Still Bending it Like Beckham

The Phils are in the playoffs, and the Eagles are a story:
There’s quarterback congestion, and the outcome could be gory.
The Flyers soon will re-emerge to play their winter game,
And though the NBA club there in Philly could be lame,
They will, quite soon, be running up and down the hardwood floor,
So who in Philadelphia could think there might be more?

And yet, there is, for Beckham plays in Philly Thursday night.
You might have thought that he was through, and you might have been right
If he had not, patched up again, alighted in L.A.,
And if he hadn’t done what he does best on Saturday…
He bent one for the Galaxy and helped them win a game
That they would otherwise have tied, and so his ancient name…
Well, “ancient” might be pushing it, he’s only thirty five,
But he’s been written off so often, left for half-alive…
And he is fighting catty claims he’s cheated on his wife,
And taking such abuse from fans that these days Beckham’s life
Is less about the soccer he contends that he can play
Than dodging the photographers and getting through the day.

Look, I’m not such a dolt, not such a nitwit, such a clod,
That I think David Beckham is some kind of soccer god…
Despite the fact that thirty million dollars is a lot –
(For playing soccer in L.A. that’s what the fellow got)
But I root for the story, and the story in the fall
May be that David Beckham one more time has heard the call
Of golden opportunity. He’s playing for a team,
That leads the MLS in points and has the right to dream
That they will win a title in this autumn rife with strife,
As Beckham pushes toward the end of his long soccer life.

So there are baseball playoffs now, and football’s in full swing,
And hockey’s just about to start, and basketball will bring
Its giants to a town near you, unless you live on Mars,
But in our galaxy of games, among the largest stars
Is Beckham, and so I, for one, would quite enjoy the sight
Of Beckham bending in a couple in the fading light
Of his long soccer days played all around the shrinking world.
I would not be surprised if Beckham brill-i-ant-ly curled
The shot that – later on this autumn – won his team a cup.
It wouldn’t be the worst way for his journey to wind up.