Few thoughts on why Beckham in the states will not succeed. 1) The Spanish-speaking gentlemen you spoke with are right. MLS is garbage compared to the the other international leagues. 2) I just don't think Americans can get into soccer because the average American fan is point-obsessed. We are used to 28-24 type scores in Football and like 95-92 in BBall (155-152 if the Warriors are playing the Suns). Look at the home run insanity in baseball or the ridiculous rule changes to make hockey higher scoring. This country loves scoring and we frankly just can't deal with 95ish minutes of game time and a final score of 1-0. 3) Beckham is a great celebrity, but he's also at the tail-end of his career. His ankles balloon up to the size of water wings when he plays for like four minutes and his already mediocre speed has proceeded towards non-existent. Now, let me just say I love soccer and love having Beckham here. But I'd still rather watch any European football match than an MLS game with an aging Beckham surrounded by average talent.