(03-29-2013 04:22 PM)JustAnotherAustinOwl Wrote:  

(03-28-2013 10:58 PM)Rice93 Wrote:  FWIW.... I have some friends who have worked closely with various MLS teams as well as the USMNT. To hear them tell it Beckham is a extremely genuine and kind guy behind the scenes.

I've always heard that too. Definitely his rep in the UK.

I have to say that he was remarkably mature in handling the kerfuffle caused by Donovan's comments that I quoted above (rightly or wrongly). Even, though I can't imagine him trying to bend one of his kicks in street shoes (his body lean is insane), I respect him a lot. I remember hearing of his reaction when he went to one of his kids games and saw a referee send off a 7 year old from a different game. He didn't go ballistic, but seemed to step in with some authority to something that was just plain wrong.

I may not have all the details correct, because a lot of the story is second-hand from good friends in UK.

When Victoria was pregnant with their first son, they did an amnio or something and the doc advised them that the child was at high risk of, I want to say, spina bifida. David and Victoria almost immediately agreed to become the celebrity spokespersons for the foundation that combats the disease. When the child was born, he was completely healthy so the worries had been unfounded. Representatives of the foundation contacted them to express their happiness that the child was normal, and their understanding if Becks and Posh wished to withdraw as celebrity spokespersons. "Absolutely not, we made a commitment and we intend to honor it fully," was their reply and they continued their involvement. They later formed a charity for all birth defects.

I just think they are two pretty neat people who don't deserve nearly the amount of crap they get from the media.

I remember Euro 2000, I think (might have been 2004, not sure). Posh rode to one of the England games on the coach with the other players' wives/girlfriends, and the media were full of stories next day about how the other women resented having to put up with the paparazzi that surrounded Posh. Next game, she took a separate coach, and the stories were all about the other women complaining because she must think she is better than them.