David Beckham Big Draw for Gillette Stadium

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Soccer star David Beckham visited Foxboro this past weekend.  My family and I decided to go see them play the New England Revolution with our 2 kids who love to play soccer.  This was our first going to a professional level soccer game.  I have to confess we may not have given it a thought except that we were offered discount tickets through the local soccer league and it was David Beckham after all.

Going to Gillette Stadium for a soccer game is a better choice for younger kids than going to a football game.  The crowd is much smaller and a little less rowdy.  Very similar to the experience we had at the Patriots Training Camp.

David Beckham has many fans and many people who are not.  Some people think that he is over the hill and only came to play in Major League Soccer for the money.  Of course the fans were booing him but he does draw a crowd and brings increased visibility to professional soccer.  According to an article I read about the “Beckham Experiment“:

The New York Red Bulls average 12,702 fans per game, but 23,409 turned out for Beckham’s season debut on July 16. Kansas City averages 10,024, but drew a more-than-capacity crowd of 11,906 for Beckham. New England averages 14,592, but 26,623 turned out Saturday to watch for bending shots.

That’s a 182% increase in fans for one game for the New England Revolution.  My kids got a big kick out of watching the game even though we lost.  David Beckham almost played the entire game and at one point slapped one of the ball boys hands in appreciation.  Something that you appreciate more when you watch a professional level game is the good shape they all have to be in to last through out the game.

I happened to be recording Beckham when he was taken down by one of the LA Galaxy’s own players.  Everyone was amused, including him.  Enjoy.