Beckham: The Documentary
I’m not a football or sports fan in general. Definitely not a huge pop fan or fashionista either. But I am impressed by people who thrive in these environments. David Beckham is one of these people who seems to be one of these people, thriving in all of these realms.
The 4 part Netflix documentary shows his rise to football stardom, model, businessman/one man company, personal brand and then just general stardom overall. He is a major face of pop culture now.
I learned a lot about him and really like him more than I did before as the documentary tracked his entire rise to the top. Joining Manchester United at age 15 and growing up with the team. Playing for team England for the World Cup, especially the Argentina-England 1998 game controversy (fans are stupid and flakey to say the least). Recovering from having all of the UK hate him due to the red card during that game. His romance and marriage with Posh Spice. Surviving the fame and the media frenzy since he was young.
His perfectionism and his discipline. One of his team mates:
“If you lose discipline, you don’t play at 100%.You play at 80% or 90% and then you go down very quickly. You Know? Very fast. In a few months….you’ve disappeared completely. And then you wake up in the morning and you say “Oh Sh-t”’
I don’t know how he did it. He’d just performed despite the madness of his life. Watching his goals throughout his career. Wow. Pure artistry.
But the way he got very good was because his football fanatic father pushed him extremely hard. At a level many people in this present weak-minded age would call abusive. Or as I call it Tiger mom or Asian immigrant parenting. Nothing was ever good enough. Doing corner kick after corner kick after corner kick to put it in the same spot that his dad wanted. “And if I didn’t he’d kill me.” I know how this feels. This seems to be the spur that leads to excellence though. And his dad told him: “It’s moments like corners at the end of the game that can create history.” His father was right and this was how Beckham helped his team win the treble that year.
Yet the higher you are, the harder the fall or better said: “The wind blows hardest at the top of the mountain.” It’s so extreme these kinds of pop star fandom. One minute everyone loves you, the next minute it turns to extreme hate. Unfairness and extreme inhumane behavior of the crowds he had to deal with at age 23 when the controversy happened. Madness of the crowds, especially brutish English ones. Beckham handled it well. I honestly probably would have lost it, probably fought or maybe even shot people in his position. But thankfully he had his soon to be wife, his family, his friends.
And Alex Ferguson of Man United who helped him through it & told him “Go on your holiday. Come back here. We’ll look after you. Don’t read the papers. There is no point to it. What you can do is ignore it.” Goes to show you the importance of people in the key tough periods of your life who help you and who create an island and inner sanctum for you to recover in.
He just kept grinding and kept everything inside, like a “working class, old school mentality, to like, roll your sleeves up, you get through this.”
He sucked in the negative attention and all the abuse he and his family got from fans and used it as fuel for his performance. He started playing incredibly well and scoring goals. All the way to Man United winning the FA Cup, Champions league & European Cup Final. A historic treble. A victorious turnaround through stubbornness, hard work and determination that he kept up throughout his entire football career. He even became Captain of the Team England for the 2002 World Cup.
Being surprise-traded from Man U. Joining the legendary Real Madrid football club playing with other football legends like Carlos, Figo, Ronaldo and Zidane. Beckham grew tremendously during these moments and the years after despite the turmoil in Spain. He helped turn things around in his last season in Madrid, even as he was injured the last game, but they won the championship. He took a big risk and eventually moved to LA to play for the Galaxy team for a $250M USD contract. Regardless of the crap first year, overall it paid off well and he helped put MLS on the map, winning the MLS Cup. He is now co-owner of MLS football team Inter Miami CF with one of the most lucrative business deals ever signed in the league. And he signed the best football player in the world Leo Messi to Miami. Legend.
He’s transcended football at this point. The man who has everything it seems. At the top of his game, good looking, married to a gorgeous pop star. He has good taste & style + all the toys and fixings of his wealth and fame. Yet he has a loving family and is a humble, good and normal guy with lower middle class upbringing. He did not seem to let the fame and wealth get to his head like it has for so many others. I find that incredibly impressive. An overall good dude and a documentary worth watching.