By Stephen Johns

Remember when David Beckham was supposed to make his Major League Soccer debut at BMO Field last year, then wasn’t even on the substitute’s bench? Well, brace yourselves, transient sports fans: it’s about to happen again.
Beckham—who’s since made his inaugural Canadian appearances in specially-arranged friendlies in Vancouver and Edmonton—was supposed to be in town May 31 along with the rest of the Los Angeles Galaxy, the team who signed him to one of the most obscene contracts in professional sports history. Beckham, however, was named to the England squad for a pair of international friendlies that bookend the Toronto date: one is in England, the other, curiously, is in Trinidad & Tobago. (The thought of the English national team arriving in Port of Spain instead of preparing for Euro 2008 amuses us somewhat.) He could, in theory, make the Toronto FC game—but that would involve an awful lot of flying, and we doubt the Galaxy or the English Football Association would allow it.
Beckham’s inclusion in the England squad suggests that rumours of his demise have been greatly exaggerated. (It’s either that or an indication that the new England manager, Fabio Capello, is as utterly clueless as his predecessor, Steve McLaren—but we digress.) Yet while it’s likely his skills haven’t deteriorated nearly as much as we’ve been led to believe, we’re still not sure where we stand on the whole Beckham experiment (a point we also made last summer while awaiting his MLS debut). If the ultimate goal was to raise public awareness that professional soccer does, in fact, exist in North America, then it’s been at least a measured success. Beckham’s face is still omnipresent in the North American media; lately, for instance, he’s been popping up courtside at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles to watch his buddy Kobe Bryant play basketball. On the pitch, he’s probably done as much as an ageing superstar whose best years are behind him can do. He hasn’t exactly set the MLS on fire (and the Galaxy have been mediocre so far this year), but we’re guessing that was never really the point.
As for his Toronto debut, Major League Soccer is hosting its all-star game at BMO Field on July 24. Will Beckham feature? We’re assuming so—it’s far too good a marketing opportunity to pass up—but from the looks of it, that’ll be his best chance of making a Toronto debut this calendar year. Unless, of course, someone organizes another pointless exhibition match to showcase the sport’s biggest name. Where Canada and David Beckham are concerned, that seems like the easiest way of doing business.
Photo of BMO Field by William Self from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.