English superstar David Beckham, brought to the Los Angeles Galaxy to preach the gospel of football to US sports fans, may have to overcome a language barrier to get the message across.
Beckham, who acquired a smattering of Spanish in four years with Real Madrid, told some 5,000 fans at the Galaxy's Home Depot Center that he was looking forward to the challenge of making the game "as big here as it is everywhere around the world."
"The first thing in my life is always my family," he said, adding: "The second most important thing has always been foot... soccer.
"Sorry, I'll get used to that, I promise," he added.
For most US sports fans, of course, "football" means the gridiron game of the National Football League and college teams. '
Beckham's slip-up came despite his careful preparations.
The former England skipper said last month that he was trying to school himself to say "soccer" rather than football in deference to his new fans.
"Since I signed with the Galaxy, I'm trying to get myself to say soccer because I've always said football," he said in June, after filming a commercial with New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush.
"It would seem like (soccer) would be the sport you actually call football because you're kicking it with your foot," Bush said. "We call (American football) football, but we actually throw it a lot more than we kick it."
加盟洛杉矶银河队、将为美国足球迷们“传道”的英国巨星大卫·贝克汉姆可能还得克服一个语言障碍，才能把这个“道”传好。
在皇马待了四年的小贝对西班牙语略知一二，他在银河“家得堡”体育中心对约五千名球迷说，他正期待着提高足球在美国的影响力、使其与在世界其它地区同样受欢迎的挑战。
他说：“对于我来说，家庭永远摆在第一位，足球第二。” （小贝差点说football，刚说了foot后，立刻改口为soccer。）
“抱歉，我还得慢慢适应，我保证！”
对于大多数美国球迷来说，football指的是国家橄榄球联盟和大学生橄榄球队的橄榄球运动。
尽管小贝做了不少功课，但还是犯了个口误。
这位前英格兰国家足球队队长上月表示，为了对他的新球迷表示尊重，他一直在努力的让自己改说football为soccer。
他6月与新奥尔良圣徒队的跑锋雷吉·布什拍完一个广告后说，“自从我与银河队签了合同，我就一直在努力地让自己改口说soccer，因为我过去一直都是说football。”
布什则说：“感觉soccer应该是一种被称为football的运动，因为你是用脚踢的。我们称美式足球（橄榄球）为football，但实际上我们更多的是投球，而不是踢球。”
