I admit it. I am in love with David Beckham.
I was lucky enough to go to the England match last night. I love football, I love England, I love the crowd, I love David Beckham, I even like the new Wembley Stadium.
But that's enough about me, let's talk about Beckham. He came on in the second half and I don't know if this showed on the televison but he got a standing ovation. Just for coming on. That's all. Maginficent. But why is that?
Sure, he is a good player. He used to be a great player. But a standing ovation?
I think it is because he is more than great as a role model and an inspiration. For two reasons - he tries hard and he is nice. You have to respect that.
On the pitch, he could swan around; he could rest on his laurels; he could goal hang like the cool kid in the playground at school that scored all the goals, got all the girls and never had holes in his 'adidas Kick' trainers. But he doesn't. He runs around, he does his job, he plays for the team and he tries. Still.
And he could be aloof, serious, worry about his image and conform to the sterotype of a footballer's wife's wife. But he doesn't. He goes on Comic Relief (remember the Ali G interview? And what about Smithy's Motivational Talk? Genius). To set that in context, here is a bit of gossip - a couple of the other players did not want to appear in that sketch because they were worried about their image - not Mr. Beckham. He was game for it. And he did his bit for charity. He is, by all accounts, nice. A pleasant man who is kind and considerate to people, who is generous with his time and wealth and who is a great example of what being English is all about.
Sure it helps that he is fabulously rich, amazingly handsome, athletic and non-threatening but he could choose not to be nice.
And I think he genuinely helped us win The Olympics. And he invented the steam engine, discovered penicillin and solved Fermat's theorem.
Maybe I am getting carried away because I genuinely think we are going to win the FIFA World Cup next year. And I think he - and the Fabulous Cappello - will be instrumental in making that happen. I even have a big wager on it with a very smart man who saw through my hubris to the temptation of an easy $100.
I even like Victoria. I have heard stories of her kindness too. Maybe I am just too gullible and willing to see good things in people.
So the lessons out of this eulogy, this magnilloquent panegyric about Sir Lord David Beckham are two fold:
1. Everyone should be nice and try really hard for the people around them
2. I should seriously consider putting a lock on my closet
