"Ridiculous schedule"

Now that David Beckham has been sidelined with a knee injury, it is easy to look back and see what went wrong. Alexi Lalas, team president of the LA Galaxy, was able to see this before it even happened. In an article found at Yahoo Sports, Lalas spoke out about the teams exhausting schedule and the effect it was having on the teams overall fitness level. Three days later, Beckham suffered a season ending knee injury.

The article compares the schedules of Los Angeles to other MLS teams, and notes that while the Galaxy played 10 games in a little over the span of one month, most other MLS teams played only four times. It is understandable that the team and league wish to get the maximum exposure out of the Beckham signing, but playing the team into exhaustion and injury is not the answer. Soccer is not baseball - the teams cannot play every day. Even NFL teams only play once per week.

A better idea would have been to schedule Galaxy matches in larger arenas to maximize ticket sales or to schedule some off-field activities to better promote Beckham. The leagues strategy to promote Beckham has backfired. This goes to show that sports promotions aren't as easy to handle as other types of business promotions. Exhaustion and injury is definitely a key component to consider when marketing a professional soccer player, especially one that is 32 years old. Finding the right blend of playing time and off-field activities is the key to receiving the maximum return on your investment.