Major League Soccer could not have asked for a better show than this.
It was a perfect storm -- New York vs. Los Angeles, and David Beckham, the biggest name in soccer, playing in the biggest media market in the world. Giants Stadium hasn't been this packed for a soccer game since Pelé's swan song with the New York Cosmos in 1977. The New York Red Bulls usually play in front of more than 66,237 empty seats at home.
Maybe not after this. Those 66,237 people got themselves one hell of a show. Within eight minutes they saw Juan Pablo Angel sneak a free kick under an L.A. Galaxy wall for a goal, and they saw two David Beckham set pieces lead to two Carlos Pavon goals. By the time it was done, the New York Red Bulls finally got the better of Beckham's Galaxy, winning by a final count of 5-4.
No doubt, most of this crowd were there for Beckham. You could hear the fans buzzing and the girls screaming whenever Beckham set up for a corner kick or free kick. I suspect most of those people had no clue who Angel and Jozy Altidore were.
They do now.
