Beckham's failed attempt to fit in with teammates
By: John Keim and Craig Stouffer
Washington Examiner
07/01/09 3:27 PM EDT
David Beckham caused a stir in Washington in August 2007, making his first appearance on the field with the Los Angeles Galaxy against D.C. United in front of a sellout crowd at RFK Stadium and sending the local paparazzi into fits as he popped up at different hotspots after dark.
But it was at Morton's The Steakhouse in Arlington where he infamously saw an early effort to fit with his new teammates backfire, details Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl in an excerpt of "The Beckham Experiment." The book is an explosive inside look at Beckham's first two seasons in Los Angeles, which hits bookshelves this month -- just as Beckham rejoins the Galaxy for his first MLS match this season vs. New York on July 16.
At the dinner he helped organize with 10 other players two years ago, Beckham wasn't recognized by the waiter, who promptly took his wine glass when Beckham said he didn't have an I.D.
Later, when the check came, Beckham paid only for himself despite a $6.5 million salary ($48.2 million with endorsements), leaving his five-figure salaried teammates to hope their $45 per diem would be enough.
Wahl offers an unprecedented behind-the-scenes account of Beckham's life with the Galaxy in 2007 and 2008, with the meal at Morton's just the first hint of disconnected times to come.
"[Landon] Donovan didn't call Beckham out at Morton's after all," writes Wahl. "But he could never get over Beckham's alligator arms when the bill arrived. Nobody would have believed it, he thought: David Beckham is a cheapskate."
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