It Wasn’t a United Effort for All
The corner of Hoover and Martin Luther King has never been confused with Piccadilly Circus, but there it was, a red double-decker British bus, trudging its way through Sunday traffic, lugging a load of singing, chanting soccer fans to the home of USC football.
Some of them were Manchester United supporters, but not all. One brave soul was clad in the colors of Real Madrid, the team that took David Beckham out of Manchester last month and much of the promotional steam out of United’s ensuing summer tour of America.
“Viva Real Madrid!” Martin Cutler shouted for the TV cameras after stepping off the bus in the Coliseum parking lot, soon to be engulfed by a red sea of men united for the sake of English soccer.
Cutler, 38, sounded like someone with no pressing interest in seeing 39.
“Viva Real Madrid!” he shouted again, and the next day’s headlines flashed before one’s eyes:
BURBANK MAN STOMPED BY ENGLISH SOCCER HOOLIGANS
Pints of beer were brandished, but nothing more. Cutler grinned as the United fans spilled out of the bus. Some of the fans grinned back at him.
“Ah, they know me,” Cutler explained with a laugh and a shrug. “We all watch soccer together at the Fox and Hounds.”
The Fox and Hounds is the Studio City pub that put together this split-level tour through the streets of Los Angeles. For $25 and the price of a ticket, you too could have booked a ride on the magic bus.
In an hour, Manchester United was due to kick off against Mexico’s Club America. This was the second stop of United’s four-city marketing-across-America tour. The first, a 4-0 victory over Scotland’s Celtic in Seattle, was ushered in by one excited Canadian wire reporter, who wrote:
“Not since the United States shook off its colonial governors in the War of Independence has such a formidable British force been poised to invade the American market.”
We handled the English in that one, and Kevin Graham of Aliso Viejo was girded for this one. Maybe a little too girded.
Graham, a rabid Galaxy fan, was outfitted in a teal Galaxy jersey, yellow sponge “Galaxy No. 1” finger and a rubber mask that appeared to be soccer ball screaming in serious pain. Graham wore a sandwich board advertising his true feelings about Sunday’s exhibition match.
The back of Graham’s sandwich board read: “Bend It Like Cobi!”
The front said: “The L.A. Galaxy would CRUSH Man U.”
Exposition Park was teeming with young men with no regard for their own personal safety.
Graham was still standing, so apparently blasphemy had been given a free pass for the day. He said reaction to his boards was remarkably good-natured.
Breaking it down statistician style, Graham said, “60% hate it, 10% can’t read and 30% love it.”
But did he actually believe what he was preaching?
“Of course!” Graham said. It was hard to tell if he was winking inside his mask. “The Galaxy has more players with World Cup experience than Man United. Cobi Jones and Alexi Lalas have played in three World Cups. Hong Myung-Bo was the top defender in the last World Cup.
“These guys from England kind of think it’s a joke. But the boys of MLS went to the [World Cup] quarterfinals last year.”
It was hot. Graham might have spent a little too much time inside the ball. He said he was trying to have some fun outside the Coliseum, because he wouldn’t be having any inside.
Graham said he had tickets to Sunday’s match, but returned them. He said he lost interest in the event “when they traded Beckham. And, I’ve been spending too much money on soccer lately.”
Certainly, United bending it without Beckham is a lesser gate attraction. United played to a Seahawks Stadium record crowd of 66,722 Tuesday, but attendance at the Coliseum for United’s 3-1 triumph over Club America was 57,365. That was partly because of steep ticket prices -- $25 for the cheap seats, $40 to $125 between the goals -- but also because of United’s recently depleted star power.
United has had a rough summer. While English Premier League rivals Chelsea and Liverpool load up with expensive new talent, United was unable to parlay the $40 million it received in the Beckham deal for any substantial roster upgrade. Leeds striker Harry Kewell said no to United and signed with Liverpool. Brazil’s Ronaldinho stared down those money bags and opted for Barcelona.
Adjusting to life without Beckham is going to take time, both for soccer fans and United. But Real Madrid fan Cutler believes United will eventually be a better team without him.
“Against Celtic, they played much quicker and played the ball more to feet,” Cutler said. “Now, they can play more to [forward Ruud] Van Nistelrooy. I think Van Nistelrooy is one of the three or four best players in the world, and now he’ll have an even bigger impact.”
And in the 46th minute of Sunday’s match, Van Nistelrooy shook up a listless scoreless tie with a blast into the net, triggering a three-goal second half for United.
End it with Van Nistelrooy? Hard to squeeze that one on a movie marquee. But if you score enough goals and win enough games, the $75 replica jersey sales should take care of themselves.
