Justin on sports

By Justin Park
Published Friday, Dec. 16, 2005, Gargoyle, sports

A posh British accent. Graceful strides. Immaculate hair. Pop star wife. There is only one athlete who molds swimmingly to the above description: David Beckham, international soccer superstar.

Mr. Beckham has landed more magazine covers than actual goals scored and still managed to solidify a generous slot in sports history. Just recently, Adidas launched a campaign to promote its latest soccer boot.

In one ad, Becks is dressed in silver garb surrounded on either side with the world's best players (noticeably more talented than Beckham) in matching black uniforms. How has Beckham become the nucleus and poster boy for soccer worldwide despite a lack of talent?

It's pretty simple: He is just so damn sexy and a connoisseur of style. I strongly believe this notion of style over substance should be adopted into Uni High athletics. It is evident that with such a small pool of possible athletes, Uni's chances of producing a beast of an athlete is limited compared to the thousands of students at most public high schools.

In order to remedy this slight disadvantage and in hopes of attracting more media attention to Uni athletics, all Uni High athletes should be required to undergo strict workshops that emphasize the importance of “Beckhamizing” one's play with hopes of having our very own Beckham one day.

Beckham's overall appearance is crucial to his success. This past summer, Sam Smyth and I attended a Real Madrid soccer friendly against Chivas at Chicago's Soldier Field. Despite the many high- profile players like Ronaldo, Zidane, and Owen who swarmed the field, Beckham immediately stuck out as being different. He was the only player who was wearing a long-sleeved jersey (despite the scorching, summer heat) and silver shoes.

Even if Beckham was the worst player on the pitch, people would still be eager to watch him for his stylish gear and British charm. Although having a cold uniform doesn't equate with having raw skill, dressing for success most certainly applies to sports.

The most important piece of this puzzle is stylizing one's play. A truly excellent college-bound player and a truly excellent showman both can leave the fans in awe.

Beckham is known for booting the ball from one end to the other, despite having countless coaches telling him otherwise, and the fans just love it. His graceful footwork and overall poise just make him that much more exciting to watch.

This is why Uni teams must make it their No. 1 priority to one day produce an athlete with so much style (both in appearance and play) that the spotlight will finally reach and stay on Uni High athletics.

With the Renner dynasty coming to an end within a few years, it is time to find new faces of Uni High sports, and if we follow my suggestions, we will have a Beckham of our own. Only then will Uni High be a trailblazer in sports style and presence.

Justin tried to be Beckham himself with no success.