Blame Beckham?

Blame Beckham? Fans of the LA Galaxy sure seem to think so, as some supporters groups clearly have a problem with one of the world's best soccer players.

In his first home game after returning from a loan spell with AC Milan, Beckham was booed mercilessly from the home crowd and at one point got into a verbal confrontation with one fan - who then decided to jump onto the field and was promptly taken away by security. (For the record, Beckham says that fan crossed the line with his insults - I'm willing to bet it had to do with family).

Why all the hate?

Beckham crossed the pond to join the MLS in 2007, signing a five year deal with the LA Galaxy for a contract that could reach up to $250 Million. It was a deal that was going to increase the exposure of the MLS and allow Beckham to play out the rest of his career.

There's no denying he has a ton of skill and is incredibly talented. His expertise from dead ball situations is second to none. Over time, age started to creep up on him and began to inch past the prime of his career.

When Sven-Goran Eriksson left the English National Team, his replacement was Steve McClaren. A man who's ego got the best of him and who went on a massive power trip as soon as he began his short tenure as manager. David Beckham was no longer in the picture for England - which absolutely devastated him. It was that decision that led to his move to America.

After a disasterous campaign which saw the team fail to qualify for Euro 2008, the McClaren era was brought to an end and replaced with a terrific manager in Fabio Capello. A man who instantly realized that there was still room on his squad for a man of Beckham's stature. With that said, he was concerned with Beckham playing in the MLS - a league far inferior to the likes of the English Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, and Serie A.

With his country first in his heart, Beckham knew that he had to leave the U.S. and return to Europe if he had any desire of playing in one last World Cup in 2010. That led to his loan with AC Milan and the bitter feelings LA Galaxy fans have towards him.

In their view, Beckham has been nothing more than a cancer to the team and the sport. He came here only for the money and is now turning his back on them by stating that this will be his last season in the MLS.

To say I disagree completely with their view, would be a massive understatement.

Beckham's love for his country and the national team has never been in doubt. Everyone knows that he'd do anything to slip on that jersey one more time and thanks to Fabio Capello he has that opportunity. But to do so, he needs to play with top-notch competition. That's not a slight against the MLS - but let's be honest, for a league that's only 13 years old, they have a long way to go before being remotely close to the best leagues in the world. Why blame a guy for doing what is best for him and his country?

In fact, fans should be thanking David Beckham for all that he's done for both the team and the sport in the United States.

Since joining the LA Galaxy...

- The team sold out every game in the first year of his arrival
- Attendance is up 20% from the pre-Beckham era
- The team has gone on overseas tours (without Beckham, this would NEVER happen)

Over 80,000 fans packed a stadium in Sydney, Australia to watch David Beckham and the LA Galaxy in action. You can bet the team made a ton of cash from that tour and as I said before, there's no way even a quarter of those people would watch the Galaxy if it wasn't for Beckham.

The team has quickly become a "name brand" around the world and you can find at least one Beckham Galaxy jersey almost anywhere you go. Hundreds of Thousands of jerseys have been sold with Beckham's name on it (I believe it was 300,000 in the first year alone).

TV Ratings increase when he's on, media exposure has increased exponentially and new fans have been introduced to both the sport and the league.

None of this would have been possible without David Beckham's arrival. He's a class act who has done all he can to help market the sport and the league both domestically and internationally.

It's just too bad some fans don't realize that.