Two weeks ago it was all set that David Beckham was going to drag his family to Paris so he could have one more shot at international glory playing soccer. In fact, all he had to do was sign and he would have been the highest paid player at that level of soccer in France. Instead, now, citing family reasons, David Beckham has decided to stay in Los Angeles and is expected to resign with the LA Galaxy. That is quite the 180 from a few weeks ago. I think he actually got outvoted. His kids seem pretty happy here and to move from 250 days of sunshine and warm weather to France in the middle of winter is tough, plus they are all in school now so would have had that changed for a year or two and then probably moved on to different schools in a different country. I think it is pretty great that David is willing to maybe forgo his shot at being on England's national team again for the sake of his family and making sure they are happy.
And it's not like he needs the money.
ReplyDeleteParis or LA? There isn't even a choice there. The cultural capital of humanity, the city of light, the eternal home of all gothic fantasy and delight, the immortal dwelling place of all that is beautiful -- versus a skanky town with a bunch of Chik-Fil-A franchises? I mean, don't get me wrong, LA would win in a competition with Bakersfield or Reno, but ... wow, his family must hate beautiful clothing and culture.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that's it. The team, Paris St Germaine (PSG), got a new coach a few days ago. He doesn't want Beckham. Becks is just saving face.
ReplyDeleteThe reason they are staying is because Victoria B. just LOVES the attention she gets in the "Land of AllPaps".
ReplyDelete^Barton, Paris is THE capital par excellence of rude people. They even admit to it with some pride. You go there to sink in the culture, history, great food, but then get the f-ck out before you knife the obnoxious Maître D.
ReplyDeleteI did a college study abroad thingie and found the Parisians nicer than I could have possibly imagined. My BFF and I actually had a short list of shitty put-downs in French memorized, but everyone was really kind and nice to us. Guess we were lucky.
ReplyDeleteFuck Les Frogs. Put your fam first, Becks.
ReplyDeletein France, several journalists say it's over because of money issue on merchandising
ReplyDeleteHuh, Mango: good for you guys. Not many can stand the service, or lack of. Here in North America you can tell someone to suck it and give you the respect because you're the client, over there, from the shoe salesman to the Maître D. would teach you how to live, what to eat, and in very haughty and at times aggressive manners. My friend just moved to Neuilly a year ago, and poor thing is left in tears at times!
ReplyDeleteI wonder which way the baby voted
ReplyDeleteI studied abroad in Paris for a summer and vacation there recently. Yep, there was one or two people who were rude but nothing horrible. On the vacation, I went with my family who looked like the typical "ugly Americans" and they gushed on an on about how nice Parisians are. You have to know *some* French to get by.
ReplyDeletePlease, they only moved to LA to get attention for 'brand Beckham'. Any other reasoning was bullsh!t. No surprise they would stay there.
ReplyDeleteI think its Lainey that alleges in her blinds that he uses contracts with the women he cheats on Posh with. And that she turns a blind eye because there are acts he likes that she wont do... do we believe?
paris is filthy and full of rude people. i wouldn't want to live there. if the kids have friends and are settled in, i can see a typical person agreeing to stay where their home is. but i suspect something else is going on. maybe posh is joining the real housewives cast??
ReplyDeleteI don't think this has a thing to do with his family, the French don't want him.
ReplyDelete^ Agreed with above. 36 is pretty old in soccer terms, particularly if your position is center mid. It could just be a numbers/health thing for the French team involved.
ReplyDeleteWould love to see Becks play one or more seasons w/ the Galaxy, and continue to enhance interest with American soccer fans (bias alert: I come from a soccer family).
I have not had any problems in France either. What we see as bad service is a miscommunication. They actually feel it is rude to interupt you when you are eating, therefore you need to let them know with a wave when you are ready for their attention.
ReplyDeleteWhat we percieve as haughty about language when they correct us is a commitment to a purity of lanuguage. My French friend even corrected her father on his English and it wasn't considered unusual. French rudeness is clearly a cultural misunderstanding. They may be rushed a little like New Yorkers
but overall they can be very nice. And yes, do know a little French. The do appreciate you trying. Merci!
@BartonFink
ReplyDeleteHey, I resemble that remark!
ITA with the above posters who say Parisians aren't really that rude. I did a study abroad in France and I've visited several times ... basically if you try to speak in French, they very much appreciate it and will be quite friendly. It's when you act the "ugly American" and refuse to communicate in their language that things can get hairy.
ReplyDeleteBut we Americans are always friendly to foreigners (or even residents) who don't speak English, right?
@Sherry - the more you know! Language barrier may be, but heck, a city that does well because of tourism, should show a bit more tolerance. It also grandly depends on the "arrondissement" you are visiting, and how long you are staying. Will be visiting again this summer, hope to have a fantastique time!
ReplyDeleteAs a kid I was moved about every two years to a completely different city/state, and there came a time where I got really sick of it. So if the decision was made so the kids can stay at the same school(s) with their friends & remain in the same activities & such, good for them.
ReplyDeleteMy husband won a trip to Montreal this past summer. He can communicate pretty well in French as he spoke it his whole life at home, but not so much since we married. I absolutely hated the whole f'n weekend. I found the people rude to the point of wanting to just punch them. There is not one good thing I have to say about Montreal and would NEVER EVER return.
ReplyDelete@Barton Fink I know that reality television and TMZ make Los Angeles look like hell on earth, but as someone who has lived all across America, I absolutely love living in LA. And I'm sure it's even better if you've got Beckham money. Don't believe everything you see on television. Paris Hilton and Camille Grammar do not represent most Angelenos.
ReplyDeleteAnd as an aside, when I visited France, I never found the French rude.
Funny, they didn't call me for my two cents. Hmpf.
ReplyDelete@kelly
ReplyDeleteI don't know where you're from, but the Quebecois hate Americans even more than they hate English Canadians, which is saying a lot. Come to Toronto, we're a lot nicer.
It's been a long time since I was in France, but there was a big difference between the Parisians and the folks we met in the south of France. The Parisians pretty much ignored us, which wasn't really so bad. I speak some French and my best friend is fluent but she was often told (with a smirk) that she sounded Belgian. The people we met on the Riviera (ahhhh!) were warm and funny.
ReplyDeleteRight now, David Beckham is a male model who plays a little soccer.
I've lived there and from the society to the non-existent celebrity citizen culture, they would all be very lonely in France indeed. Not to mention the historic distaste of the English by the French and vice versa.
ReplyDeleteI say everyone would be much happier Monday through Friday to remain in LA.
what chopchop said.
ReplyDeleteI lived about 80 km from Paris for a full year and went there quite often...didn't find the people rude at all. Then again, I made an effort to speak French and let them know I was Canadian, not American ;)
@Sue Ellen Mishkey:
ReplyDeleteAww, I went to Quebec City for Carnival almost 2 years ago ... I loved everything about Quebec and the people were unbelievably friendly. I'd love to go back again.
@Kelly,
ReplyDeleteMontreal won't miss you. I go there all the time and rarely speak french and no one has ever been rude to me. As for what Sue Ellen said, Montrealers consider themselves Montrealers before Quebecors and they don't hate Americans. They do hate every other city in the sense that they believe Montreal to be the greatest city. It's the tiny, very french areas that hate any form of English.
I would like to go back to Paris and punch one particular waiter in the face. I spoke French to another waiter and he asked me where I was from in the States (my accent is bad). When I said I was Canadian, his hands flew to his mouth like he knew he did something bad. I didn't care. Funny enough, we were sitting outside in a very crowded little area and he couldn't figure out why my husband crossed the street to smoke.
@chopchop
ReplyDeleteI guess it's all in the attitude. I have never had a problem with Quebecois, but I've heard stories from other people who have. I think it's all in how you approach people.
@anita
ReplyDeleteI guess we've had different experiences with Montrealers/Quebecois regarding their feelings towards Americans.
Sue Ellen Mishkey-My first year of teaching at a tiny private school in NJ, the other 4th grade teacher was Quebecois and she hated me with a passion. She hated EVERYTHING about me, my state, my background, my education and she told me frequently. There was a student exchange planned with a school in Montreal and she had me removed from the trip because she couldn't bear to have me near her. I know it's just one person, but that was my experience.
ReplyDeleteWell, I see I have stirred up some lovely sentiment in favour of Los Angeles. Which is good, it isn't that bad of a city, after all, is it? Sorry about the Reno crack, although I suspect that LA would win out in a "better city" competition.
ReplyDeleteI love Paris myself, but that might be the years I spent as a grad student studying the Thermidorean Reaction and the White Terror.
Can I just say that even though I committed a major faux-pas in dissing Paris, the way you guys disagreed with me just showed how cool and a classy gang you are!
ReplyDeleteMini side note: I dissed Paris, not France, a Parisian would tell you, they are Parisiens, not Français. And yeah, traveled from Grenoble to Toulouse, and the French are warm and friendly (and flirty!)
Fin.
Can I go on record in saying I love the Beckhams as a family?
ReplyDeleteI hated Victoria as a snob and publicity hound. I thought/think he is a cheating louse.
But all it takes is seeing those kids and how happy they are and I forget it all.
I have never seen a picture where the kids look unhappy, unloved, or ill at ease in their parents presence. Makes me feel like family pics are more that just "Look at what good parents we are!" photo-ops.
I see them with the kids and I forget everything else.
@Cecilia, how do you look past David B? I'd push over someone on fire to get to him.
ReplyDeleteI think Vicky would crack him like a nut with her toothpick legs if they had to move again.
ReplyDeleteIf he really cared about his kids, there's no way he'd raise them in LA. It's almost impossible to grow up in La La Land without having a completely fucked up value system.
ReplyDeleteWow, I'm kind of surprised he changed his mind, but good for him (if he was outvoted, that is) for choosing his family over career.
ReplyDeleteFrench Canadians are dicks. In fact most of the Montreallers I know that moved to Toronto (including my aunt whom I adore) admit that they left Quebec because they're dicks.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I've never been to Paris (I should get on that), I would love to go soak up the culture. That being said, I'm not a 10 year old boy living in LA. Hells no I wouldn't want to leave my friends and the sunshine to move to Europe in the middle of the school year. Victoria would do fine in Paris or LA, good for them for putting their kids needs first.