When a disappointed David Beckham stalked out of the stadium in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, after England's loss to Portugal during last summer's soccer World Cup, he was wearing a scowl.
Whether he was also wearing his World Cup credential, normally found draped around the necks of players, coaches, referees, journalists and tournament officials, is up for debate.
Within days of Beckham's signing a projected $250-million contract to play for Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy, that credential -- or one purporting to be the real thing -- showed up on EBay. It was offered on the online auction site by a German dealer. The theory is that Beckham, disgusted by England's 3-1 loss on penalty kicks, had flung it aside, or he simply left it behind or gave it to someone as a souvenir.
Whatever the provenance, the credential was sold to a German buyer for $222.53.
Little more than a month has passed since Beckham's Galaxy deal, and Beckham-mania has flourished on EBay. The number of Beckham collectibles being offered surpassed 1,000 in the week of his signing, and although the number dropped to 760 on Monday, interest remained high.
Items for sale include Beckham books, magazines, photographs and trading cards, Beckham jerseys, boots, sunglasses and cologne, Beckham action figures, posters, DVDs and license plates. There has also been a fair amount of skulduggery going on.
For instance, the Galaxy made it clear that the team would be changing its logo and colors, as well as its jersey sponsor, to mark the arrival of Beckham, yet buyers are happily paying significant prices for what are essentially fake items. "Be the first to own the new Los Angeles Galaxy David Beckham No. 23 shirt!!" trumpeted the description on one jersey put up for auction by a dealer in England. "This is the authentic Adidas home strip for 2006 and 2007. Home gold and green."
Well, no, not really. At some point this year the Galaxy gold and green will be ditched, reportedly in favor of a deep space blue, with a more galactic logo. And even though Beckham is expected to wear No. 23 because he is a fan of Michael Jordan, he has not officially been assigned that number. Nevertheless, that Galaxy jersey sold for $141.79 to a fan in England.
A similar Galaxy jersey, also with Beckham's name and number on the back, was sold last week by another English dealer for $143.98. His description was even more truth-stretching. "To highlight his celebrity status, Beckham's shirt No. 23 sold out in record time on the day of his transfer, and the club were reported to have received around 600,000 [pounds] in shirt sales alone," it stated.
