Beckham kick starts it - Extra wait for Beckham was worth it

OK, he didn't save soccer Wednesday. Not yet, anyway.

But he might have saved the Galaxy's season.

He certainly showed what the fuss over his arrival was all about, a $250-million man turning a ragged, 39-cent field into his personal playground with the kind of savvy performance the Galaxy and MLS are praying is the first of many.

"It was a good feeling in the locker room to be buoyant and happy," Galaxy Coach Frank Yallop said, "because we haven't had a lot of happiness this season.

"David in the team makes a big difference."

You think?

Insistent on playing despite lingering pain from the injury he suffered while playing for England and Real Madrid, Beckham was on the field for more than 62 minutes of the Galaxy's SuperLiga semifinal game against D.C. United.

He made the 2-0 victory a night to remember, displaying his storied ability to bend a ball to his will and energizing a team that had sputtered and stumbled and was in danger of falling apart before he could get his new career going.

"It was very important for me to actually get on the pitch and play some minutes," he said after receiving treatment on his ankle for more than an hour and taking the time to dress in a natty suit, crisp white shirt and red tie.

"Once I'm on the pitch I know I can play well and help the team, and that's all that was on my mind, helping the team get to the final and getting our season going."

He got the Galaxy going Wednesday when he curved a free kick around a wall of defenders and past a frozen goalkeeper in the 27th minute. His first goal in a Galaxy uniform touched off a celebration on the field and a rain of confetti from the surprisingly small crowd of 17,223. It even drew a few hand claps from his wife, Victoria, though she still wore her huge, dark sunglasses and a blasé expression in her luxury-suite perch.

The confetti hardly helped the condition of the field, which had new sod installed only a few days ago after playing host to the X Games and resembled a do-it-yourselfer's bad installation of cheap plank flooring. But Beckham adapted well, setting up teammate Landon Donovan for a pass that took a fortunate deflection and allowed for a nice run that ended with the team's second goal, in the 47th minute.