As soccer continues to grow in America the MLS have taken steps to give it a major boost with the introduction of Beckham. Even arm chair sports fans who do not follow soccer are taking an interest and wondering what makes him special.

To understand the phenomena that is David Beckham you need to understand the player. The reason he first won the England fans over and then the Real Madrid fans was not because he was the best player in the team, he wasn't. Nor was it his speed, or his ball juggling skills, his witty after match comments etc.

The reason true soccer fans the world over, despite their allegiance to other clubs, cannot help but admire him when they watch David Beckham playing soccer is because He never ever gives up. He plays with his heart on his sleeve for all to see and has done for some time now. That is why one day soon when you see his team mates hang their heads at 2-0 down with 5 minutes to go and you see David Beckham running, chasing and shouting at his team like his life depended on it, that is when the American sports fan will say "ahh..... now I get it!"

Of course, it helps that he has developed into one of the greatest passers the game has ever seen and his free kicks aren't bad either. The high level of skill was achieved through sheer bloody mindedness and years of endless practice. You see, our David was never a natural soccer player like say a Maradonna or a Pele for instance. David Beckham started life as a young teenage winger at Manchester United with a problem - he couldn't get past a defender!

With the coach Sir Alex Ferguson ever watchful it became clear to Beckham that he could either accept his fate and be passed on to a lesser club where he'd ply his trade as a decent player or he could solve this problem and play for the biggest club in the world. Thankfully for Manchester United, himself and soccer fans throughout the world he chose the hard route. He decided if he could not beat a defender then he would have to get rid of the ball before facing defense. He stayed behind after official training every night and practised crossing the ball. He practised until he could land the ball exactly at the spot he wanted. He also learnt the art of bending the ball until no one in the world could bend it like Beckham.

Learning to bend the ball so much meant he quickly established himself as Manchester Uniteds free kick specialist and later England's. Both his peers and fans around the world regard David Beckham one of the greatest free kick takers their is.

As David Beckham sets off on a new adventure both the L.A. Galaxy and arm chair fans will soon come to understand why we loved him so much and why we miss him already.