Beckham and Galaxy need to win the MLS Cup

David Beckham in all probability will play his last game for LA Galaxy in the MLS Cup Final on Sunday night against Houston Dynamo. Galaxy’s Home Depot Center had already been pre-chosen as the venue for the final and in my mind Galaxy and Beckham need to win the game to justify the progress of professional soccer in the USA.

Sounds ridiculous I know and I would normally not say such nonsense but Galaxy have been the best MLS team for the past two seasons yet Beckham and co and have yet to lift the major trophy in American soccer.

Only twice since 2000 has the ‘best team’ won the end of season finale, which the media (and the MLS) pronounce as the championship title. Columbus Crew were the last team to win the Supporters Shield given to the team with the best overall season record and the MLS Cup. That was in 2008 and Columbus dominated in that period as did DC United for a couple of seasons before that.

However in the last two seasons LA Galaxy have finished the 34-game season with the best record (they were 2nd the season previous) but have failed miserably in the end of season play-offs.

Calls for a national single league, now 18 teams strong, and thus an eventual league winner have gone unheralded by the MLS, who worry that it would deter American sports fans from following their local(ish) teams. The American sports fan's psyche is like no other remember and fans well and truly believe that their team, in whichever sport, start every season with a chance of winning silverware, and at the very least are in with a big shout of an extended season via the play-offs.

Following a Fulham or a Sunderland would hold no value for an American fan and with no relegation, it is all about being the winner, which might explain that there are so many ridiculous side trophies up for grabs. I'll give you the Coffee Pot Cup and the Texas Derby to name just two.

If Galaxy beat Houston Dynamo tonight it will be a fitting finale for Beckham and provide a huge boost for the sport in a land where soccer has never been king. Whatever you think of him, you cannot deny his real love of playing the game and few thought that when he signed his 5-year deal in 2007 that he would see it out.

Beckham is still a crowd pleaser and without doubt, although not quite to the same initial degree, he still adds bums to seats wherever he plays. Why do you think the GB Olympic team are talking up his chances of playing next summer?

Beckham has had a record season for assists (15) and has an eye on returning to Europe, preferably the Premier League. No doubt he still feels he could feature in the European Championships, although I would say that is unlikely but a chance to champion the 2012 London Olympics would mean an awful lot to him.

Beckham has been good for the growth of soccer in America despite the cynics and naysayers. Without his influence I wonder if Thierry Henry, Torsten Frings, Robbie Keane and others would have come to America to play? Would new stadiums have been built and would NBC have taken so much as a sideways glance?

There will be a full house in Carson, California tonight, but if Houston win the game, news of it will only fill a few lines of tomorrow and Monday's national papers but if David Beckham is photographed holding aloft the trophy, well that will be big front page news and every sports fan will be talking about it and not just in the USA but around the globe.

It is as simple as that. Sorry Houston but there can be only one winner tonight if the MLS and soccer in America is to continue to progress.

Whilst on the subject of the MLS I'd like to recommend a blog written by fellow Charlton fan Jimmy Stone, called Football Not Soccer, who has followed the MLS season with some erudite and witty posts. Take a look.