
I think it's fair, actually.
I'm pretty sure any other player in his situation would not refuse such a contract.
And even without playing that much he has helped a lot to increase the MLS profile.
And he will contribute much more, hopefully.
They just need to understand that he didn't want to be injured and it's not Becks fault that some people don't understand it.
That's no news for us.
The press always wants people to think Becks is an overrated footballer, a marketing made up athlete, that he went to US just for the "big bucks".
That he gets all the women and @##$$%%$$^^^%%. That his marriage is a fake thing...
I just don't care about it anymore.
Because everytime I see him playing I can feel the passion he has for the game and everytime I see him talking I can see the passion he has for his family and the respect he has for his wife.
That's the way he is and the press cannot change it with their blah blah blah.
Anyway, any ranting against the sensationalism of any kind of media is fully supported by me. :D
I support you Anna.
Keep ranting the media everytime you want. Hehe.
1:57 AM
The calander is hottt =)
2:44 AM
Awesome coverage Anna, thanx for letting ESPN know that not everyone reads their news and just believe it word for word..I guess we can't stop the media from putting Becks in a bad light but I believe Becks will bounce back, as always. His dedication and determination speaks louder than any words. No matter, he has all of us strongly behind him all the way, that's for sure ;)
And very very gorgeous calendar covers, the pix inside are definitely gonna be as yummy hehe..I had his calendar for 2004 i think (can't remember the year exactly) and trust me, his is one calendar worth paying $$ for!!
3:53 AM
oh shut up Fergie!!!
6:51 AM
I was actually hesitant in clicking sir Alex's comments because I know he will say something negative about Beckham's marriage and his going to America---I just think that he misses the lad that David once was, but I think David didn't change, his passion for the game is still there and in fact I think he has more now, because he wants to share his love of the game to everyone.
Marie
7:44 AM
ESPN Asia, is very different from ESPN USA. In here, the sportscasters are fair, and of course know their football---they even sided with Beckham on the Real Madrid issues and when Alex Ferguson have some negative comments about Beckham's efforts, they also sided with our Becks. And there is hardly any talk about Beck's salary because the European football transfer market has more eye popping fees and salary negotiations. :)
Marie
9:02 AM
Not THAT again from SAF! He's almost like a jilted lover or heartbroken mom.
;-) : maybe he should pay a little more attention to what his current #7 is up to at night instead of criticizing a married man for spending a few evenings with his wife and new baby (as Brooklyn was at the time). It's an 8 year old peeve -- long contradicted by teammates then and ever since. Let it go already!
Unfortunately for anyone reading his quotes, he may have been trying to come to David's defense (he's done so over the past year), said a good deal more than was printed, and that old bit WOULD be the one the press would fall all over. As Anna often says, it would be interesting to know what he said in full.
Thank you for taking on The Media Anna, its all I can do to refrain from rebutting every silly article I read in the comments section...I know, I'm not supposed to be reading them! ;-\
11:09 AM
Does anyone know if the new calender be available in the U.S. or in the U.S. website of Amazon?
2:14 PM
To try anger and sadness in reading the made interview to Fergusson (also David will have these feelings). 1) Hat fortunately to refute Fergusson in fact has always declared the great professionality of David. 2) Perhaps Fergusson (that he is sure a large one manager) wanted to command and when David does not have more permission to he than to make it, they are begins the problems . 3) David has always fought in order to demonstrate to its value in the field of game 4) He is beautiful and famous, if it would want could leave the football and dedicate itself to the show, but it wishes does not wish this, because it has need of to breathe . 5 )Its wife has all the right of being respected is like wife but above all like mother of its sons. To the devil the bad languages and force David. Ciao Loredana Samuele Gabriele.
2:44 PM
Hi, I checked amazon.com and no it's not available but it is available on ebay.com
The company that does the official calendars is in Europe I don't know if it's being sold through US retails try people like Borders or B&N they should be able to tell you if they have it or will get it.
4:21 PM
Marie, I don't think SAF said anything negative about him going to America and he has gone on record wishing him all the best. He is saying he can't do it alone. I think that's reasonable. I think the weight of expectations on Becks shoulders is unfair.
4:34 PM
he he, Ana, yeah its just that Ferguson mention Beckham's marriage again that I kind of lost sight of his words of public support for Beckham before---I guess that's how the article is intended. And I have to remind myself to check what the full interview is about, because the media at times give leading questions to add more spice to their articles :)
Marie
4:49 PM
Hi Marie :) There wasn't an interview. SAF gave a talk in Glasgow and was asked about Becks during the Q&A. I wanted to put the quotes up so that you can see what he said and judge for yourself. Unfortunately a lot of people are reading a lot into what was said that isn't there and some of the tabloids are mis-quoting but it's to be expected. The media wants to portray SAF and Becks as in conflict but I really don't think that is the case, I think they made their peace sometime ago.
6:21 PM
everytime SAF made a comment about David's marriage, he'd sound like a betrayed lover. He just love DB so much, he still can't get over it! :D
7:07 PM
It's a shame so many people can't read... this is what Fergie said
'He was never a problem until he got married.
This is not a comment on Victoria, this is not a criticism of his marriage... this is when the problems between Fergie and the lad began. That's what hes saying in english and in a minute he says why it was the start of their problems...manager to player.
He used to go into work with the academy coaches at night time... he was a fantastic young lad.
This was a compliment. For all who missed it this was a reference to the fact the lad always worked hard and did extra work that he didn't have to do.
'Getting married into that entertainment scene was a difficult thing - from that moment his life was never going to be the same.
This is true. Once they became a couple... because Princes Diana (RIP) was gone and she had been the number one subject of stories for the UK press for a decade... they became the most famous couple in the UK almost over night they were way more famous as a couple than they'd been as individuals and that was even more the case for the young Becks.
The lad has gone on to be a huge world-wide celebrity, hes an icon that is famous well beyond the world of sport.
There'd be no other footballer in the world in the last decade or so, give or take that has been a celebrity on the scale that the lad has been. It changed his life. Fergie doesn't say it changed him, he doesn't say he wasn't a good player or that he didn't love football that's all your interpretations. Heck deal with what he did say don't be inventing stuff... No wonder the tabloids are so popular people have tabloid heads.
Fergie is old school he doesn't like the cult of celebrity he thinks its bad for the club. Hes familiar with having the odd star player but the lad became more than that. I miss the lad I wish he still played for United but if any player came in and became that much of a celebrity again and it played out the same way he'd do the same again. If his missus was on the telly making jokes about him, it wouldn't help. A word to all women, don't go on the telly and make fun of your husbands boss no matter how cute, funny and harmless you think you are being it is not a good idea. Ever.
The lad was young, he didn't handle his problems with Fergie the way he did with say Capello, he's grown up a lot and unlike most hes learnt his lessons and become a bigger and better man for it but back in his United days, well he sulked a few times and very publicly, he also sat next to Victoria as she made fun of Fergie looking embarrassed and awkward but giggling a little too. He would play it differently now and that's a credit to him.
Part of what happened seemed to be that Fergie got sick of having 100 journos wanting to grill him everytime he benched him. No matter what else was happening with the team the journos always wanted a story on Becks. He's old school he didn't like it. He also thought it was becoming David Beckham and the Manchester United team and he thought that was bad for creating a team of equals. Then of course they had their infamous big fight and he sold him. I think he should have managed the situation differently and better. I think it was a huge mistake but all this garbage I am seeing here from some people about him behaving like an ex-lover or whatever...well it's pathetic and the lad wouldn't want to be defended in that way. He has quite a lot of respect for Fergie after all no one knows better than the lad the price of fame.
Anyway this will be my last comment here. You do a great job Anna and I do appreciate it.
1:56 AM
Hi Syd, hang on...your last comment on this topic or forever? Hopefully not forever, I, for one, greatly appreciate your perspectives, the way you state things that I am having trouble putting my finger on and, frankly, your willingness to speak for many of us when most annoyed (as well as to us when we disagree).
And you are right, I included a jilted lover remark, and it was inappropriate. The two men certainly cared about each other, to both their credit, and of course there would have been feelings involved when things went wrong. It was a great mentor/protege relationship that began when Becks was a child. It is a credit to Fergie that he puts so much emotion into his teams and players and it shows on the pitch. Obviously there can be a formidable downside but Becks is very clear that the positives far outweighed the negatives for him.
This hoopla is probably as good an example as any of the problem Fergie had with being asked about Becks so much. I doubt he prepared the remarks being quoted, it wasn't a speech, they were off the cuff, and didn't claim to be an analysis of all that went on between manager and player. They were in context of all the talk about how Becks' celebrity was impacting MLS. Would I have preferred that he phrased his remarks differently? Of course, but, as I said in my previous comment, I think his intention was to defend Becks' position in the U.S. as an untenable one. (He certainly had a deft enough analysis of how the distance issue hurts the league and how it should be solved...you can never fault the man's football mind!).
10:19 AM
Anna do you know if the US version of Amazon will ever have the calendar?
11:53 PM
Hi Phuong, I'm not sure I see Amazon Canada are going to be selling it but it shows as not yet released. There's no reference to it at all on amazon.com but I'll keep an eye out :)
12:06 AM
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