Five feet away...

David Beckham was in the newsroom Wednesday.

We all knew he was coming but still, the energy was palpable as the time for his arrival advanced.

Some of us on the assignment desk debated his status in the "World's Most Popular Sports Figure" category but all agree he is in the top five.

The man knows how to win the room.  He was gracious. Smiling. Patient. And never wavered even when a twenty-foot line of adults immediately formed, post interview, for photos.  

Thankfully, it became a big group shot and although I was not among them I witnessed the most touching thing after the photos were taken.  

Our morning director had brought his young son in and Beckham immediately gravitated to the lad and gave him a few one-on-one tidbits on soccer that I am sure will never be forgotten.  You can see more pictures on this blog by my beautiful and clever co-worker Lauren.

It was a sweet moment.

I don't know if David Beckham will get the soccer stadium built where he wants it.  It's an unpopular choice with many powerful south Floridians.

I do know that I've never experienced such raw charisma since I saw Bill Clinton at the 1992 Democratic convention.

I love days like this.

At one point, David Beckham was five feet away from me.  It was a thrill.

We wuz robbed!

I took the day off so I could watch the match with people.   

I was, by far, the oldest female in the room.  Gary Lezak was there early, to give his daily weather report.  And what fun it was, especially after the Yanks tied the game!  Yes, the referee made a huge mistake.  There was no foul and this game was stolen from USA.  Frank Boal and John Holt were there, btw.  John looks good and says he's feeling stronger every day.

Thanks, Border Patrol, for hosting this event!

Getting ready for the USA match tomorrow

I'm taking Friday off so I can watch the USA/Slovenia soccer match somewhere and cheer for the Yanks.  Charlie sent me this song (Official World Cup Theme Song) and it's now on my iPod. 

I've become a K'naan stalker and signed up for his fan club.

Soccer mom

I watched every second of Saturday's World Cup match between the US and England with my laptop open and Tweetdeck bleating every second.  Funniest tweet was from some fellow who wondered if the game was being played on the back of a giant mosquito.  (Vuvuzelas)

I wasn't alone.  The ratings for ABC were the largest for a soccer game since 1994.  Nearly 13 million households.  And almost everybody I know watched the match in a bar, not at home, as I did.  (I am getting boring in my old age!)

"Since Thursday, fans have consumed more than one million hours of World Cup content on ESPN3.com, ESPN’s signature broadband network, which is available in 50 million homes."

The draw is made even more amazing to me as we await word of Tim Howard's ribs.  Broken?  Not?

Here in Kansas City, KMBC has to be happy.  The game garnered a 10.3 rating and averaged a 22 share.  Not too shabby.

By the way, I DO NOT AGREE that vuvuzelas should be banned, as this Gawker article suggests.  I've been watching soccer for almost twenty years and truly, the buzz becomes background noise after awhile.  I don't even hear it anymore.

Maybe that's another sign of my advanced age....