BENDING THE BANK FOR BECKHAM, GALAXY GETS A ... SUPERNOVA ABILITY TO GENERATE REVENUE IS SOCCER STAR'S GREATEST VALUE TO THE MLS.

Byline: NICK GREEN

David Beckham's move to the Galaxy isn't just the biggest soccer story of the year.

It isn't even the biggest sports story of the year.

It's much, much, more than that.

``You don't pay him $250 million (over five years) as a soccer star,'' said David Carter, a nationally renowned sports marketing expert and director of the USC Sports Business Institute.

``His ability to generate revenue across the board, his status as a pop icon and as a brand enables him to drive and create more value for Major League Soccer and (Galaxy owner) Anschutz Entertainment Group than simply his performance on the field.

``He will be the face of soccer. He will be the ambassador for the sport. And to the extent he is walking on the red carpet and to the extent he is part of the entertainment scene here, all of that will be solid for MLS.''

Beckham is perhaps the most popular sports figure on the planet and arguably one of the globe's biggest celebrities.

Period.

What Wayne Gretzky was to the National Hockey League, what Michael Jordan was to the National Basketball Association, Beckham will be to U.S.soccer.

Times two.

Neither Gretzky nor Jordan were married to a pop icon. Beckham sports former Spice Girl Posh Spice on his arm.

Neither Gretzky nor Jordan were marketed as sex symbols -- to both men and women -- as Beckham is.

Neither Gretzky nor Jordan were walking global conglomerates to the extent Beckham is.

In England, Beckham is the closest thing a commoner can get to royalty. The nickname British tabloids bestowed on his lavish home: Beckingham Palace.

In populous Asia, Beckham is adored, and virtually any product associated with him immediately becomes the market leader.

In the United States, meanwhile, there are still people who don't know who Beckham is.

Not for much longer.

The Galaxy sold 1,000 new season tickets in the four hours after Thursday's announcement and set up a ``war room'' to take orders.

``My wife is excited, my kids are excited,'' said Greg Delgado, who heads up a Galaxy fan group called the UFOs and spent Thursday talking to radio stations from England to Australia. ``There couldn't be anything better for American soccer than having David Beckham come here.''

Beckham's move to the largely untapped U.S. market is expected to make him the world's highest paid sports star, eclipsing golfer Tiger Woods, with his salary and endorsements rising to more than $100million annually.

It's a marriage of hype and Hollywood, charisma and chemistry, fame and fashion.

``It pulls together different facets of life and different facets of the economy, and focuses it on soccer in a way it's never been focused on soccer before,'' said Sigi Schmid, the former Galaxy coach. ``It's going to have a tremendous effect on the sport in this country.''

Some longtime soccer observers are comparing Beckham's signing to the mid-1970s capture of Pele by the now defunct North American Soccer League. Back then, Pele was recognized as the sport's greatest-ever player and was seen as the catalyst to catapult the sport into the public consciousness.

Although Pele's presence temporarily boosted game attendance, the transformation never occurred. In part, it was because Pele was an unassuming fellow with limited English-language skills.

In part, it was because the sport had little foundation in everyday life, with few American kids taking to playing fields to kick a ball around, and fewer still watching it on television.

In part, it was because of an entrenched hostility and lack of understanding among the media toward a sport that was seen as a threat to ``traditional'' American pastimes.

Today, AYSO games are a fall weekend ritual for many families.

More than one American television cable channel is devoted solely to the sport, while the Internet has turned the customary relationship between the mass media and consumers on its head.

And the demographics of the nation have changed, with the Latino influx giving the sport greater visibility than ever before.

``(Soccer) is going mainstream now,'' said a giddy Galaxy coach Frank Yallop. ``This just fast-tracks it. It puts it into people's living rooms and lives because everyone knows David Beckham. It's really going to lift our sport to another level.''

Cynics are already emerging.

At 31, Beckham is in the twilight of his career, his pace has gone and his incredible free-kick ability immortalized in the film ``Bend it Like Beckham'' remains the only trick in his arsenal, they say.

One English writer has already likened Beckham's U.S. move as an ``elephant's graveyard.''

But they miss the point.

Arab sheiks and Italian clubs were lining up to pay Beckham millions for his services.

But those venues are no longer big enough for Beckham.

Here, he has said, he's on a mission to build a sport.

The $250 million man will play in a $150 million stadium in the world's entertainment capital in an unprecedented collision of celebrity and commerce.

And the Galaxy will have a star who lives up to the team name.

``The curiosity attached to Beckham's arrival in this country and in Southern California is going to be off the charts,'' said USC's Carter. ``While we were certainly intrigued by celebrities 30 years ago, that's nothing compared to the 24-7 spotlight of celebrity culture today.

``It changes the league's perception overnight.''

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CAPTION(S):

7 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) In England, the British tabloids call David Beckham's home Beckingham Palace. In Asia, almost any product associated with him instantly becomes the market leader.

Philippe Desmazes/AFP/Getty Images

(2) After David Beckham agreed to come to the Galaxy, the MLS team sold 1,000 new season tickets.

Denis Doyle/Getty Images

(3) Alex Rodriguez

(4) Shaquille O'Neal

(5) Michael Vick

(6) Jaromir Jagr

(7) David Beckham

Box:

RAKIN' IT IN

- Associated Press