No term quite wrinkles the brain like the word “endorsement.” For those clinging on to the hope that American soccer will ever reach the levels of world football, it should be no surprise when I make the argument that this has been David Beckham’s World Cup. Whether your poison be potato chips, beer, shoes, cell phones, or fast food, our beloved ambassador for all things footy has been shoved in our faces more than the ever-present “greatest ever” moniker which tastelessly accompanies all of modern sport. Though I’m sure he has been hard up for spare change ever since relocating across the Atlantic, Sir David’s attempt to brand himself as the face of soccer has surely been a lucrative one for somebody.
Perhaps there’s not a British English phrase for “too much of a good thing.” All smiles and a pop star spouse; I mean, who wouldn’t want to be in his shoes? Watching him recently in an ad for a well-known hardware store, I wondered if he had ever picked up a hammer in his whole life… apart from in the commercial of course. Peeling back the knighthood and the global branding is an underlying reality that swings both ways: financial institutions are not just receiving his endorsement, he is also receiving theirs.
Like a light bulb in a 1950s cartoon, I soon began to apply this knowledge to recent events in my own life.
Several months ago I met with a local municipal city councilor on the matter of my running as an independent candidate for our 2nd Congressional District. Nice as the councilor was to spare their time for my naive undertaking, the fruits of that meeting were wrapped up in one term: endorsement.
In order to run for office, it was explained to me that I needed endorsement. What type and from whom are not important; what is important is the reality that political candidates, in accepting endorsements from groups and political parties, are also in turn giving an endorsement to those who are providing theirs. “Quid pro quo” was something I learned from the film Silence of the Lambs, and equally frightening is the understanding that there perhaps exists no candidate who stands on their own. Democracy, like advertising, is not without that unfortunate inclusion of mutual back-scratching.
Are these transactions unavoidable? No one could really know for certain. With political action committees steering social media, and with foreign nations directing the flow of American military hardware, it should be no surprise to anyone that our president began his career in speculative real estate.
Some say we are Israel’s proxy, while others say they are our’s. Much like professional sport, the side matters not as much as the process. Wealth goes with wealth just like talent goes with talent. Would Lionel Messi be the “G.O.A.T” if he had attended Greenfield High School instead of the famous Barcelona academy? Check the numbers for yourselves if the answer does not immediately drop into your consciousness. Likewise, would the images of our present (and often worshiped) elected officials be painted on billboards and prayer candles if not for their acceptance of this quid pro quo existence?
I’ve often attempted to explain to my children that even their favorite foods would become distasteful if they had them everyday. Though I do in fact patronize several of the brands receiving David Beckham’s endorsement this World Cup cycle, their staleness upon my palate increases with every commercial break. Within sport, as within politics, you squeeze the lemon of profit until either the juice runs out or your hands become exhausted. “Americanism,” with its standards of “best,” “freedom,” and “progress” is beginning to taste like those delicious meals served upon the Titanic after the iceberg.
Unfortunately, it is the commoners who are both the victims and the resource of these parasitic systems. When Becks pops a cold one, the image on the screen tells those on the other side of the economic pillar, “if you drink this, maybe you’ll marry a pop star too”. Not saying that is entirely impossible, but like the advice I receive when someone hears I want to run for federal office without party or endorsement, let’s be serious. Money makes the world go round, but how long can one cycle spin? At the current rate, David Beckham will be included in each advertisement I see over the next few weeks. Who really cares about Team USA when a pirate of sports culture is telling me, “buy this,” “drink this.”
Ahmad Esfahani lives in Greenfield.