Beckham's celebrity status draws fans

Becca likes Beckham.

She ripped a close-up photo of the soccer star and heartthrob out of my Sports Illustrated magazine and took it up to her bedroom for safekeeping.

Our 15-year-old has nothing but good things to say about Beckham. She thinks he's cute. She likes his style. Being married to a Spice Girl doesn't hurt either.

But don't be misled. She couldn't care less about soccer.

The sports pundits on ESPN keep talking about how David Beckham, the soccer star from England, is going to revitalize the sport in the United States.

But all the buzz comes largely from people like Becca who don't care if Beckham's LA Galaxy team wins or loses.

ESPN recently televised the most hyped soccer game in the history of the United States. It was supposed to be the coming-out party for Beckham in America.

The Hollywood elite showed up, decked out for a party. ESPN even kept a camera trained on Beckham as he sat on the bench.

Beckham spent a lot of time riding the bench. An ankle injury kept him from entering the game until well into the second half.

As a result, ESPN had to make do with repeated camera shots of Beckham seated on the sidelines.

The team's bench warmers must have loved it. They certainly got more television face time than their teammates running around on the field. Beckham found plenty of time to smile for the cameras.

Before the game even started, he was surrounded by a huge pack of photographers capturing his every move.

The whole affair had more of an appearance of a rock concert than a soccer game. And for most of the game, the crowd sat around waiting for the main act.

The crowd cheered wildly when he entered the game. Never mind that his team was trailing, the crowd wanted to see him run around the field.

He did just that. When he made a pass, the crowd cheered. They treated him like a Hollywood star.

Becca, of course, didn't watch the game. She likes his looks. But she wouldn't spend her time watching a professional soccer game.

A story in the Southeast Missourian on Sunday suggested that Beckham would bring a flair for fashion to America. The story barely mentioned soccer.

Beckham rose to fame as a soccer player in Europe. But these days it's his celebrity status that has people paying attention to him, on and off the field.

Deniece Schofield can't compete with Beckham's style. But she can get rid of the clutter in a home. Schofield, who authored "Confessions of an Organized Homemaker," was scheduled to lecture Monday night in Cape Girardeau.

For a $20 admission charge, you could get some first-hand advice to battle clutter. But I avoided the event. Our home needs some tidying up. But I'm not ready to tackle it just yet.

Our younger daughter, Bailey, has a knack for cluttering her room with an assortment of clothes and dolls.

But even her room is looking better these days. It's not because she has gotten any tips from Schofield. Rather, it has to do with the fact that she's spent a lot of this summer at Girl Scout camp.

When you're camping in the woods, you don't have time to trash your bedroom. That's clearly an important benefit of being a Girl Scout.

Of course, camps do eventually end. Girl Scouts come home with their bags cluttered with dirty laundry and assorted camp items.

But I'm not worried about it. I'm too busy watching the celebrity clutter fostered by the biggest import from England since the Beatles.

Mark Bliss is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.