Posh and Becks: Can England’s First Couple Invade America?

Ever since The Beatles entered the national consciousness in the 1960s on the wave of Beatlemania, America has had a strange relationship with England.  Although the United Kingdom and America are arguably the two most dominant cultural forces in the English speaking part of the world, there is an odd bit of rivalry between the two nations.  America, perhaps a bit conscious that it was originally a British colony, has sought to create a viable national culture that is unique from its mother country.  England, on the other hand, has taken a lot of pride of its own unique national culture and some of its pride can be attributed to the fact that it is a bit strange to see America grow to become the more dominant of the two nations.

Although England and America are culturally, politically and economically close friends, one is able to witness a bit of a cultural schism between these two great nations.  Celebrities and icons in one country often find that they are virtually unknown in the other country.  This can be attributed to basic cultural differences between England and America.  For example, football or soccer is the most dominant sport in England.  It is virtually impossible to not have some kind of tie to a local football team and the sport plays a huge part of the national fabric.  If you think this is hyperbole, just talk to somebody from England about their team during the World Cup.  They may be loving the British national football team or hating them, but they will always be passionate.

Contrast this with Americans who love their own form of football or what is known around the world as American football.  Again Americans are equally passionate about their football icons, but it is very uncommon for American football megastars like Tom Brady or Peyton Manning to be particularly well known in England.  This is the same for British football icons that are treated like gods in their homeland but as nobodies in America.

The reason why we have examined the differences between American culture and British culture is because in the next few months there will be one couple that will attempt to bridge these two nations together as places where they are worshipped.  Adored in their native England and throughout most of the world, it wouldn’t be an understatement to describe these two individuals to be England’s reigning first couple.

One is a brilliant football player who is arguably the most well known athlete throughout the world, except in North America.  He has shrines built in his honor and he has managed to do an impressive thing by somehow becoming bigger than the sport of football.  The other was a member of one of the most successful singing groups in music history.  She has done what many other British artists have failed to do and has tasted success in America.  Known for her stylish duds and her trim figure, she is one of the few women in the world who would be able to match such a magnetic figure as her husband.

Who are these two people, this unofficial royal couple of England?

They are David Beckham football player, and Victoria Adams, pop star.  Better known as: Posh and Becks!  Throughout the world, they are one of the hottest topics.  International tabloid news drool over this couple, desperate for any news that they can get about this high profile couple, and big businesses love the advertising power that this magnetic twosome can attract.  Now the global power of Posh and Becks will be tested as they are about to move to America where they will face two battles: david beckham will attempt to single handedly make the American soccer league, Major League Soccer (MLS), relevant and Posh and Becks will try to conquer America the way that they have conquered the world.

Before we examine this international wrecking ball of a celebrity marriage, we will examine the individual lives of this powerful couple.  First of all, we will take a look at the David Beckham Biography to see how this seemingly normal British lad evolved into one of the most recognized people in the entire world.  Born on May 2, 1975 in the East London area of Leytonstone, David Robert Joseph Beckham was born into a blue-collar life.  His father, Ted Beckham was a kitchen fitter and his mother, Sandra West, worked as a hairdresser.  Much like most children in England, David Beckham adopted his parent’s love for a football team, which was Manchester United.  However, unlike most other children in England, he would use this childhood passion to propel him to great heights.

A devoted Manchester United fan and football crazy in general, David Beckham would attend a number of youth football academies, work as a mascot for a match, and play for a local youth team called the Ridgeway Rovers.  On his fourteenth birthday, Beckham would agree to join the Manchester United youth football team.  While playing for the football club’s junior team, he would help propel his club into winning the FA Youth Cup in May, 1992.  Later that year, Beckham would make his first appearance on Manchester United’s team during an exhibition match.  It would be on April 2, 1995 that Beckham would make his first appearance with Manchester United in a Premier League match.  He was 19 years old at the time.

Much like how the New York Yankees tend to dominate major league baseball and become a much hated but respected organization, the Beckham-led Manchester United squad would steamroll through the British Premier League in the 1990s and early 2000s.  During his eleven year career with Manchester United, he would play in almost 400 games and score 85 goals.  He also played a huge role in Manchester United’s winning the three major football trophies in 1999: the Premier League, the FA Cup, and the UEFA Champions League.  He also helped lead Manchester United to victory in the Premier League and the FA Cup in 1996.  He would go on and become only the third British football player to join the highly revered Real Madrid squad in 2003.

Despite his impressive success with his favorite football team, David Beckham is also well regarded for his accomplishments with the British National football team.  Although he was justifiably vilified for taking a costly penalty in the 1998 World Cup that contributed to England’s elimination from the tournament by Argentina, Beckham has gained respect for being the only British player to have scored in three different World Cups and for his strong role as captain that lasted for nearly six years.

Although David Beckham has had an extremely successful football career, which is evident from his twice finishing second for the FIFA World Player of the Year Award in 1999 and 2001, his sporting accomplishments cannot be the sole reason for his immense popularity.  After all, there are arguably more accomplished football players in his generation that do not enjoy the same high profile.

Much of his global popularity can be attributed to his good looks.  Many girls and boys around the world often go to sleep with images of david beckham nude playing in their mind.  David Beckham Wallpaper often fill the screens of computers no matter where you are.  Although his attractive appearance is definitely a part of his larger allure, others feel that it is his style of play that is the key to his popularity.  Known for his beautiful free kicks and his creative passing, his football style was used as a metaphor for the international hit movie, Bend it like Beckham.  Although he did not appear in that movie, Beckham has appeared in the popular European films, Goal! and Goal! 2: Living the Dream, and he was mentioned in the British film, Love Actually.  Beckham was recently listed as one of Time Magazines: Time 100 (Heroes and Icons).

More well known than many brands like Coca-Cola and IBM, Beckham has released his own line of scents with David Beckham Instinct.  He has also used his popularity to become a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and to help London’s successful 2012 Olympics hosting bid.

While David Beckham may be the most recognizable of the two throughout most of the world, in America, Victoria Adams is much more well known than her football playing husband.  This is of course due to her strong musical accomplishments as she was one fifth of the pop music group, Spice Girls, which even America couldn’t deny.  From the late 1990s to the early 200s, the Spice Girls dominated the international airwaves.  With their playful image and their positive message of “Girl Power,” the Spice Girls would reach Number One with such hits as, “Wannabe,” “2 Becomes 1,” “Mama,” “Spice Up Your Life,” and “Stop!”  In a group that distinguished each member with a specific character trait, Victoria Adams would quickly become known to the whole world as Posh Spice.

However, before there was Posh Spice and before there was Victoria Beckham, leader of the WAGS (Wives and Girlfriends of the British national football team), there was Victoria Caroline Adams.  Born on April 17, 1974 in Goff’s Oak in Hertfordshire, Victoria Adams would go through a turbulent life that would take her from reigning pop star to solo musician failure, from successful fashion designer to object of ridicule at football games, from classy socialite to the best example of vapid British celebrity culture.  It is Victoria Beckham’s ability to fit into these different concepts and to gracefully handle the intense public scrutiny that she has to endure on a daily basis that makes her one of the most analyzed and popular British celebrities today.

Although she is fairly well known in America, Victoria Beckham has an exponentially larger profile in her home country.  Reporters are constantly discussing the latest news on Victoria Beckham, where she has managed to forge successful careers in business and even as an author.  While Posh Spice has failed to find success as a solo musician, she has found her niche in the fashion world.  This second career of hers would begin when she first made a guest appearance as a model in 1999.

Considered to be the most stylish of The Spice Girls, Victoria Beckham would design her own fashion line called ‘VB Rocks’ for Rock and Republic in 2004.  This line would be a huge success and she would continue her relationship with Rock and Republic for two more years by creating fashion lines for men and children.  In September 2006, Victoria Beckham would create her own clothing line called DVB Style and she has also been associated with such popular fashion powerhouses like Rocawear, Samantha Thavasa, Harrods, and Coty.

The strength of Victoria Beckham’s immense popularity can be seen in the success of her two books.  Her autobiography, Learning to Fly, was the third best selling non-fiction book in England in 2001.  Her second book, That Extra Half an Inch: Hair, Heels and Everything in Between which described her forays into the fashion world has been a huge success, reaching number 2 on the Sunday Times Book Charts.

One of the most fascinating things about Posh and Becks are that while they have individually lived extremely distinguished lives, the key to their global popularity is due to public curiosity of their relationship.  Arguably the most famous celebrity marriage in the world, Posh and Becks has endured intense media scrutiny since they first started dating in 1997.  After two years of dating, Posh and Becks would become the Beckhams on July 4, 1999.  By that time, Victoria Adams had given birth to the couple’s first son, Brooklyn.  Despite having a unique arrangement with OK! Magazine in which the magazine would have exclusive rights to photos from the wedding, the Posh and Becks wedding was still infiltrated by the international media.  However, considering that the wedding was taking place in beautiful Luttrellstown Castle in Ireland and that it reportedly cost £500,000, neither Posh or Becks really seemed to have cared about this media intrusion.

The popularity of Posh and Becks continue to be strong throughout the world, particularly as the couple seems to survive through mini-scandals.  Often being featured on the front page of daily tabloids and with a couple of beautiful models that have claimed to have seen David Beckham Naked which led to other more seductive matters (aka: sex), somehow David Beckham and Victoria Beckham survive the media scrutiny and create a strong family unit.  The couple have three sons (Brooklyn Joseph Beckham, Romeo James Beckham, and Cruz David Beckham) and this underdog story has only added to their increasing popularity.  This has set up the latest challenge for this international power couple to overcome.

America has been one of the few places that have been cool to Posh and Becks’ charms.  While there are definitely some big Beckhams enthusiasts in America, their popularity cannot be remotely compared to the fever this couple creates throughout the rest of the world.  Now that David Beckham has agreed to play for the fledging Los Angeles Galaxie in the MLS league, he will be challenged to see if he can single handedly create a buzz for soccer in America.  Although this relative anonymity may have played a big factor in the Beckhams leaving Europe to come to America, it would be considered somewhat a failure in the Beckham’s star power if they do not gain the same type of attention from the American press.

After all, if England’s first couple can become big news in America, it will show that they are doing something right and would complete the unlikely conquest of world domination that Posh and Becks have somehow gone on.