Thursday, August 2, 2007

Movie of the Month - Once in a Lifetime

History has a weird way of repeating itself. David Beckham has arrived in America this summer to give MLS a bigger name and of course higher ratings. Yet, with Beckham's arrival (and ankle injury), the first game he played (all 12 minutes of it) had the entire world at their feet. 1.4 million viewers tuned into see the second British invasion take on London's Chelsea Football squad in a friendly match. However much like the tag line to August's Movie of the Month, Beckham's paycheck, his wife and the greed of the LA Galaxy could see history repeat itself again. I myself a huge soccer fan and a fan of Beckham hope that maybe after viewing Once in a Lifetime, the MLS and others will see how to steer clear of this disaster from occurring. Once in a Lifetime is an extraordinary documentary about the rise and fall of the NASL (North American Soccer League) and the arrival of one of soccer's greatest players - Pele playing in one of the worlds best cities - New York. Narrated by Matt Dillon it features great interviews from Marv Albert, the late Ahmet Ertegun and other world renowned players like Franz Beckenbaur, Roberto Canallia and Carlos Alberto that all came to America and New York to develop and cash in on the world's game. This is a film not just for soccer fans or sports fans but those who lived through the madness of the 70's and for those that haven't, a chance to see how Beckham, MLS and skeptics can learn from others mistakes.