David Beckham Sits One Out

Just days after David Beckham put soccer officially on the map in Hollywood, Becks decided to sit the next one out.

As was expected, the Euro uber import did not play in the Los Angeles Galaxy’s match against Pachuca on Tuesday due to the lingering effects of an ankle injury.

Sadly, the only Beckham sightings came on the stadium’s big screen as he watched the game from the stands. He was dressed in a brown T-shirt and sat in a box with his son, 4-year-old Romeo, on his lap.

“We had a good chat yesterday and I said to him there’s no pressure to play until he’s ready because he doesn’t want to play when he doesn’t play well,” Galaxy coach Frank Yallop said. “And I think that’s important for him, to not come out and show badly. He wants to come out and be ready to go and really play well for this team.”

And while the coach wasn’t sure when Becks would return to action for his new team, his power is already evident.

Besides the bevy of A-listers who hit the Home Depot Center in Carson, California (just south of Los Angeles) including wife Victoria, Katie Holmes and daughter Suri, Eva Longoria, Brooke Shields and more, the fans at home were also eager for a glimpse of Becks.

His brief appearance in his first game over the weekend drew a record audience for an ESPN televised Major League Soccer game.

Saturday night’s exhibition match between the Galaxy and Chelsea on ESPN earned a 1.0 rating and was watched by about 1,468,000 people.

Beckham, hobbled by the ankle injury, played the final 12 minutes plus four minutes of stoppage time in the Galaxy’s 1-0 loss.

The rating means that approximately 1 percent of homes with ESPN tuned in to the game.

Becks’ next chance to take the field will be on Saturday when the Galaxy takes on a team from Guadalajara at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.

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