tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/david-beckham-5561/articlesDavid Beckham – The Conversation2024-02-07T12:03:09Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2218272024-02-07T12:03:09Z2024-02-07T12:03:09ZWhat recent Netflix shows – including The Crown and Beckham – get wrong about the British press<p>Twelve years after the <a href="https://theconversation.com/hacking-affair-is-not-over-but-what-would-a-second-leveson-inquiry-achieve-29715">Leveson inquiry</a> and the closure of News of the World, the British press are having a reckoning on Netflix. Recent celebrity documentaries Beckham and Robbie Williams, and the final season of TV drama The Crown, have painted a portrait of the UK tabloids as cruel, sadistic and predatory of its homegrown celebrities.</p>
<p>While criticism of the British tabloids – particularly the ethics and methods of the News of the World – is often justified, the specifics offered by all three shows fall flat. Focusing on the late 1990s and early 2000s, when Princess Diana, Robbie Williams and David Beckham were each at the height of their fame, they prioritise individual stories over the big picture. </p>
<p>In doing so, these Netflix releases paint specific paps and a broad, amorphous “press” as demons, but ignore the broader socio-political forces, corruptions and collusions uncovered by Leveson in 2012 and the #MeToo movement in 2017.</p>
<p>According to <a href="https://www.faber.co.uk/product/9780571232093-retromania/">music journalist Simon Reynolds</a>, mass-market pop culture operates by a “20-year-rule” which sees trends and preoccupations return every two decades. This makes the turn of the millennium ripe for nostalgic and critical reflection in the 2020s. </p>
<p>The Crown explores the death of Princess Diana 25 years after her death. Robbie Williams tells the story of the singer, 25 years after the release of his biggest song, Angels. And Beckham explores the aftermath of the footballer’s infamous World Cup red card, 25 years on. </p>
<p>While these shows all try to claim part of the noughties nostalgia trend, they feel politically and contextually vacant. They each miss the opportunity to rigorously critique constructions of celebrity in the 1990s and 2000s.</p>
<h2>The millennium press</h2>
<p>Something all three shows miss is how textured and transitional the media landscape of the period was. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13183222.1998.11008685">By 1998</a>, only 8% of editorial in The Sun and The Mirror could be classed as “public affairs” – the rest focused on gossip, sports, or both. </p>
<p>Inevitably, as celebrity culture became news, news also became gossip and both categories <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0163443711411005">disintegrated</a> into what we now call “clickbait”. </p>
<p>In the 2000s, internet publishing and blogging also changed the way news was circulated and reported. As literary critic <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/cambridge-companion-to-the-essay/essay-online/BD8747CA96D6E6FF398B2392223A6E0D">Jane Hu</a> argues: “The commercial internet generated an economy of attention that rewarded stories that were at once sensationalist and relatable – personal and universal – in a drive for content that would go viral among the broadest range of readers.”</p>
<p>This changed not only the way stories were reported, but how subjects of those stories were treated. As The Crown dolefully shows, one picture of Princess Diana could sell for millions to print newspapers in 1997. A decade later, the economy of attention cultivated by internet journalism would <a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/claudiarosenbaum/downfall-of-the-paparazzi">drive the price of those pictures down</a>, even as the demand for content rose. Photos were now readily available online for free, and regular people could upload favourite “spotted” photos of their favourite celebrity for anyone to see, making the work of the paparazzi less valuable. </p>
<h2>The Crown</h2>
<p>The final season of The Crown covers the last eight months of Princess Diana’s life. The late princess’s treatment at the hands of her husband, the royal family and the British press had previously been covered in <a href="https://www.buzzsprout.com/1112270">eight hour podcasting</a> deep dives, various documentaries, and the Oscar nominated film, Spencer (2021). </p>
<p>These works largely stressed how sexist cultural responses to Diana were both before and after her death, when she was depicted as <a href="https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/share/81f2c07a-ece0-4bb7-841f-08baeab9e0c3">“bitter”</a>, <a href="https://www.history.com/news/princess-diana-bbc-interview-martin-bashir">“unbalanced”</a> and “<a href="https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/share/81f2c07a-ece0-4bb7-841f-08baeab9e0c3">silly</a>” by the British media.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">A scene from The Crown shows Diana speaking with the paparazzi.</span></figcaption>
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<p>For a drama once well regarded for the breadth – if not the accuracy – of its historical storytelling, The Crown’s monomaniacal fixation with the final weeks of Diana’s life marked a season one critic called <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/nov/16/the-crown-season-6-review-so-bad-its-like-an-out-of-body-experience-netflix">“so bad it’s basically an out-of-body experience”</a>. </p>
<p>Through fictionalised monologues from actors playing real photographers and journalists, the press compare themselves to “hunters” and “killers”. It’s as if the show – which was once semi-critical and adamantly contextual of the Royal family – wanted to reframe them as powerless innocents, exploited by the dastardly press. </p>
<h2>Beckham and Robbie Williams</h2>
<p>Unlike The Crown, the main characters in the documentaries Beckham and Robbie Williams are not only living subjects but also active participants in the programmes. This means they must balance the egos of their subjects, justified critique of the press intrusions they experienced, and appeals for audience sympathy, which often minimises the role of the celebrity in their own media dramas. </p>
<p>Beckham consults a litany of talking heads – former managers, teammates, Spice Girls and two suitably shame-filled paparazzi – to build a portrait of the footballer and his union with wife Victoria. </p>
<p>Produced by Beckham’s own company, the programme is a portrait of how the couple <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/on-television/beckham-shows-us-how-david-and-victoria-beckham-see-themselves">“see themselves”</a>. This is reinforced by the <a href="https://deadline.com/2023/10/david-beckham-netflix-doc-doctored-truth-spin-narrative-say-fact-checkers-1235586518/">errors journalists have found</a> in the narrative Netflix presents. These include exaggerations of the level of hostility Beckham experienced at Manchester United and cuts in footage which imply he was fouled at times he wasn’t. </p>
<p>When it’s done right, and particularly with the benefit of hindsight, critiques of the tabloids adhere with wider critique of other institutions – like the royal family, music industry, or Premier League football. In doing this, they can show how hostile to difference or dissension our dominant systems really are.</p>
<p>Two things can be true. The Beckhams can both manufacture tabloid interest to engender lucrative brand deals, and be unfairly stalked by predatory photographers and highly sexist critiques of their family, relationship, and parenting. As Williams notes: “When you become famous you want to give away the privacy you want to give away. You don’t wanna have your privacy taken from you.”</p>
<p>With their hyperfocus on sympathy for the celebrity, and lack of wider context, all three Netflix shows fall short of offering larger analysis of the British press.</p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachel Sykes does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>While these shows all try to claim part of the noughties nostalgia trend, they feel politically and contextually vacant.Rachel Sykes, Senior Lecturer in Contemporary Literature, University of BirminghamLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2186722024-01-03T13:19:02Z2024-01-03T13:19:02ZHow second world war bomb rubble was used to make 135 football pitches in east London<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564885/original/file-20231211-15-t8k7r9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C0%2C4785%2C2622&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Hackney Marshes football pitches with the city of London on the horizon.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/alandenney/26288830431/"> Alan Denney|Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>During the second world war, German forces dropped 28,000 bombs and almost 3,000 V1 flying bombs and V2 rockets on London. Nearly 30,000 people were killed. The damage to the built environment was extensive. </p>
<p>Within the London County Council area (roughly covering today’s inner London), more than 73,000 structures were totally destroyed. Local surveyors, construction workers, architects and engineers documented the destruction as it happened on hand-coloured maps, which are now held at the London Metropolitan Archives. Some 43,400 structures recorded on these maps were categorised as “<a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/bomb-damage-maps-reveal-londons-world-war-ii-devastation">damaged beyond repair</a>”. </p>
<p>City authorities were faced with the gargantuan task of figuring out quite where to put the millions of tonnes of rubble. My <a href="https://journal.equinoxpub.com/JCA/article/view/25782">recent study</a> looks at the largest of these rubble dumps – at Hackney and Leyton Marshes in east London – and the remarkable afterlife it has had, as the wellspring of English grassroots football. </p>
<h2>When rubble choked the city of London</h2>
<p>Between December 1940 and 1946, 2.2 million cubic metres of concrete, brick and stone rubble were dumped on Hackney Marsh and 270,000 cubic metres on Leyton Marsh, raising the ground level by three metres. If piled together, the volume would have <a href="https://www.themeasureofthings.com/singleresult.php?comp=volume&unit=cm&amt=2470000&i=451">exceeded the Great Pyramid</a>. </p>
<p>In 2021 and 2022, I conducted an archaeological walkover and photographic surveys of the marshes. I struggled to find obvious evidence of the conflict. The rubble lies hidden under plants and soil with only occasional surface fragments of concrete and the odd brick hinting at the site’s wartime origins. </p>
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<img alt="An overhead shot of bricks on a dirt path." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564896/original/file-20231211-23-uw2x9d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564896/original/file-20231211-23-uw2x9d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564896/original/file-20231211-23-uw2x9d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564896/original/file-20231211-23-uw2x9d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564896/original/file-20231211-23-uw2x9d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564896/original/file-20231211-23-uw2x9d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564896/original/file-20231211-23-uw2x9d.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Bomb rubble fragments of stock bricks and granite setts eroding from pathways on Leyton Marsh, 2023 (10cm scale).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jonathan Gardner</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Comparing images from surveys by aerial <a href="https://www.lidarfinder.com/">lidar</a> (a laser-light technology used for 3D mapping) with historic maps shows how both sites are now marshes in name only. The elevation created by the rubble is visible both in sharp breaks of slope on the maps and, on the ground, in the unexpectedly steep staircases you have to climb in order to reach the football pitches from the bank of the River Lea.</p>
<p>Venture to neighbouring Leyton and Clapton and where the rubble came from becomes far more visible. Street after street showcase gaps where houses are missing in otherwise neat terraces. Modernist blocks abut awkwardly against Victorian townhouses. </p>
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<img alt="A portrait shot of an east London street." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564899/original/file-20231211-15-tydx76.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/564899/original/file-20231211-15-tydx76.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564899/original/file-20231211-15-tydx76.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564899/original/file-20231211-15-tydx76.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564899/original/file-20231211-15-tydx76.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564899/original/file-20231211-15-tydx76.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/564899/original/file-20231211-15-tydx76.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Gaps in Victorian terraces, in Leyton, make visible the extent of the bombing suffered during the war.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jonathan Gardner</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
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<p>The first weeks of the Blitz, in September 1940, saw London’s 29 borough councils increasingly unable to cope with a <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Blitz_and_its_Legacy/zBeoDQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1">backlog of 2.7 million tonnes</a> of rubble. It effectively choked the city, blocking miles of roads and rendering vital services inoperable. </p>
<p>By the end of September, the city-wide War Debris Survey and Disposal Service was established. Early dump locations it selected included disused gravel pits on Hampstead Heath and the site of the 1851 Great Exhibition in Hyde Park, which had <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv23wf3ft.8?seq=30#:%7E:text=sand%20quarrying%20in%20the%20Second%20World%20War%20">been quarried</a> for sand to fill sandbags in the first years of the war. </p>
<p>As the bombing intensified, larger spaces were soon needed. The service turned its sights eastwards, to the wide-open marshland of east London.</p>
<p>The infilling was primarily undertaken to clear London’s bombed streets. It also had a more constructive purpose. A 1942 memo written by the Ministry of Home Security (now held in the <a href="https://search.lma.gov.uk/scripts/mwimain.dll/144/LMA_OPAC/web_detail?SESSIONSEARCH&exp=refd%20LCC/CL/CD/03/115">London Metropolitan Archives</a>) notes: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Sites for tips should be studied and selected. The opportunity may be taken to make up to new levels land which is subject to flooding or to improve other waste and uneven sites. </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>How Hackney Marshes became a footballing utopia</h2>
<p>At the east London site, 250,000 cubic metres of soil from upriver reservoir construction was added to the rubble. This was then seeded to create 135 football pitches, as well as numerous cricket pitches and changing rooms. </p>
<p>This transformation represented a remarkable turnaround for the jumbled debris of a violent conflict and was noted as such, during the war itself. In 1942, the leader of the London County Council, Lord Latham, remarked that “the battle of London has helped to win a new playing field for future generations of Londoners”. </p>
<p>Though unmarked by commemorative plaques, the pitches themselves have become a vast footballing heritage site, the “utopia,” as founder of Hackney Wick Football Club Bobby Kasanga <a href="https://londonist.com/london/sport/hackney-marshes-a-sunday-morning-mecca">has put it</a>, “of grassroots football”. </p>
<p>In 1953, seven years after the pitches opened, a British Pathé <a href="https://www.britishpathe.com/asset/189053/">newsreel</a> reported a “six to ten month” wait for a booking: “A team lucky enough to get a dressing room shares it with their opponents – typical, this, of the sporting spirit of these Londoners.” </p>
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<p>The popularity of the site stemmed from it not only being the largest agglomeration of football pitches in the world, but also from its accessibility. It was a place where locals and recent immigrants to London alike could share their love for the beautiful game. </p>
<p>The Hackney and Leyton Football League, founded when the pitches opened in 1946, remains London’s largest and oldest league. It has cemented the reputation of the site, with legendary England players, including Bobby Moore and David Beckham, having trained there. </p>
<p>In 1997, Ian Wright featured along with Eric Cantona, Robbie Fowler and David Seaman, in a Nike <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gvTS_bZisQ">ad</a> soundtracked by Blur’s smash hit Parklife and shot on the marshes. Adidas, meanwhile, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgBZGyAW3Zk">flew Lionel Messi</a> on to the pitches by helicopter for a promo match, in 2010, only to have to drive him away by van when he was mobbed by fans. </p>
<p>As more rugby and cricket pitches have been added, the number of pitches has reduced down from the original 135 to 70. Hundreds of players from <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/gv4x3m/the-art-of-hackney-marshes-photographing-the-home-of-sunday-league-football">diverse, working-class communities</a> across London still flock there each weekend though. </p>
<p>UK photographer Simon Di Principe used to go to the marshes as a kid, with his mother, to watch his father play. His 2016 book, <a href="https://www.dazeddigital.com/photography/article/32632/1/capturing-hopes-and-dreams-on-east-london-s-football-pitches">Grass Roots</a>, documents a full season of these amateur Sunday league games, in what Di Principe has said is “a contemporary testament and celebration of what makes London a multicultural city”. </p>
<p>The marshes endure as a subtle reminder of the losses the people of London incurred during the second world war.</p>
<p>The successive grassroots campaigns that have thwarted a variety of proposed developments in recent years are a testament to the value the site continues to hold, for those future generations of post-war Londoners that Latham foresaw.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218672/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonathan Gardner does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>East London’s fabled football destination is the best example of how wartime rubble was repurposed to improve the city for its residents.Jonathan Gardner, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in Archeology, The University of EdinburghLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2154372023-10-18T03:35:03Z2023-10-18T03:35:03ZWhat the David Beckham documentary tells us – and what it doesn’t – about controlling parents in sport<p>In the Netflix documentary Beckham, the footballer is asked how he coped with the abuse of his entire country after the 1998 men’s football World Cup. David Beckham responds:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I was able to handle being abused by the fans […] because of the way my dad had been to me.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>A poignant scene shows Beckham’s mother Sandra struggling with how hard his father Ted was on their son. Ted’s shouting often brought David to tears. When asked if he was too tough on David, Ted says:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>No […] if I told him how good he was, then he’s got nothing to work at.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Throughout the documentary, Ted’s behaviour is rationalised by Ted and even Beckham himself as necessary to support David’s sporting trajectory. But David also said he was <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/24259838/david-beckham-netflix-dad-ted-childhood-sir-alex-ferguson/">scared</a> of his father’s feedback and felt compelled to practise for hours every day.</p>
<p>Other athletes with similar stories include <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/hbo-s-tiger-woods-documentary-takes-deep-dive-star-s-ncna1253644">Tiger Woods</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/dec/01/the-joy-of-six-athletes-pushy-parents">Andre Agassi</a> and Australian <a href="https://au.sports.yahoo.com/jelena-dokic-shares-sickening-account-of-being-abused-as-a-teen-tennis-star-213349759.html">Jelena Dokic</a>. </p>
<p>Too often, controlling behaviour by parents is portrayed as necessary for success as an athlete. But the evidence shows this idea is false. In fact, such an approach can be detrimental to both a child’s chances of sporting success and their wellbeing. </p>
<p>And it’s not just a problem with elite sport; our research shows it’s also occurring with community sport.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/winning-at-all-costs-how-abuse-in-sport-has-become-normalised-142739">Winning at all costs – how abuse in sport has become normalised</a>
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<h2>What we found</h2>
<p>Our <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/08862605221114155">research</a> found about one in three people we surveyed said they’d experienced abuse by a parent during their time in Australian community sport. </p>
<p>Psychological abuse by parents was reported by just under a third of our respondents, and included behaviours such as: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>excessive criticism</p></li>
<li><p>insults and humiliation</p></li>
<li><p>excessively training to extreme exhaustion/vomiting</p></li>
<li><p>ignoring a child following a sport performance.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The controlling and abusive behaviours described above have been consistently <a href="https://theconversation.com/winning-at-all-costs-how-abuse-in-sport-has-become-normalised-142739">normalised</a> by <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02614367.2016.1250804">parents</a>, coaches and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1016/j.smr.2019.03.001">sporting organisations</a> as being necessary to create “mentally tough” athletes ready for high-level competition.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-taking-a-trauma-and-violence-informed-approach-can-make-sport-safer-and-more-equitable-213349">Why taking a trauma- and violence-informed approach can make sport safer and more equitable</a>
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<p>However, there is no evidence abusive and controlling behaviours have a positive impact on performance. </p>
<p>Instead, there is ample evidence to indicate it:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>harms children’s confidence and self-esteem</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00572/full">increases competition anxiety</a></p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1356336X14555294">leads to sport dropout</a></p></li>
<li><p>is associated with <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.5694/mja2.51870">depression and anxiety</a>. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Research shows when adults in community sport use what’s known as an “autonomy-supportive approach” – in which young people are empowered to make their own decisions and have their feelings validated – children can be <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17408989.2017.1346070?casa_token=Wd8P4Y9I2fEAAAAA%3AIXY0n8e9BoTJKIB29IQ4NWeKZEgghs_1FXqfq2rQ1jgoqt5EJuQeFqmkEtdIIpt7TJEBi9d_iLK_3LA">more self-motivated</a>. </p>
<p>An <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1469029215000229">experiment</a> at the 2012 Olympic Games found coaches with a more supportive approach achieved higher medal tallies than those who did not. </p>
<p>Most of this evidence has focused on coaching, but given many parents act as coaches for their children, these findings remain relevant. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554131/original/file-20231016-21-vqceuc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A child looks sad at football." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554131/original/file-20231016-21-vqceuc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/554131/original/file-20231016-21-vqceuc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554131/original/file-20231016-21-vqceuc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554131/original/file-20231016-21-vqceuc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554131/original/file-20231016-21-vqceuc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554131/original/file-20231016-21-vqceuc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/554131/original/file-20231016-21-vqceuc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">There is no evidence abuse improves performance of children in sport.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Putting children’s experiences first</h2>
<p>There is no evidence that controlling or abusive practices improve children’s performance in sport. But even if there was, sport performance should not be valued above a child’s health and wellbeing.</p>
<p>These behaviours would not be tolerated in different environments, such as workplaces or schools. </p>
<p>It’s time to move on from this debate in sport. So where to from here?</p>
<p>The sport system is complex, and while it’s easy to think it’s just a few problematic people, the reality is these practices have been normalised for generations. </p>
<p>Parents are repeating patterns from their own experiences and mirroring practices they see as normal in elite sport. There is no quick fix. </p>
<p>But we can all play a part by reflecting on our own behaviours and considering how we can prioritise children’s experiences and wellbeing. </p>
<p>Parents should <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspor.2022.1087182/full">focus on fun, learning new skills, enjoying the moment</a>, and being part of a team so their kids can get the most out of the games they love.</p>
<p>Despite Beckham himself suggesting it was all worth it, the evidence suggests he was successful in spite of the high-pressure home environment, not because of it. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/in-sport-abuse-is-often-dismissed-as-good-coaching-211691">In sport, abuse is often dismissed as 'good coaching'</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/215437/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexandra Parker receives funding from the Australian Government Emerging Priorities Program. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Aurélie Pankowiak receives funding from VicHealth.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mary Woessner does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>David Beckham says he felt prepared for the nation’s wrath because of how he says he was treated by his father. It’s a familiar story in sport, but evidence shows controlling behaviour doesn’t work.Mary Woessner, Lecturer in Clinical Exercise and Research Fellow, Institute for Health and Sport (iHeS), Victoria University, Victoria UniversityAlexandra Parker, Professor of Physical Activity and Mental Health, Victoria UniversityAurélie Pankowiak, Research Fellow, Institute for Health and Sport, Victoria UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2071112023-06-07T18:13:05Z2023-06-07T18:13:05ZMessi is heading to the US as Saudi Arabia kicks off bidding war with MLS for aging soccer stars<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530625/original/file-20230607-25-t9m6nc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C38%2C8640%2C5703&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Karim Benzema -- taking the money and running into the box.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/SaudiSpanishSuperCupSoccer/e2e8acaa59f94cc690db8c9305dcd7ef/photo?Query=benzema%20saudi&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=32&currentItemNo=8">AP Photo/Hussein Malla</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The announcements on consecutive days that the storied Real Madrid and France soccer star Karim Benzema is <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/06/sports/soccer/karim-benzema-saudi-arabai-al-ittihad.html">joining the Saudi Pro League</a> and that Lionel Messi, thought by many to be <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/messi-may-not-be-soccers-goat-for-long/2022/12/18/ae733296-7f33-11ed-8738-ed7217de2775_story.html">soccer’s GOAT</a>, intends to play in the United States’ Major League Soccer may mark the beginning of a new international bidding war for superannuated soccer stars.</p>
<p>MLS has for many years been recruiting aging talent from big European clubs, but the Saudi interest is new. Benzema’s move to Al-Ittihad – <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2023/06/07/karim-benzema-reportedly-signs-a-deal-with-saudi-arabias-al-ittihad.html">costing more than US$200 million</a> – follows the <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2023/1/19/what-does-ronaldos-signing-for-al-nassr-mean-for-saudi-arabia">acquisition of Cristiano Ronaldo</a> by fellow Saudi club Al Nassr in 2022 for $100 million.</p>
<p>The Benzema announcement on June 6, 2023, furthered speculation that the kingdom is <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/05/football/kareem-benzema-saudi-club-intl/index.html">attempting to build a soccer league</a> that will be competitive with Europe’s elite: the English Premier League, La Liga in Spain, Germany’s Bundesliga and Serie A in Italy.</p>
<p>Although it seems unlikely that the Saudi Pro League will make any dent in the popularity of those established European leagues any time soon, the trend of big-name signings may be the detriment of smaller leagues – chief among them MLS – which will struggle to compete with the power of the Saudi sporting purse.</p>
<h2>A game of money and image laundering</h2>
<p>Confirmation of the Benzema move came on the same day that LIV Golf, funded by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-saudi-arabia-came-to-be-at-the-centre-of-a-global-golf-merger-207203">announced its merger with the PGA</a> – prompting <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/jun/06/saudi-liv-pga-tour-divisions-within-golf">comments about “sportswashing</a>,” the use of investment in sports to launder the image of Saudi Arabia’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/saudi-arabia-is-a-repressive-regime-and-so-are-a-lot-of-us-allies-105106">repressive, brutal and authoritarian regime</a>. </p>
<p>However, there is one important difference between the Benzema story and LIV Golf. Saudi Arabians in particular – and the Arab peoples of the Middle East in general – have <a href="https://archive.aramcoworld.com/issue/197207/golf.in.the.arab.world-the.players.htm">never shown much interest in golf</a>. It was brought to the region by well-to-do British and American expats, and took hold only among local elites.</p>
<p>Golf Saudi was created in 2018 and launched an ambitious <a href="https://golfsaudi.com/en/news/24">mass participation program</a> as part of the kingdom’s <a href="https://www.vision2030.gov.sa/">Vision 2030</a> project, precisely because few Saudis played the game.</p>
<p>The same cannot be said of soccer. The game is beloved across the Arab world, and as soccer writer Simon Kuper and I wrote in “<a href="https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/simon-kuper/soccernomics-2022-world-cup-edition/9781645030171/">Soccernomics</a>,” the nations of the Middle East would have produced competitive international teams long ago were it not for the region’s <a href="https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2011/wp1112.pdf">long-standing political instability</a>. Some observers have described soccer as “<a href="https://www.arabamerica.com/soccer-the-second-religion-of-the-arab-world/">the second religion of the Arab world</a>.”</p>
<h2>Oldies but goodies</h2>
<p>The strategy of buying aging stars from European leagues to promote interest in an emerging soccer nation is a long-standing tradition. </p>
<p>In the 2016-17 season, China made waves when <a href="https://www.zujugp.com/articles/why-the-chinese-super-league-is-now-closed-to-foreign-superstars">it started spending large sums in the transfer market</a> to attract luminaries such as former Manchester United star Carlos Tevez and the Brazilian midfielder Oscar. The Australian A-League brought in players like <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/165688-a-league-news-move-over-fowler-here-comes-recoba">Liverpool’s Robbie Fowler and Brazil’s Juninho</a> in its early years, while Japan’s J.League launched in 1993 with aging World Cup legends <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football-lineker-is-eclipsed-by-zico-barclays-league-promotion-playoffs-semifinals-2323402.html">Zico and Gary Lineker</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="A man with long hair dribbles a ball past a player in a white shirt." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530668/original/file-20230607-5326-vaeo6f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530668/original/file-20230607-5326-vaeo6f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=751&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530668/original/file-20230607-5326-vaeo6f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=751&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530668/original/file-20230607-5326-vaeo6f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=751&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530668/original/file-20230607-5326-vaeo6f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=944&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530668/original/file-20230607-5326-vaeo6f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=944&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530668/original/file-20230607-5326-vaeo6f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=944&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">George Best dribbles past Pelé in the North American Soccer League.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/GEORGEBESTPELE/7a23f776aae4da11af9f0014c2589dfb/photo?Query=Pele%20George%20Best&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=8&currentItemNo=7">AP Photo</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But the greatest examples of this strategy come from the United States. Back in the 1970s, <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-apartheid-european-racism-and-pele-helped-cultivate-a-culture-of-diversity-in-us-soccer-that-endures-into-the-mls-197172">the North American Soccer League</a> assembled what may be the greatest collection of international stars ever to play outside of Europe or South America. Pelé, Johan Cruyff, Franz Beckenbauer, George Best and Bobby Moore – sporting legends in their home countries – all played in the league. But it was not enough to save <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/oct/20/nasl-history-soccer-america">the NASL from collapse in 1984</a>. </p>
<p>Its successor, MLS, <a href="https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/league-born-oral-history-inaugural-mls-match">launched in 1996</a> with the intention of avoiding some of the high spending associated with NASL. And in the early years, the league resisted the temptation of bringing in big European stars. But having almost folded in the early 2000s, the league changed course spectacularly with the <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2007/SPORT/football/01/11/beckham">signing of David Beckham for LA Galaxy in 2007</a> at the peak of the soccer star’s celebrity – if not soccer – power.</p>
<p>There followed a steady stream of aging international stars entering the league: Italian Alessandro Nesta in 2012, former Chelsea star Didier Drogba and Spain’s David Villa in 2015, English midfielders Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard in 2016, and strikers Wayne Rooney and Zlatan Ibrahimovic in 2018.</p>
<p>David Beckham graduated from player to owner with the addition of the Inter Miami franchise in 2020, and there had long been rumors that he was working to secure the addition of Messi to the MLS roster. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/jun/07/lionel-messi-inter-miami-mls-barcelona-saudi-arabia-transfer-news">Messi’s confirmation that he intends to move to the Inter Miami</a> is a triumph both for Beckham and MLS, but it doesn’t remove the Saudis as a competitor in the long term and may push up the costs involved for all.</p>
<h2>Will the Saudis pop the MLS bubble?</h2>
<p>Since Beckham’s arrival as a player, MLS has flourished. In 2007 the league consisted of only 13 franchises, with the newly added <a href="https://www.thestar.com/sports/tfc/2016/09/07/toronto-fc-worth-245-million-according-to-forbes.html">Toronto FC paying a $10 million expansion fee</a> to join. In May 2023, it was announced that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/may/19/san-diego-fc-mls-expansion-mohamed-mansour">San Diego</a> would become the 30th MLS franchise, for a reported fee of $500 million. According to Forbes, the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/justinbirnbaum/2023/02/02/major-league-soccers-most-valuable-clubs-2023-lafc-is-the-first-billion-dollar-franchise/?sh=16bb6abe5324">average value of an MLS franchise</a> is currently $579 million. </p>
<p>This is remarkable, since for that price you could buy almost any soccer club in Europe outside of the top 20. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/lists/soccer-valuations/?sh=541ce649198b">Forbes also reckons</a> that no fewer than seven of the 30 most valuable soccer clubs in the world are in MLS. </p>
<p>It’s also remarkable because the standard of play in MLS is not that high, compared with what is offered in Europe. Statistical <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02692179700000008">research by me</a> and <a href="https://doi.org//10.1007/978-3-663-07711-4_12">others</a> has shown that in soccer, you get what you pay for – to the point where the overall team payrolls generate reliable forecasts of long-term results. </p>
<p>The website <a href="https://www.transfermarkt.us/">Transfermarkt</a> provides summary valuation of league squads, and currently values MLS players at $1.3 billion, compared with $11.3 billion for the English Premier League, $5.1 billion for La Liga, $4.9 billion for Serie A and $4.6 billion for the Bundesliga. The squad valuations for MLS are closer to those of the Belgian Jupiler League. </p>
<p>The valuation of MLS franchises is not based on the quality of the play, but on the prospects for growth if soccer becomes a mainstream spectator sport in the United States. MLS’s die-hard supporters are a forgiving lot but represent a tiny fraction of the U.S. sports market. Eventually, I believe MLS is going to have to field better players to continue its ascent – and that means competing in the international market. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man in a yellow and orange soccer kit dribbles a ball past a player in blue." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530670/original/file-20230607-19-fcwe97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/530670/original/file-20230607-19-fcwe97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530670/original/file-20230607-19-fcwe97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530670/original/file-20230607-19-fcwe97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530670/original/file-20230607-19-fcwe97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=556&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530670/original/file-20230607-19-fcwe97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=556&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/530670/original/file-20230607-19-fcwe97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=556&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Messi heading for David Beckham’s Inter Miami.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/FranceSocccerChampionsLeague/5b815b5242894f91bac3aaf95bac35de/photo?Query=Messi%20Beckham&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:asc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=4&currentItemNo=3">AP Photo/Francois Mori</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The worry for MLS is that it now has a new competitor for the best aging players: Saudi Arabia. MLS wanted <a href="https://en.as.com/soccer/which-mls-club-wanted-to-sign-cristiano-ronaldo-n/">Ronaldo</a> and it wanted <a href="https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/real-madrid-star-karim-benzema-open-to-future-mls-move-football-is-getting-bette">Benzema</a> too. Inter Miami and MLS may soon have Messi, but they had to overcome competition from <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/lionel-messi-decision-on-saudi-arabia-expected-this-week-as-negotiations-intensify-ahead-of-possible-move">Saudi team Al Hilal</a>.</p>
<p>The Messi move is a great coup for MLS. But the emergence of the Saudis as competitors suggests that future opportunities will be diminished, and that the league will have to pay more for the stars it can attract.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207111/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stefan Szymanski does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>French soccer star Karim Benzema will join Ronaldo in the Saudi Pro League, and others may follow.Stefan Szymanski, Professor of Sport Management, University of MichiganLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1894012022-09-14T16:49:10Z2022-09-14T16:49:10ZPosh Spice sounds posher, but changing your working-class accent isn’t a ticket out of discrimination<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484102/original/file-20220912-14-735n3g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=53%2C47%2C4425%2C2943&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Even one of the UK's most famous couples isn't free from accent discrimination.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/david-beckham-victoria-arrive-fashion-awards-1256351692">Bakounine / Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Accentism – discriminating against someone because of their accent – has a long history in the UK, where the way someone speaks is often an easy way to tell their social class. People with working-class accents are frequently criticised and encouraged to speak “properly”. This is true even for people who have achieved fame or success in the media or politics. </p>
<p>But changing the way one speaks isn’t necessarily a fix. When people with working-class accents begin to speak in a more “posh” way, it is often seen as inauthentic and insincere. The latest example is Victoria Beckham, whose accent in a recent video has been <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-11133919/Victoria-Beckham-leaves-fans-baffled-posh-accent-Instagram-makeup-tutorial-video.html">subject to criticism</a>.</p>
<p>Beckham was born in Essex and raised in Hertfordshire, and her husband David Beckham was raised in east London. Despite the couple’s enormous wealth and success, they come from working-class backgrounds and continue to be seen as such. They have previously been <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-409087/The-Chav-Rich-List.html">labelled</a> “chavs” a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/interactive/2011/sep/01/extract-chavs-owen-jones">contemptuous, stereotyped moniker</a> of the working class. </p>
<p>Their accents have typically included working-class, vernacular linguistic traits from London or southern England more broadly. In 2014, David Beckham was <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/birmingham/voices2005/stats.shtml">voted</a> one of the British public’s least pleasant voices. In 2010, Victoria Beckham was slated for both her appearance and her accent when she was a guest judge on American Idol. </p>
<p>US paper the Village Voice, <a href="https://www.villagevoice.com/2010/01/13/american-idol-season-9-chris-brown-touches-kids-victoria-beckham-has-no-spice-at-boston-auditions/">wrote</a>: “I always thought a British accent made people sound smart but I guess I was wrong.” Her fellow British judge, privately educated Simon Cowell, was not criticised for his very standard, southern English accent. </p>
<p>A recent makeup tutorial video posted by Victoria Beckham revived longstanding speculation that the Beckhams are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2013/apr/20/debate-accent-david-victoria-beckham">changing their accents</a> and even having <a href="https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/entertainment/news/a7195/poshs-elocution-classes-94623/">elocution lessons</a>.</p>
<h2>Changing accents</h2>
<p>We all have different accents. We can speak in <a href="https://www.waterstones.com/book/style/nikolas-coupland/9780521618144">different ways</a> depending on factors like who we are talking to, our emotional state, the formality of the situation and the topic of conversation. But our accents can also change throughout our life, depending on the ways of speaking we are exposed to, depending on where we live and who we talk to (footballer Joey Barton was a remarkable <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/video/2012/nov/26/joey-barton-english-french-accent-video">example</a>). </p>
<p>Even Queen Elizabeth II experienced <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-the-international-phonetic-association/article/abs/monophthongal-vowel-changes-in-received-pronunciation-an-acoustic-analysis-of-the-queens-christmas-broadcasts/6CE5E6C291D0D896F125ECF381F0A8A0">accent change</a> throughout her life, which matched the subtle changes happening in standard southern English. <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/24671937#metadata_info_tab_contents">Research</a> has also found that Glaswegians who are fans of the soap opera EastEnders are more likely to speak with elements of a cockney accent. </p>
<p>A person with a working-class accent may also consciously adapt their accent if they feel it holds them back or they are perceived as unintelligent (<a href="https://theconversation.com/working-class-and-ethnic-minority-accents-in-south-east-england-judged-as-less-intelligent-new-research-162886">which probably is the case</a>). Changing your accent is no easy feat, and the burden is greater for those whose accent is further from the standard. </p>
<p>There are also examples of people with standard accents suddenly and uncharacteristically speaking with less standard and more working-class accents, such as politician Ed Miliband when talking to comedian Russell Brand. Although Miliband was seen as hospitably finding an “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/apr/29/accent-on-common-ground-as-miliband-takes-on-russell-brands-estuary-twang">accent on common ground</a>” in a generous act of extending familiarity.</p>
<p>But when a person is thought to have begun speaking more “posh”, like Victoria Beckham (and also <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/meghan-markles-posh-accent-baffles-fans/H4HF64OBGOVYCNLPODMVA36XS4/">Meghan Markle</a>), they can be unfairly ridiculed as fake or pretentious. Victoria Beckham perfectly exemplifies how working-class people are criticised for speaking, no matter how posh their accent is. It is being working-class that is the problem. </p>
<h2>Working-class accentism</h2>
<p>My own Essex accent is often brought up when sharing my expertise in linguistics. On a BBC radio interview, the presenter read aloud a listeners’ text: “Try getting someone who can speak correctly if you’re going to talk about grammar.” My experience is <a href="https://www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-universities-2022-5-academics-complain-of-ongoing-accentism-at-uk-universities/">not unusual</a> for academics with working-class accents. </p>
<p>People in the public eye with working-class accents are constantly singled out. Rylan Clark was <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-10431059/Viewers-left-tizz-Rylan-Clarks-dropped-Ts-One-Show.html">slammed</a> for t-glottalling (dropping t) on The One Show. A BBC announcer was <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4931694/Viewers-slam-BBC-announcer-saying-f-instead-th.html">criticised</a> for th-fronting (“thriller” as “friller”). </p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/JeremyVineOn5/status/1544237167978971137">Debate</a> constantly ensues about whether Angela Rayner, the deputy leader of the Labour party, sounds sufficiently “professional” in Parliament. And Alastair Campbell <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/12681191/alistair-campbell-mock-priti-patel-accent/">wrote</a> about Priti Patel: “I don’t want a home secretary who can’t pronounce a G at the end of a word.”</p>
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<img alt="Angela Rayner speaking at a podium with a red placard reading Stronger Future Together, Labour Party" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484319/original/file-20220913-4133-o2cvok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484319/original/file-20220913-4133-o2cvok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484319/original/file-20220913-4133-o2cvok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484319/original/file-20220913-4133-o2cvok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484319/original/file-20220913-4133-o2cvok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484319/original/file-20220913-4133-o2cvok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484319/original/file-20220913-4133-o2cvok.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Angela Rayner, deputy leader of the Labour party, is a regular target of accentism.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/brighton-uk-0925-labour-party-deputy-2047401542">Rupert Rivett / Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Lord Digby Jones singled out <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/im-proud-of-my-accent-says-alex-scott-after-lord-joness-jibe-nfs0t9bps#:%7E:text=The%20sports%20presenter%20Alex%20Scott,not%20pronouncing%20her%20'g's%E2%80%9D">sports commentator Alex Scott</a> for saying “swimming” as “swimmin’ in her Olympics coverage. She hit back that she was proud of her working-class accent, to which Jones accused her of ”<a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/lord-digby-jones-alex-scott-criticism-b948671.html">playing the class card</a>“. He insisted it was "not about accents” but instead: “It is about the fact that she is wrong. You do not pronounce the English language ending in a ‘g’ without the ‘g’”. </p>
<p>Comments like these demonstrate a spectacular misunderstanding of <a href="https://theconversation.com/ask-or-aks-how-linguistic-prejudice-perpetuates-inequality-175839">basic linguistic principles</a>. Beyond this, saying swimmin’ – or indeed, dropping t or th-fronting – has everything to do with both accent and class. Across Britain, working-class people are the most likely to speak with accents that mark out where they are from and are the furthest removed from Queen’s English.</p>
<p>If working-class accents are not seen as appropriate in the media, politics and academia, then working-class people are not seen as appropriate in these domains. The commonplace notion that accent pedantry is actually just upholding good diction, decent standards, clear articulation or the inherent “correctness” of English is a rickety scaffolding for <a href="https://accentism.org/">accent prejudice</a> that keeps working-class people in their place.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189401/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amanda Cole is affiliated with The Accentism Project which she runs along with Dr Rob Drummond to raise awareness and challenge accentism. </span></em></p>People change their accents for many reasons, but it doesn’t necessarily protect them from accentism.Amanda Cole, Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Institute for Analytics and Data Science) Department of Language and Linguistics, University of EssexLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1511302020-12-01T17:05:29Z2020-12-01T17:05:29ZCOVID vaccine: celebrity endorsements work – even if people don’t like it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372256/original/file-20201201-14-q00nr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=147%2C28%2C3647%2C2492&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Rumor has it that Marcus Rashford and members of royal family will help with the NHS vaccine rollout campaign.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/marcus-rashford-manchester-united-during-match-1256741866">Jose Breton- Pics Action/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>With trust in this government at an <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/survey-trust-in-british-government-dropped-to-record-low/">all time low</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-believing-in-conspiracies-goes-hand-in-hand-with-vaccine-hesitancy-148192">anti-vaxxer sentiment</a> running wild on social media, the NHS plans to enlist “sensible” celebrities and “influencers” with big social media followings to help <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/11/30/using-celebs-advertise-vaccines-sign-desperate-governing-class/">persuade people</a> to have a COVID vaccine.</p>
<p>While there haven’t been any celebrities confirmed as yet, England footballer <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8999117/Marcus-Rashford-rumoured-star-recruits-promote-Covid-19-jab-counter-anti-vax-scare.html">Marcus Rashford</a> has been touted as a possible spokesperson after his work earlier in the year campaigning to end child hunger.</p>
<p>The idea to use <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/news/elvis-saved-america-polio-celebrities-can-help-conquer-vaccine/">celebrities to endorse</a> the COVID-19 vaccine might sound like an innovative method to communicate with the public. But the use of celebrities to promote a government agenda is something that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/joepublic/2008/aug/20/beckham.ferdinand.knifecrime">has been done</a> for years. And it has proven to be highly effective. </p>
<p>The government has previously used celebrity endorsement on a wide variety of campaigns – from school dinners to knife crime to lowering cocaine use – with the help of footballers <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/joepublic/2008/aug/20/beckham.ferdinand.knifecrime">David Beckham and Rio Ferdinand</a>, chef <a href="https://www.jamieoliver.com/campaigns/">Jamie Oliver</a> and former Blur bassist <a href="https://www.digitalspy.com/showbiz/a96522/alex-james-backs-anti-cocaine-exhibition/">Alex James</a>, to name just a few. </p>
<p>Even throughout this pandemic, <a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/2020/09/why-local-councils-are-using-celebrity-cameos-fight-covid-19">local governments</a> have <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwUbPtcHNYw&feature=youtu.be">joined forces</a> with well-known local faces to pass on key messages about staying at home and washing hands. </p>
<h2>The celebrity message</h2>
<p>Celebrity endorsement and influence has been a long-term <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1111670/Anger-NHS-pays-90-000-celebrities-public-health-ad-campaigns.html">communications strategy</a> for successive governments. It works because <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/mar.21315">celebrity endorsement</a> can cut through the noise and make people <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0267257X.2019.1632373">consider options</a> they may have outright rejected. And in many cases a friendly face or voice, with an encouraging and persuasive message can tip the balance of a decision.</p>
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<p>Politicians know it can be the source of the message, rather than the message itself, that’s often the hurdle to behavioural change and action. And celebrity endorsement is just one of the tactics applied in a wider portfolio of political communication strategies. </p>
<p>The reason why celebrity endorsement works to promote a brand or a political initiative is simple. People look at celebrities as an <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23046602">aspirational self</a>. They want to be like them: successful, confident, beautiful. Subconsciously this makes a person not only feel favourably <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269695475_Celebrities_as_human_brands_An_investigation_of_the_effects_of_personality_and_time_on_celebrities'_appeal">towards the celebrity</a> but also keen to <a href="https://systematicreviewsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13643-016-0395-1">behave like them</a>, too. </p>
<p>That said, <a href="https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2018/10/29/majority-britons-want-celebrities-keep-their-polit">research</a> from 2018, that analysed how Britons feel about the use of celebrity endorsement to promote political agendas, found that people weren’t so keen. The majority of participants in the study felt celebrity endorsements wouldn’t make a difference to their decision making. Though most people questioned did think that celebrities might have an impact on other peoeple’s decisions. </p>
<p>This comes as no surprise, as people tend to reject the idea that a celebrity can influence their judgement. But as years of <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317561256_Celebrity_Endorsement_Influence_on_Brand_Credibility_A_Critical_Review_of_Previous_Studies">research</a> on the effect of celebrity endorsements show, it works – even if people are not always aware of the effect. </p>
<h2>Effective communication?</h2>
<p>It’s important to also consider if celebrity endorsement, particularly when contracted by the government and not when personally volunteering to promote a cause, is a dangerous practice? </p>
<p>Indeed, the government already has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/01/public-trust-in-uk-government-over-coronavirus-falls-sharply">low credibility</a> and this could be further eroded by the fact that they need someone else to send their messages. It could also be seen as the government admitting that it’s not able to get through to the public or do the job that politicians and their task-forces are paid for.</p>
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<span class="caption">Celebs are being recruited to boost vaccine uptake.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-doctor-holding-syringe-using-cotton-1767084407">BaLL LunLa/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>If the celebrity is not volunteering but is paid by the government to communicate with the public, there’s also the risk that the government may <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/276158047_Celebrity_Endorsement_for_Nonprofit_Organizations_The_Role_of_Celebrity_Motive_Attribution_and_Spontaneous_Judgment_of_Celebrity-Cause_Incongruence">lose credibility</a> in the eyes of the public. And picking the wrong celebrity that doesn’t give the public a sense of “expertise” about what they’re asked to promote is another big risk. </p>
<p>On the other hand, when there’s health or major societal issues at stake, the use of a third party to deliver <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1081180X05279278">an important message</a> can help to depoliticise the request and send the idea that no matter who you vote for, this is important and you should follow what’s being asked.</p>
<h2>Celebrity opinion</h2>
<p>This is not to say that celebrities should not have political opinions or shouldn’t express them. It’s more related to the fact that social issues should be a priority for society, and politicians are there and paid to represent society and solve these issues. </p>
<p>The government is not a brand that needs promotion. It dosn’t need to sell itself to look good in the eyes of the public. Or at least it shouldn’t have to.</p>
<p>Besides, politicians arguably should already have all the tools (and the science) needed to promote vaccine uptake. They shouldn’t need to turn to celebrities to get people to pay attention.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/151130/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s hoped the NHS’s use of celebrity endorsement will influence the uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine – and research backs that up.Lisa Du-Lieu, Senior Lecturer in Marketing, University of HuddersfieldAlessia Grassi, Lecturer in Marketing, University of HuddersfieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1435472020-07-28T13:42:00Z2020-07-28T13:42:00ZVirtual Tour de France shows how esports has come of age during lockdown<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/349895/original/file-20200728-27-1ffmh4k.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C1%2C1194%2C658&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Australian Will Clarke winning the 2020 Virtual Tour de France.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Zwift</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Elite sports events are still largely closed to the world – but July 2020 has still been an unprecedented month for the global sporting calendar thanks to the world’s first Virtual Tour de France, which – despite the name – was based nowhere in particular, as riders took part from their homes in all parts of the world.</p>
<p>It’s historic, not just because the event brought together the world of esports cycling and the iconic and gruelling race – this was also the first time that women competed in a multistage Tour.</p>
<p>There were some key differences. Rather than being an individual race, it was run in teams, it was a lot shorter than the actual Tour and, most importantly, it involved cyclists sitting on their bikes indoors plugged into the Zwift virtual cycling system. Yet, for the audiences tuning in via YouTube, it’s easy to mistake it for an actual broadcast of a road race, as the graphics emulate the physical map and terrain of the route. Even the broadcast commentary was similar.</p>
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<p>The Tour is the latest in a whole range of digital innovations that have brought sports into the homes of millions of people during the COVID-19 lockdown, when they all had to press pause on their physical events programmes. </p>
<p>Yet, the foundation for these experiments were laid in January, when the president of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, told all International Sports Federations to <a href="https://youtu.be/rihy7JLpTwo?t=3328">figure out their esports strategy</a>. The urgency is all the more apparent when observing that all those sports sponsors – and broadcasters – are already aligning their brands with esports.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/esports-is-the-future-of-all-sports-heres-why-121335">Esports is the future of all sports – here's why</a>
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<p>Coca-Cola, Intel and Samsung, among many others, are <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/ef8539b6-be2a-11e7-9836-b25f8adaa111">already highly invested</a> in esports. David Beckham’s newly formed Guild Esports company <a href="https://www.guildesports.com/rocketleague">announced it will establish</a> a professional esports team for the 21st-century version of football, Rocket League, a videogame in which players race cars around an arena driving a ball towards a goal using the online platform Battlefy.</p>
<h2>Virtually the same</h2>
<p>COVID-19 has accelerated the alignment of elite sports industries with esports – and even those who previously dismissed esports as not being like real sport now have the IOC president to contend with. Bach noted that platforms like Zwift were absolutely the same as sports, suggesting a future in which virtual sport may be a bigger part of the elite sports scene. It may be no coincidence that the IOC’s Esports Liaison Group is chaired by the president of the International Cyclists Union, <a href="https://www.cyclist.co.uk/news/2997/who-is-new-uci-president-david-lappartient">David Lappartient</a>.</p>
<p>Soon after lockdown began, sports were racing to get in on the virtual action. Among the first was Formula One, which was nudged into producing “<a href="https://www.thesportsman.com/articles/norris-drives-on-at-not-the-australian-grand-prix-to-help-break-records">Not the Australian Grand Prix</a>”, when its Melbourne race was cancelled. Teaming up with Veloce Esports, F1’s first digital event used its official computer game to produce a unique experience, where gamers, F1 drivers and celebrities came together to race the Australian track.</p>
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<p>In the end, esports racer <a href="https://the-race.com/esports/f1-stars-charge-bereznay-wins-in-veloces-not-the-aus-gp/">Daniel Bereznay took the chequered flag</a> with former Dutch racing driver-turned-sim racer <a href="https://www.driverdb.com/drivers/jarno-opmeer/">Jarno Opmeer</a> coming in second.</p>
<p>In April, the ATP and WTA organised an esports tennis competition instead of the Mutua Madrid Open, using Nacon’s Tennis World Tour video game. Again, some of the world’s biggest names came together to compete. Great Britain’s <a href="https://www.lta.org.uk/about-us/tennis-news/news-and-opinion/general-news/2020/april/mutua-madrid-quarter-finals/">Andy Murray took the title</a>.</p>
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<p>Also in April, we saw the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2020/apr/04/virtual-grand-national-2020-live-horse-racing-aintree">virtual Grand National</a> take place for the fourth time. This year was special, as – thanks to COVID-19 there was no accompanying physical race. Instead, racing fans – and gamblers – could tune into YouTube and watch a race of computer-generated horses, all of which had been expected starters for the actual race. The winner was decided in advance of the start gun being fired, based on the rider’s previous form, day conditions, among <a href="https://www.racingpost.com/news/2020-virtual-grand-national-runners-odds-how-it-works-and-all-the-key-details/430661">other factors</a>.</p>
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<p>This algorithm-driven sport may not feel much like sport for many – but it worked. We can expect to see a significant amount of business generated from gambling opportunities around virtual sports. </p>
<p>Football was slow to get back on to the pitch, and many clubs began experimenting with in-stadia innovations. By the time players were back on the field – without spectators – some clubs had set up <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1t2Han5IXAM">giant screens</a> inside the stadium giving the impression of thousands of fans. Clubs also experimented with <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevemccaskill/2020/03/31/sports-tech-comes-of-age-with-vr-training-coaching-apps-and-smart-gear/#54e4387d19c9">virtual reality to train players</a> and real-time canned audience sounds became part of a new language of broadcast production.</p>
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<p>The international basketball federation was next, producing the world’s first international <a href="http://www.fiba.basketball/news/stage-set-for-inaugural-fiba-esports-open-2020">esports version of its sport</a> in May using the game <a href="https://www.nba2k.com/">NBA 2K</a>. While the game has not previously impressed gamers, it did well to bring new audiences to basketball at a time when no live events were taking place.</p>
<p>Finally, there has also been a whole lot of esports happening during lockdown, occupying the space where many of these aspiring sports brands seek to locate themselves. Gaming has had a very good lockdown indeed – data shows that game sales and use have <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1109977/video-game-sales-covid/">grown significantly over 2020</a>.</p>
<h2>New ways to play</h2>
<p>Lockdown brought esports further into the mainstream – even the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/l002gjk1/esports-northern-league-of-legends-championship-league-stage-day-12">BBC broadcast</a> events on its digital platform. We also saw how the creative and cultural industries are coming together around esports titles. Of note were the virtual concerts that took place in Fortnite, particularly the American rapper Travis Scott’s spectacular performance, which could only be seen live if you were logged in as a player within Fortnite, prompting fans to download the title just to see the concert.</p>
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<p>In the same way that social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram are establishing new markets and audiences, esports and the virtualisation of sport are showing how new economies are emerging around novel, digital sports experiences through gaming platforms.</p>
<p>While many of the COVID-19 esports events from international sports federations have been more showcase events than elite competition, they have paved the way for a new normal to emerge, not just for participants, but for the many industries that produce media events.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/143547/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andy Miah is Board Member of the British Esports Association and Commission Member of the Global Esports Federation. Each of these roles is advisory and voluntary.</span></em></p>The success of the virtual road race shows how quickly esports are moving into the mainstream.Andy Miah, Chair in Science Communication & Future Media, University of SalfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/728162017-02-10T12:41:37Z2017-02-10T12:41:37ZBrand Beckham will weather the email storm<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/156360/original/image-20170210-23331-2qxzjm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">No such thing as bad publicity?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Sun</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>If nothing else, the <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/what-is-the-david-beckham-email-scandal-about-2017-2?r=US&IR=T">David Beckham email scandal</a> has provided some welcome respite from the apparently perpetual news agenda of Trump and Brexit. </p>
<p>It seems that the previously pristine and relatively scandal-free (at least in the past decade) sporting icon may not be as golden as his carefully cultivated image might suggest. In a series of stories last week <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2794119/beckileaks-david-beckham-email-scandal/">The Sun</a> and the Daily Mail, along with several other European media outlets including France’s L’Equipe and Germany’s Der Spiegel, published details of Beckham’s hacked personal emails.</p>
<p>The Beckham that emerges from the emails is not the recognisably magnanimous and self-deprecating figure we have come to lately recognise. He appears to be petty and small minded – labelling the Honours Committee which apparently refused to grant him a knighthood “unappreciative cunts”. The Welsh opera singer Katherine Jenkins is singled out for her unsuitability for the OBE she received in 2014. She’s not worthy of it, Beckham is reported to have written.</p>
<p>Beckham’s advisers <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4190152/Hackers-release-tranche-Beckham-s-personal-emails.html">have said</a> that <em>some</em> of the text of the emails were “doctored” to include extra swearwords. And to be <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/feb/06/hacked-david-beckham-emails-renders-injunction-worthless">fair to Beckham</a>, they add that his communications were heat of the moment and correspondence between two close friends – and on this point there but for the grace of God go all of us. Who hasn’t, at one point or another, raged to a friend about the injustices of the world and its inability to see how special we are?</p>
<p>But Beckham is an international superstar in an age when privacy is increasingly irrelevant and the big question now is whether or not “Brand Beckham” can survive the negative publicity.</p>
<h2>Advertising dream</h2>
<p>This is a man, don’t forget, who for the past 20 years or so has become an advertiser’s dream. His name has been successfully linked with, amongst many others, Vodafone, Marks and Spencers, H&M, Breitling and Samsung. As <a href="http://www.jomec.co.uk/blog/advertising-and-sport/">I’ve written before</a>, Beckham sells products because he can be many things to many people. He appeals to men and women. </p>
<p>To men he represents tenacity, skill, patriotism and success. Women appreciate his undoubted good looks, his loyalty and his willingness to embrace his feminine side. Castrol used him in adverts across the Asia-Pacific region <a href="http://v-scheiner.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/3588">after research found that</a> more than 80% of consumers in Thailand, Vietnam and China said a link with the footballer would be a reason to buy its engine oil.</p>
<h2>Shoot for goal</h2>
<p>But it’s crisis management time for Beckham – and one thing he should not do – if <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/celebrity-marketing-crisis-guide-2009-12?IR=T#is-no-comment-ever-a-good-strategy-2">the public-relations industry</a> is to be believed – is to stay silent. Keeping quiet allows the narrative to develop independently. Intervention in the story would at least direct the focus of attention towards the contrition which must be demonstrated. This is, after all, has been the tried-and-tested strategy in any celebrity scandal of the television age.</p>
<p>But that alone is not enough – Beckham needs the backing of the charities he has worked for and to be fair, UNICEF, for whom he has campaigned since 2005, was not slow in coming out to <a href="https://www.unicef.org.uk/press-releases/statement-unicef-relating-david-beckham-7-david-beckham-fund-unicef/">offer its support.</a></p>
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<p>It’s my guess that any damage that “Brand Beckham” has suffered is temporary. His reaction to the abuse and vitriol he suffered after his sending off in France 1998 suggests a man of strength and resolve more than capable of weathering this storm.</p>
<p>He is also a figure whose renown is global: who cares in Asia if he has issues with his tax returns or a predilection for badmouthing elites and contemporary celebrities? In the United States that sort of thing is positively welcomed and in some cases can even lead to high office.</p>
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<p>This is all part of a story which will not end at this point. Elis Cashmore, <a href="http://library.la84.org/SportsLibrary/ISS/ISS2601/ISS2601h.pdf">who wrote a book about Beckham in 2002</a>, highlighted the mythic qualities of the footballer’s life. Here was a man with a life of fairy-tale prince. Born into a modest background, this boy of exceptional skills overcomes adversity and exceptional setbacks to win the heart of a princess and the love and respect of the nation.</p>
<p>In this sense, the stolen emails and the surrounding fuss becomes just another chapter in the tale.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/72816/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Jewell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>He’s one of Britain’s biggest brands – it’ll take more than a few grumpy messages to spoil that.John Jewell, Director of Undergraduate Studies, School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies, Cardiff UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/559602016-03-08T16:42:47Z2016-03-08T16:42:47ZWhy ‘7’ is the luckiest number<p>Football teams have been wearing numbers since <a href="http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/gunners-wear-numbered-shirts">Arsenal experimented with putting their players in numbered shirts</a> in 1928 (it didn’t bring them much luck – they lost 3-2 to Sheffield Wednesday). But it was Manchester United that made the number seven shirt iconic by putting their best players in it – <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/manchester-united/12003944/David-Beckham-urges-Manchester-United-number-seven-Memphis-Depay-to-use-shirt-as-inspiration.html">perhaps most famously David Beckham</a>, who said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>It always was an inspiration for me, but it was never my shirt. It was George Best’s, Bryan Robson’s, Eric Cantona’s. The only reason I wanted to wear the No 7 shirt was because of these players. I didn’t see it as an intimidation, I saw it as a honour … I always wanted the No 7 shirt, I just never thought I’d get it. And when the manager decided to give it to me, it was special.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Why do we put importance on certain numbers? Could David Beckham’s words give us an insight into the real reason why people feel number 7 is lucky, or could it be that the history of the number permeates our culture so much that we are immersed in it without really knowing why.</p>
<h2>It’s all around us</h2>
<p>Just think of the days of the week. Why do we have seven days? The <a href="http://www.pantheon.org/miscellaneous/origin_days.html">seven days in a week</a> are named after classical planets, deities and heavenly bodies – Monday (Moon), Tuesday (Mars), Wednesday (Mercury), Thursday (Jupiter), Friday (Venus), Saturday (Saturn), and Sunday (Sun).</p>
<p>The division of the week into seven days can be attributed to the <a href="http://www.pitt.edu/%7Ebrg/pdfs/brg_i_1.pdf">Babylonian system</a>. Relative to the path of the moon, a week is about a quarter (23.659%) of the time from one new moon to the next. The Babylonians celebrated a holy day every seven days to mark these four phases, counting from the night of the new moon. The four phases of the moon – new moon, first quarter, full moon, last quarter – last for about 29.53 days.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/114257/original/image-20160308-22111-d7ek64.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/114257/original/image-20160308-22111-d7ek64.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/114257/original/image-20160308-22111-d7ek64.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/114257/original/image-20160308-22111-d7ek64.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/114257/original/image-20160308-22111-d7ek64.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/114257/original/image-20160308-22111-d7ek64.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/114257/original/image-20160308-22111-d7ek64.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Opposite faces of dice add up to 7.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Gaz via Wikimedia Commons</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But we also have religious reasons for thinking that 7 is special – think: seven deadly sins and seventh heaven. In nature, you have the seven wonders of the world, seven colours of the rainbow, seven seas and seven continents. In the gambling world, the dots on the opposite sides of an ordinary dice sum to seven and there is a commonly-held belief that a series of <a href="https://www.math.hmc.edu/funfacts/ffiles/20002.4-6.shtml">seven shuffles will fully randomise a deck of cards</a>. Strangely, eight perfect riffle shuffles will return a 52-card deck to its original order.</p>
<h2>Fun with numbers</h2>
<p>Newcastle University hosted the “<a href="http://freedomtoteach.collins.co.uk/magical-number-seven/">UK Numbers Festival</a>” in 2015 in a variety of venues in and around the northeast of England. An overarching festival question was: “What is your favourite number – and why?” designed to act as a “glue” to bind together the diverse aspects of the festival. This engaging question hoped to capture the imagination of the region and ask the general public to think a little more about numbers and how they influence their lives.</p>
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<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Steve Humble/Newcastle University</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Steve Humble/Newcastle University</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Steve Humble/Newcastle University</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>Here are the most popular numbers of the 442 people who answered the survey (of a total atttendance of 10,000 people at the festival). Seven was the most popular choice for both men and women.</p>
<p>The survey revealed some other findings, too. The distribution of favourite numbers was less for women, 85% of whom chose a number less than 30. By contrast, 85% of men chose a number lower than 64. No female chose a negative number whereas three men did.</p>
<p>Overall, 58% also chose an odd number. But 55% of men picked an odd number, while 60% of women went “odd”. </p>
<p>This goes against certain beliefs about odd and even numbers, such as in <a href="https://www.mathsisfun.com/pythagoras.html">Pythagorean theory</a> and the <a href="http://www.ancient.eu/Yin_and_Yang/">Chinese philosophy of Yin and Yang</a>, in which numbers were viewed as possessing gender – odd numbers, masculine and even numbers, feminine.</p>
<h2>Why did so many people pick 7?</h2>
<p>A lot of people expressed an interest in number 7 for a variety of reasons and not just because it was considered lucky. A number of people said that they had no idea why they liked it. Perhaps part of the answer lies in a seminal paper published in 1956 by the psychologist George A Miller called “<a href="http://www.musanim.com/miller1956/">The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two</a>”. Miller claims that it is more than just coincidence that the number 7 seems to be all around us.</p>
<p>Our immediate memory has been shown to perform well when remembering up to, and no more than, seven things. We can distinguish and make a judgement about seven different categories, and remember around seven objects at a glance.</p>
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<p>A 2008 study on memory by <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18680161">Migliore, Novara and Tegolo</a>, showed that the brain produced the best information when the branches (dendrites) that receive stimulation numbered seven. It suggests that we remember best in sevens because that is how our brains prefer to store data.</p>
<p>People certainly voted for seven in our favourite number survey. Perhaps the reason they did this is to do with Miller’s brain function. Or could it be, as David Beckham said, that it is the history of the number that is important. Maybe this legacy goes all the way back to the Babylonians and is hardwired into our brains. Or perhaps the number 7 is just special.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/55960/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Steve Humble does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>And it’s not all down to David Beckham…Steve Humble, Mathematics Education Primary and Secondary PGCE, Newcastle UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/404222015-08-12T15:38:14Z2015-08-12T15:38:14ZIs David Beckham right to let his four-year-old daughter use a dummy?<p>Another storm in a teacup has been brewing, this time over a picture published of David Beckham’s four-year-old daughter Harper using a pacifier. After a critical article <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3191650/Why-does-Harper-four-use-dummy-Experts-warn-David-Victoria-Beckham-s-little-girl-end-speech-dental-issues-continues-use-one.html">appeared in the Daily Mail</a> about the risk of stunted “speech or dental issues”, the former footballer took to Instagram:</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/91490/original/image-20150811-11068-1xf6722.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/91490/original/image-20150811-11068-1xf6722.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/91490/original/image-20150811-11068-1xf6722.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/91490/original/image-20150811-11068-1xf6722.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/91490/original/image-20150811-11068-1xf6722.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/91490/original/image-20150811-11068-1xf6722.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/91490/original/image-20150811-11068-1xf6722.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Screen Shot at.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://instagram.com/p/6NZyxMTWdt/?taken-by=davidbeckham">Instagram</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Pacifiers, also known as dummies, have <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23600033">been around for centuries</a> and their first recorded use in the medical literature was 1473. Sucking is an inherent behaviour in babies, and has been observed that a foetus will begin to suck his or her thumb as early as 12 weeks. Together with some respiratory-like movements, this is thought to prepare the foetus for respiratory and swallowing functions. Babies are also thought to have the sucking tendency as a part of two reflexes that exist only in early life: the rooting reflex – where a child reaches out to suck on something like the breast or a finger – which remains until seven months of age and the sucking reflex, which remains until 12 months. </p>
<p>After this, dummies are often used as a comforter or out of habit. This is controversial because studies have identified some benefits – including pain relief in babies and <a href="http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/116/5/e716">in one review</a> as reducing the incidence of sudden infant death syndrome – as well as risks. So what are the risks and are they really dangerous?</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/91592/original/image-20150812-18104-gt350m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/91592/original/image-20150812-18104-gt350m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/91592/original/image-20150812-18104-gt350m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/91592/original/image-20150812-18104-gt350m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/91592/original/image-20150812-18104-gt350m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=976&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/91592/original/image-20150812-18104-gt350m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=976&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/91592/original/image-20150812-18104-gt350m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=976&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Effect of prolonged pacifier sucking in creating an open front bite. Child also has decay in back teeth and defects in the crowns.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23600033">Gederi/Coomaraswamy/Turner/Dental Update</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Dummy sucking is associated with a number of oral health issues and one of the main worries is the risk of malocclusion, a misalignment between the top and bottom row of teeth when the jaws close. Facial growth is partly influenced by environmental factors, for example the pressure exerted by soft tissues of the lips, cheek and the tongue has <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9347106">a big influence</a> in determining the shape of the dental arch and tooth position. Repeated sucking of a dummy over long periods of time can negatively affect mouth growth and the way the teeth of the upper and lower jaws interrelate, which may be cause for future corrective treatment. Another common worry is the risk of tooth decay and cavities caused by bacteria that have entered the mouth and have been found to colonise not only the tooth surfaces <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9083568">but the pacifier teat</a>.</p>
<p>The British Dental Association (BDA) <a href="https://www.bda.org/dentists/policy-campaigns/public-health-science/public-health/position-statements/dummy-use">recommends</a> “that the habit is curtailed by the age of 12 months in order to reduce the chance of associated oral health problems.” So, ideally the use of pacifiers should stop when bottles have also stopped being used – which is around 12 months age. </p>
<p>In the UK there are currently no specific British guidelines that recommend a specific age at which pacifier use should or should not be discouraged. In the US, weaning off pacifiers is <a href="http://www.aafp.org/afp/2009/0415/p681.html">encouraged after six months of age</a>. However, for most children who continue to use pacifiers sometimes or on occasion there is no reason for over concern, unless the habit is prolonged or inappropriate. <a href="http://www.bos.org.uk/Portals/0/Public/docs/PILs/digitsapril2013.pdf">According to the British Orthodontic Society</a>, as long as a sucking habit is stopped by the age of seven, teeth can often correct their alignment/position spontaneously with normal growth.</p>
<p>It’s hard to understand the fuss around David Beckham’s daughter. Yes, she’s still using the pacifier and as Beckham put it: “Everybody who has children knows that when they aren’t feeling well or have a fever you do what comforts them best and most of the time it’s a pacifier”. However, she is likely to outgrow it and if there is any damage, it should self-correct. At this stage I would say that it is not a danger to her and she will grow out of the habit when she is ready. Most children stop using pacifiers by the time they reach primary school, especially when under the influence of school friends and peer pressure.</p>
<p>Another reported issue associated with dummies is the potential for them to transfer pathogens into the mouth and latex (rather than silicone) dummies <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19476097">appear to be more receptive</a> to the formation of bacterial biofilm. It is thus essential for parents to ensure their child’s pacifier is disinfected on a regular (daily) basis and replaced often and at the first sign of damage. And as the BDA also advises when it comes to tooth decay: “Dummies should always be used in an appropriate manner and never be dipped into, or coated with, anything containing sugars.”</p>
<p>So as long as dummies are used sometimes, are kept clean and eventually their use stops I don’t think the Beckhams have too much to worry about.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/40422/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kristian Coomaraswamy provides advice to the British Dental Association</span></em></p>The former footballer hit back at criticism from the Daily Mail after his daughter was photographed using a dummy.Kristian Coomaraswamy, Clinical Lecturer & Honorary Consultant in Paediatric Dentistry, University of BirminghamLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/418412015-05-20T13:28:50Z2015-05-20T13:28:50ZAnd the world’s most marketable athlete is … Eugenie Bouchard<p>David Beckham recently celebrated his 40th birthday, which prompted much discussion about the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/11578867/Beckham-at-40-pioneering-a-new-kind-of-fame.html">legacy and longevity of “Brand Becks”</a>. Ten years ago, Beckham was arguably at the height of his career, playing for Real Madrid’s galacticos. But now he is reportedly earning more in his retirement <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2997920/50m-year-Becks-makes-hanging-boots-Two-mega-deals-help-make-world-s-second-highest-earning-retired-sportsman.html">than he ever did as a player</a>. </p>
<p>This says something about the equity that Beckham built up in his brand over a 22-year playing career. In terms of where next, Brand Beckham has entrepreneur, sports diplomat and fashion leader among his many options. While Becks and his advisers contemplate these issues, Sports Pro magazine has just revealed the latest list of his heirs apparent in its 2015 <a href="http://www.sportspromedia.com/most_marketable">Most Marketable Athlete</a> chart. Canadian tennis star Eugenie Bouchard has topped this year’s list, with Brazilian footballer Neymar coming in second and American golfer Jordan Spieth third.</p>
<p>The list is partly based on the <a href="http://celebritydbi.com/celebrity-dbi/">Celebrity Davie-Brown Index</a>, which measures consumer perceptions of more than 5,600 celebrities in 15 markets around the world. This involves surveys run every month, capturing data from a nationally representative sample of 500 people in each market.</p>
<p>On an annual basis, that’s a significant amount of data and, in spite of Eugenie Bouchard appearing at Number 1, there remain some crucial questions such as “where are the women?” (only 12 of the 50 people on the list are female). But the most fundamental question is, when people judge athletes as marketable, what are they actually judging? </p>
<h2>The top stars</h2>
<p>In a <a href="http://www.econ.upf.edu/docs/seminars/chadwick.pdf">previous study</a>, a colleague and I identified a mnemonic to aid understanding of athlete brands and the basis upon which people engage with them. This was TOPSTAR: team, off-field activity, physical characteristics, success, transferability (of their appeal across different markets), age and reputation. Further work in this area dictates that TOPSTARRRS is now more appropriate – with representation of the athlete, receptiveness to their becoming involved in commercial activity and social media savvy also playing an important role in the strength of an their brand and its marketability.</p>
<p>For sports personalities who are part of a team, their association with and position in the team in question sends a powerful message about the nature and positioning of their brand. It is no coincidence that at the time David Beckham was at the peak of his commercial appeal, he was playing for the world’s most commercially appealing and successful teams – Manchester United and Real Madrid.</p>
<p>And then, as Beckham emerged as the epitome of a naughties metrosexual male, his destinations became Milan and Paris, two of the world’s most important fashion capitals. In between, Becks headed to LA Galaxy, intent on building his US profile ahead of a potential post-career transition to sports entrepreneur. </p>
<p>As family Beckham headed west, they were repeatedly photographed with Tom Cruise and his then wife Katie Holmes. This was great brand visibility and association, particularly in the way that it conveyed a set of values and associations to consumers in the target markets of North America. Off-field activities are important. </p>
<p>Top level success in sport is a seductive, compelling element of any athlete brand – just ask Roger Federer. Some celebrity lists have estimated the Swiss tennis player <a href="http://www.therichest.com/celebnetworth/athletes/tennis/roger-federer-net-worth/">to be worth US$300m</a>. It is far easier to sign lucrative business deals and sell products branded with your name on them if you are hugely successful in a sport with a strong global profile.</p>
<p>Nowhere is this more apparent than with Tiger Woods. Now fading somewhat, following personal transgressions and a dip in form, he is still the most significant commercial phenomenon <a href="http://www.sportsmuntra.com/tiger-woods-net-worth-2015/">in the history of golf</a>. There are many reasons why Woods became such a compelling brand proposition, but one of them has been his transferability – the ability to appeal to a wide audience. </p>
<p>As someone of mixed heritage, Woods’ brand transcended golf’s traditional marketplace, taking the sport into new territory. This is something one of his main sponsors, Nike, was well aware of and made effective use of in its “I’m Tiger Woods” advertising campaign.</p>
<h2>Going the distance</h2>
<p>For any athlete brand – injury and indiscretions aside – one of the biggest threats is age. A time will inevitably come when the brand begins to lose its lustre as the athlete gets a little slower and their qualities a little less seductive than perhaps they once was. Enter the likes of Eugenie Bouchard and Neymar onto the stage in place of Federer and Beckham.</p>
<p>Whether as a young hell-raiser, an esteemed mid-career professional or a wise old campaigner, one’s reputation is always important. Fans, commercial partners and other customers seek image benefits through being associated with an athlete. In the same way, an athlete can build a brand on the basis of either a perceived or constructed reputation – Beckham was the good father; Bouchard is part fashion icon, part social media sensation; and Neymar is all brooding attitude.</p>
<p>While the raw materials might be in place for an athlete’s brand to be created and successfully exploited, it is increasingly important that an intermediary or agent represents an athlete’s interests to get the best deals with commercial partners. In David Beckham’s case, his commercial breakthrough came when he signed with 19 Entertainment. This is the company set up by Simon Fuller, former manager of the Spice Girls, and which now boasts a roster including the likes of Lewis Hamilton.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"595591962918453248"}"></div></p>
<p>The final element in this elaborate mix of ingredients that make up an athlete brand is something that, when my colleague and I wrote our first paper was still to take hold – social media. Here Eugenie Bouchard thrives. Active on both <a href="https://twitter.com/geniebouchard">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/geniebouchard">Instagram</a>, she is credited in Sports Pro’s write up of her for “sharing what life as a young professional athlete looks like.” Being active, communicating something relevant and actively engaging with followers have brought a particularly vibrancy to brands like hers.</p>
<p>And so, at least for the next 12 months, Eugenie Bouchard sits at the top of the pile with her combination of success, and off-court activity, and representation. Bouchard is clearly one of sport’s TOPSTARRS and is likely to be so for years to come. As a result, we can expect the young woman from Montreal to be harvesting revenues while her brand remains at its peak.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/41841/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Canadian tennis star Eugenie Bouchard has topped the list of most marketable athletes.Simon Chadwick, Professor of Sport Business Strategy, Coventry UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/273002014-05-29T05:21:41Z2014-05-29T05:21:41ZLikes and tweets help Ronaldo brand it like Beckham<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/49676/original/yq27kckr-1401292513.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Big in Yemen (and everywhere else).</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/zz77/5288436016">Evgeni Zotov</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>When Cristiano Ronaldo scored the last goal in Real Madrid’s extra time Champions League final victory over neighbours Atletico, he put the finishing touches to a season which saw him outperform even his arch rival, Barcelona’s Lionel Messi. </p>
<p>Ronaldo scored 51 goals for his club this campaign, including a record 17 in the Champions League alone. Messi, in a season interrupted by injury, could only manage a relatively poor but still hugely impressive 41. Oh, and Ronaldo lifted the FIFA Ballón d´Or award for the world’s best player, an accolade bestowed on Messi in all of the previous four seasons.</p>
<p>Added to this, Ronaldo is <a href="http://www.goal.com/en/news/12/spain/2014/03/10/4662777/ronaldo-beats-messi-to-top-the-goal-rich-list-2014">thought to be</a> the world’s richest player with an estimated wealth of £122m. Much of this comes from his deal at Real where he is paid <a href="http://www.goal.com/en-gb/slideshow/6793/10/title/the-goal-rich-list-2014">£14.3m a year</a> and a reported <a href="http://www.forbes.com/pictures/mlh45eel/no-2-cristiano-ronaldo/">50% of his image rights</a>. </p>
<p>But a significant amount of Ronaldo’s earnings are the result of advertising, sponsorship and endorsement deals. The most lucrative and most enduring of these contracts is with Nike. For Nike, Ronaldo is two people: the footballer and the person. The two combined become the brand – dubbed “CR7” after the player’s shirt number. As <a href="http://nikeinc.com/news/new-cristiano-ronaldo-signature-collection-from-nike-reflects-attitude-irreverence-of-a-global-icon">its website states</a>, there are: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>two distinct sides of CR7 – a relentless, focused footballer at the peak of his power, and a more irreverent, playful and spontaneous style icon with a love of music who lives life full-on.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In World Cup year the Ronaldo brand is everywhere. There are deals with Armani, Castrol Edge, Toyota, Jacob & Co, Herbalife, Banco Espirito Santo, Tag Heur and even KFC. In March he became a brand ambassador for Emirates, the ubiquitous Middle Eastern airline, where he appeared in a commercial with the legendary endorser and footballer, Pele.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/49677/original/mkcct84h-1401294086.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/49677/original/mkcct84h-1401294086.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49677/original/mkcct84h-1401294086.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49677/original/mkcct84h-1401294086.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49677/original/mkcct84h-1401294086.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49677/original/mkcct84h-1401294086.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49677/original/mkcct84h-1401294086.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Who invited Sepp?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFbryriZ3is&feature=kp">Emirates</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>That Ronaldo has his own “CR7” underwear range is no surprise. That he appears on the front page of Spanish Vogue virtually naked with his Russian girlfriend barely raises an eyebrow. The fact that in December he opened <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/players/cristiano-ronaldo/10850228/Champions-League-final-2014-a-tour-of-the-Cristiano-Ronaldo-museum-in-Madeira.html">a museum dedicated to himself</a> in his hometown of Madeira was more of an inevitability than an act of self indulgent folly.</p>
<h2>The prototype</h2>
<p>The obvious reference point for Ronaldo, at least in terms of commercial exploitation (the opening of museums notwithstanding), is David Beckham, sporting icon and advertisers dream. In marketing terms, Beckham is the prototype Ronaldo: footballer and commodity. Over the years Beckham been associated with, among many others: Vodafone, Marks and Spencer, Adidas, Pepsi and Castrol Oil. Castrol used him in adverts across the Asia pacific region after research found that <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2002/apr/30/marketingandpr">more than 80% of consumers</a> in Thailand, Vietnam and China said a link with the footballer would be a reason to buy its engine oil.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/49678/original/4wkycv5h-1401295332.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/49678/original/4wkycv5h-1401295332.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49678/original/4wkycv5h-1401295332.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49678/original/4wkycv5h-1401295332.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49678/original/4wkycv5h-1401295332.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49678/original/4wkycv5h-1401295332.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49678/original/4wkycv5h-1401295332.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Big in Thailand, Vietnam and China.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bensutherland/178410515/">Ben Sutherland</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Beckham sells products because he can be many things to many people. He is not one dimensional – he appeals to both men and women. To men, he represents tenacity, skill, patriotism and success. Women appreciate his undoubted good looks, his loyalty and his willingness to embrace his feminine side. </p>
<p>For most footballers, retirement leads to a significantly lower profile. In Beckham’s case it simply means he has more time to concentrate on his commercial activities. Last year, Brand Finance predicted that he would become a <a href="http://www.brandfinance.com/news/in_the_news/beckham-to-become-500-million-brand">US$500m dollar brand</a> as he consolidated his interests and took on a series of “ambassador” roles for the likes of (among others) Samsung, Sky Sports and Chinese football’s governing body. Expect Beckham’s profile to be to the fore as this tournament gets underway.</p>
<h2>Down with the kids</h2>
<p>Ronaldo, while perhaps not such as an immediately endearing figure as the England idol, is the obvious replacement figure now that Beckham has left the field. And though Beckham may not have retired into the shadows, Ronaldo does have one big advantage over his fellow icon.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/49680/original/8g9wvws7-1401296324.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/49680/original/8g9wvws7-1401296324.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=876&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49680/original/8g9wvws7-1401296324.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=876&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49680/original/8g9wvws7-1401296324.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=876&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49680/original/8g9wvws7-1401296324.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1101&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49680/original/8g9wvws7-1401296324.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1101&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49680/original/8g9wvws7-1401296324.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1101&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Just the 1.6m likes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.facebook.com/Cristiano">Cristiano</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In this World Cup, the use of social media will be immense and unprecedented, promoting more interaction between brands, players and supporters than ever. The previous tournament, in 2010, attracted two billion TV viewers. Since then internet use has increased by 53%, Twitter use by 13,500%, and Facebook has gone from <a href="http://adage.com/article/global-news/sony-creates-social-broadcast-channel-brazil-world-cup/292837/">300m to one billion users</a>. The opportunities for commercial activities are seemingly limitless.</p>
<p>Social media is the key area where Ronaldo has surpassed Beckham and left his rivals like Messi trailing in his wake. Ronaldo has over 100m Facebook and Twitter followers combined and has recently launched <a href="https://www.vivaronaldo.com/">Viva Ronaldo</a>, his own social networking site. It is where, he writes <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Cristiano/photos/a.407367867163.178908.81221197163/10152121228157164/?type=1">on his Facebook page</a>, “my true fans belong. My community – where I can be closer to all of you”. </p>
<p>This is a messianic statement, both inclusive and exclusive. This is the place where “true” fans can be “close”. And one thing is for sure – if Portugal progress, and Ronaldo shines, he and his many sponsors will be closer still.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/27300/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Jewell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When Cristiano Ronaldo scored the last goal in Real Madrid’s extra time Champions League final victory over neighbours Atletico, he put the finishing touches to a season which saw him outperform even his…John Jewell, Director of Undergraduate Studies, School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies, Cardiff UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/230422014-02-11T14:22:23Z2014-02-11T14:22:23ZWhat David Beckham can learn from Miami Fusion’s failure<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41176/original/b4sm5435-1392055844.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Hands up if you're buying a whole team next.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">PA</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In attempting to succeed as <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/26054220">owner of a Major League Soccer team</a> in Miami, Florida, David Beckham has taken on perhaps the biggest challenge of his career.</p>
<p>The city is not short of major sports teams. It is home to the nation’s most dominant basketball side, the Miami Heat, with superstar players including LeBron James and Dwayne Wade. The Miami Dolphins play in the NFL; the Miami Marlins in Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Florida Panthers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL – ice hockey).</p>
<p>But the presence of these teams does not disguise the fact that Miami is a difficult city for professional sports.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41177/original/qp26q734-1392056951.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41177/original/qp26q734-1392056951.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=788&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41177/original/qp26q734-1392056951.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=788&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41177/original/qp26q734-1392056951.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=788&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41177/original/qp26q734-1392056951.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=990&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41177/original/qp26q734-1392056951.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=990&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/41177/original/qp26q734-1392056951.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=990&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">LeBron: not threatened by soccer.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Keith Allison</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Last year, the Marlins were <a href="http://espn.go.com/mlb/attendance">29th out of 30</a> MLB teams in average attendance. This is despite having a new <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/08/01/3537432/marlins-attendance-reverts-to.html">US$634m stadium</a> in the city, built largely with public funds. The Dolphins were <a href="http://espn.go.com/nfl/attendance">21st out of 32</a> NFL teams, and only two other sides sold a lower percentage of their stadium per game. A quarter of the seats at the ice hockey go unsold, and the Panthers have had <a href="http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/01/02/3847790/panthers-battle-attendance-problems.html">some of the league’s lowest attendances</a> for several years. </p>
<p>Yes, the Heat are currently doing well, filling their arena to capacity for each game. But they are the exception; the US’ <a href="http://www.census.gov/geo/reference/ua/uafacts.html">4th largest urban area</a> by population would be entitled to expect more success from its sports teams. </p>
<h2>Fusion fails</h2>
<p>So could Beckham’s new side fill this gap? Football, or soccer, is widely played in south Florida but it has yet to truly catch on as an established spectator sport.</p>
<p>This isn’t for want of trying. In the 1970s and 80s the old North American Soccer League (NASL) featured the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, based 20 miles up the coast from Miami. Veteran superstars George Best and Gerd Müller turned out for the Strikers, but the franchise was eventually moved to Minnesota before collapsing in 1988.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4YBLGSebSmc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Fort Lauderdale: the golden years.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>More recently, a team called the Miami Fusion played in the Major League from 1998 to 2002 but again without success. The franchise got off to a poor start when it was unable to secure a stadium in the city, forcing it to move north to Fort Lauderdale despite retaining the Miami name. With low attendances failing to cover the cost of adapting a former high school football stadium for MLS matches, the team was unable to turn a profit. The league closed the franchise in 2002 <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/us/news/2002/01/09/mls_quotes/">because</a> “the South Florida market was not capable at this time of supporting an MLS team.” </p>
<p>Franchise owner Ken Horowitz invested US$50m in attempts to make the team a success, but to no avail. He attributed the failure of the Fusion and the difficulty of other pro teams to fill their arenas to a population with few historical ties to the area and whose <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/us/news/2002/01/09/mls_quotes/">loyalties were already captured</a> by teams from whence they came. </p>
<p>Most crucial, however, was the lack of a satisfactory stadium arrangement in Miami as well as the decision not to throw in fully with Fort Lauderdale and develop the team’s identity around the city of nearly 200,000 with a county-wide population of more than 1.5 million.</p>
<h2>Miami magic</h2>
<p>The question is whether Beckham can work his magic on a Miami that could not sustain a team only a decade ago. What can he bring the the table to increase support for an MLS side this time around? </p>
<p>Beckham has had a huge impact on American soccer. Since he first signed for the LA Galaxy in 2007, MLS has expanded from 12 teams to 20 and expansion teams are now four times more costly for investors than they were before his arrival. Crowds have increased three-fold during the Beckham era and average attendance at games last season was <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/2013/10/31/5047982/mls-attendance-2013-report">9th among world soccer leagues</a>, not far off the top flight in the Netherlands and France.</p>
<p>While Beckham hogged the spotlight in Los Angeles, there were other factors that aided growth. The league has allowed official supporter groups to flourish, creating a vibrant atmosphere at games. Regional rivalries have been encouraged too, with the most successful being between the Portland Timbers and Seattle Sounders. Indeed, one of their matches this past season in Seattle was the 4th best attended soccer match in the world that week.</p>
<p>Thankfully for Becks there should be a natural “derby” already in place, with an Orlando franchise set to join the league in 2015. Perhaps he can also rekindle old rivalries with <a href="https://theconversation.com/do-you-want-franchise-with-that-mcdonalds-model-for-football-14648">Manchester City-backed</a> New York City.</p>
<p>Beckham’s best attribute may be the support of entertainment mogul Simon Fuller. Fuller has excelled at virtually every entertainment initiative he has produced in the USA. With aggressive cross-marketing and branding and a lead time of more than two years, the potential for success is there.</p>
<h2>Thinking local</h2>
<p>So, how does Beckham tackle the Miami market? The mediocrity or outright failures of most other sports teams in the city shows that no one strategy truly works, beyond investment in expensive talent. But the stricter player finance rules of Major League Soccer mean simply signing a footballing LeBron is not the answer.</p>
<p>Much effort is required on and off the field to woo a widely diverse audience with numerous entertainment options. It will take more than ex-pat Brits, Latin Americans (who are more likely to be baseball fans), or middle class “soccer moms” and their kids to make the team a success. He and his group cannot simply buy success like Roman Ambramovich did at Chelsea or Beckham’s last bosses have done at Paris St-Germain. </p>
<p>It will take a herculean effort for Becks to make it this work. But as the self-styled gateway to the Americas and a global city for the 21st century, Miami is a place where it’s worth taking the risk.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/23042/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Nauright does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In attempting to succeed as owner of a Major League Soccer team in Miami, Florida, David Beckham has taken on perhaps the biggest challenge of his career. The city is not short of major sports teams. It…John Nauright, Professor of Sport and Leisure Cultures, University of BrightonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/195022013-10-25T13:39:00Z2013-10-25T13:39:00ZBecksistentialism: because man is a goal-seeking animal<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/33812/original/sc9wkj2p-1382703746.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Man and superman.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A student came up to me after class the other day and said, “So what is this ‘Becksistentialism’ all about then?” I want to begin to answer that question by defining the negative: Sir Alex Ferguson is not a Becksistentialist.</p>
<p>Consider what he has been saying about Becks in the wake of his <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/sir-alex-fergusons-autobiography-david-beckham-thought-he-was-bigger-than-me-and-manager-blames-victorias-influence-for-their-falling-out-8896997.html">new (or revised) autobiography</a>: “David was the only player I managed who chose to be famous, who made it his mission to be known outside the game.” He has a whole variety of complaints, including, notably, that Beckham refused to take his beanie hat off at a dinner. And of course he has a go at just about everyone else too (for example, Roy Keane). But I want to zero in on his comments about Beckham, because they help us to understand not just the enigma that is Beckham but our own experience as human beings.</p>
<p>“He could have been a Manchester United legend.” But Beckham – just as he refuses to take the beanie hat off – revolts against the Ferguson vision. Ferguson wants him to become a god. Not just a footballer. But The Footballer. A living legend. But, of course, at the same time subordinate to Man U. So it is in part a power move – <em>Fergie rules</em>. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/33807/original/w2ns7tts-1382697947.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/33807/original/w2ns7tts-1382697947.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/33807/original/w2ns7tts-1382697947.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=863&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/33807/original/w2ns7tts-1382697947.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=863&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/33807/original/w2ns7tts-1382697947.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=863&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/33807/original/w2ns7tts-1382697947.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1085&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/33807/original/w2ns7tts-1382697947.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1085&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/33807/original/w2ns7tts-1382697947.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1085&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Becks: morally deregulated.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Yui Mok/PA Wire</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But the Becksistentialist naturally refutes this simplistic and tyrannical thinking. I want to argue that Beckham – for all his visibility and connectedness - is in fact the great Outsider figure de nos jours. A rebel. And a champion of self-liberation. The beanie at the dinner table to me represents what <a href="http://criminology.fsu.edu/crimtheory/week8.htm">Emile Durkheim calls “anomie”</a> – the state of “normlessness” in which we float free from the rules of society.</p>
<p>It is not the case that David Beckham became an existentialist the day he joined Paris Saint-Germain at the beginning of this year. He was already an existentialist. It was in Paris that he became more self-aware. The existentialist is born out of crisis. Everyone has crises. Beckham’s tend to be a bit more visible and therefore susceptible to analysis. I happened to witness his primal crisis at close quarters.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ur5fGSBsfq8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">‘One surprise is the inclusion of Archimedes’</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The red card in the 1998 World Cup in France – Le Mondial – when he was sent off for retaliation. England v Argentina. Beckham had been benched for the first two games by Glenn Hoddle, who suspected him of being distracted by (the then) Posh Spice and too much show-business. Like Ferguson, Hoddle is an essentialist who <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sport/football/270194.stm">believes in the soul and karma</a>: and thinks that Beckham has to be pure Footballer and nothing else and is duly punished for not being it. </p>
<p>And so we come to St Etienne and Argentina (a match also notable also for the miraculous Michael Owen solo goal). The two teams are level at 2-2. Then, a minute into the second half (I was just sitting down with a drink in my hand), Diego Simeone clatters into Beckham. And the foot famously goes up. And the red card comes out. But was it “intentional” or wasn’t it?</p>
<h2>To be is to do</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/jun/24/boxer-goalkeeper-sartre-camus-martin-review">Jean-Paul Sartre</a> would say: of course that kick is intentional; there is no unconscious, everything we do is intentional, deliberate, voluntary. Including falling in love and jealousy. There is no such thing as a “crime passionnel” or “I couldn’t help myself, your honour”. Does Beckham take the easy way out? There is a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKA_jKdoSVQ">fascinating interview conducted by Zinedine Zidane</a> (asking the questions in French) in which Beckham offers a classic Becksistentialist commentary.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/33809/original/xv9yzynh-1382698212.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/33809/original/xv9yzynh-1382698212.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/33809/original/xv9yzynh-1382698212.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/33809/original/xv9yzynh-1382698212.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/33809/original/xv9yzynh-1382698212.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=564&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/33809/original/xv9yzynh-1382698212.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=709&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/33809/original/xv9yzynh-1382698212.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=709&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/33809/original/xv9yzynh-1382698212.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=709&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Red card: being followed by nothingness.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">PA Archive</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Of course, he argues, he could have <em>not</em> kicked Simeone. And perhaps England could then have gone on to win the World Cup as well. But he accepts and asserts responsibility for it. I am the author of my acts, says Beckham. I am what I do. (The French subtitles have: <em>je ne regrette rien</em>). He is in some paradoxical way proud of his mistakes. In other words, Beckham appears to be arguing – you have to act as if it were intentional – and the deed becomes part of your narrative.</p>
<p>As a result of this sending off, the great rule-breaker, Becks the rebel becomes Public Enemy no 1 for a spell. When he gets back to England he finds that he is held responsible for the World Cup exit. It is all his fault. The question he asks himself is – does everyone hate me? Am I the Bad Guy in all this. And he says, Yes, I am. He claims authorship. Go on, hate me.</p>
<h2>Football, without question</h2>
<p>His answer reminds me of <a href="http://www.glasgowreview.co.uk/articles/jeangenet.htm">Jean Genet</a>, the great writer and thief and <em>inverti</em> (or “queer” in French street slang). I chose to be a criminal. I am not going to ascribe responsibility to some faceless impersonal forces – genetic fate or determinism or social deprivation. You have to act as if it were intentional.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/33805/original/zxgxbcjh-1382697370.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/33805/original/zxgxbcjh-1382697370.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/33805/original/zxgxbcjh-1382697370.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=879&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/33805/original/zxgxbcjh-1382697370.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=879&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/33805/original/zxgxbcjh-1382697370.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=879&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/33805/original/zxgxbcjh-1382697370.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1104&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/33805/original/zxgxbcjh-1382697370.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1104&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/33805/original/zxgxbcjh-1382697370.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1104&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Death and life have determined appointments. Riches and honour depend.
upon heaven’</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Hobochi Chen</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But of course Beckham is not a pre-eminently verbal philosopher. A lot of his thinking is expressed through the medium of the tattoo (Confucius) and the haircut (inconstant). I see his career overall as in some ways like <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/jul/01/candide-voltaire-rereading-julian-barnes">Voltaire’s Candide</a> – a critique of naïve optimism. The relationship of individual player to the team raises the ghost of the Sartre’s “group-in-fusion”. But maybe the final question to be asked is: “Whither Becks?” His fundamental Becksistential statement, “I am not what I am and am what I am not” suggests a career not just as “ambassador” but also as spy. Perhaps <a href="http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/4982736/victoria-beckham-david-beckham-should-be-next-james-bond.html">Victoria Beckham’s suggestion</a> that he would make a good James Bond is not so far off the mark.</p>
<p><em>Andy Martin is delivering a talk <a href="http://www.cam.ac.uk/festival-of-ideas/events-and-booking/becksistentialism">on Becksistentialism</a> as part of the Cambridge Festival of Ideas, October 26, 11.30am-1pm, West Road, Cambridge.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/19502/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andy Martin does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A student came up to me after class the other day and said, “So what is this ‘Becksistentialism’ all about then?” I want to begin to answer that question by defining the negative: Sir Alex Ferguson is…Andy Martin, Lecturer, Department of French, University of CambridgeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/142432013-05-16T23:09:30Z2013-05-16T23:09:30ZThe Beckham and Fergie years are over, but Manchester keeps cashing in<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/23974/original/k938nxk7-1368715798.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C13%2C511%2C408&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Becks gets his first lesson in posing for the cameras.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dave Kendall/PA</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Since <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22447018">Alex Ferguson resigned</a> as Manchester United’s manager he has been credited with everything from reversing the recession to single-handedly putting Manchester itself on the global map. </p>
<p>One person whose life he did have an enormous impact upon was a certain David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE, who fittingly <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2013/may/16/david-beckham-retire-football-psg">chose to retire yesterday</a>. From the age of 14 the boy who would become the biggest name in football was associated with United – and the realm that Sir Alex would dominate.</p>
<p>Together they have left an indelible mark on Manchester. But when Beckham and Ferguson arrived, Merseyside ruled the football pitch in much the same way as Manchester now does. </p>
<p>That difference in subsequent years was the Premier League and its huge broadcasting revenues and genuinely global reach Manchester achieved for its profile through football and its associated personalities. </p>
<p>In the mid-Eighties Manchester United was a largely un-leveraged brand. The “Munich” factor had generated a global awareness of this previously regional football club but hitherto that brand had never been truly commercialised.</p>
<p>When the Premier League began in the 1992/93 season, Ferguson had been in post for nearly 6 years and had done a magnificent job of reconnecting the United product with the United brand of youth and exuberance originally established in the reign of Matt Busby and his “Busby Babes”. Then United won the first Premier League championship. </p>
<p>With their support, global awareness and the newly arrived financial injections of broadcasting cash, United were in the perfect position to take a competitive stranglehold on English football. And they did. Simultaneously, Sky was now broadcasting the world’s most popular sport. Together they had access to every market in the world and riding on the back of that access was the city of Manchester itself. Where Merseyside’s tourist bait was the Beatles, Manchester had the United of Ferguson, and then Beckham. </p>
<p>By 2008, Manchester City was purchased by the Abu Dhabi United Group and instantaneously became one of the richest clubs in the world. Would the Abu Dhabi United Group have considered Manchester City without the Manchester effect created by United? Unlikely. </p>
<p>Would they, for example, have considered purchasing the 1986/87 champions and runners-up, Everton and Liverpool? Doubtful. Neither of those two clubs had the new stadium they craved but City were ensconced in the newly designed City of Manchester Stadium (now the Etihad Stadium) for which City had only been required to provide less than half of the £42m restructuring costs of converting the stadium from its Commonwealth Games usage. Bit by bit Manchester was becoming associated with all things sporting and cool. Manchester is now genuinely Britain’s second city.</p>
<p>In a <a href="http://neweconomymanchester.com/stories/1857">recent research report</a> published by the Sport Industry Research Centre at Sheffield Hallam University and Cambridge Econometrics it was estimated that football contributes in the region of £330m in gross value added (GVA) to Greater Manchester’s economy. According to the report, the global profile that Manchester receives from football is worth over £100m a year on an advertising-equivalency basis. </p>
<p>If everything continues as it is for the next 20 years this could be worth in excess of £2.5 billion to Manchester’s economy. What is clear is that the profile of the Premier League and its two leading clubs provide large football-related revenue for the local economy. Hotel occupancy rates, and prices, for example, are up by an average of 10% – 15% on match days. </p>
<p>Not only are there such direct benefits but also football raises the global recognition of the city, attracting not only visiting football fans, but also investors and skilled workers from sectors far wider than sport alone. As Professor Simon Shibli, co-head of the Sports Industry Research Centre, explained, “[Football] contributes immensely to the city’s financial, cultural and social capitals.” </p>
<p>Other real beneficiaries of the football effect are the city’s universities. The number of students attracted to Manchester as a consequence of football has yet to be quantified but if we look at some research carried out by the Welsh Economy Research Unit at Cardiff University in January 2013 we can make an educated guess. <a href="http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/Swansea-University-enjoys-boost-Jack-Army-spreads/story-17299700-detail/story.html#axzz2TTDoAnGm">The report</a> states:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Swansea University has seen a record 25% increase in applications for entry in September 2013 [when Swansea City joined the Premier League], 4% higher than the previous record high in 2010, at a time when there are concerns about numbers of applications nationally. The increase is a remarkable achievement in an environment where applications across the UK are currently showing a modest 3.5% rise and a 2% fall nationally in applications from Welsh students.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It is reasonable to assume that if a relative newcomer to the Premier League can show such results then the Manchester effect will be even more striking. Incidentally, in the 1986/87 season Swansea City and Cardiff City were respectively 13th and 14th in the old fourth division. </p>
<p>Manchester itself has also become a magnet for media and sports related industries a fact which, according to the report, made it obvious to relocate BBC Sport with the wider <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/10056497/BBC-staff-paid-up-to-150000-to-move-to-Salford.html">move of the BBC</a> to MediaCityUK, even at a time when the Olympics were due to be hosted by London. These two industries, sport and media, as sub-sets of the leisure industry, are the only industries that economists generally agree are guaranteed to grow over the next two decades. </p>
<p>The time of Sir Alex time may be over and Beckham departed for foreign shores years ago. But their brands remain burnished on Manchester.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/14243/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Brady does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Since Alex Ferguson resigned as Manchester United’s manager he has been credited with everything from reversing the recession to single-handedly putting Manchester itself on the global map. One person…Chris Brady, Co-Director, Centre for Sports Business, University of SalfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.