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Blogvent Day 23 – Beckham, number 23 at Real Madrid and LA Galaxy, among other lifetime achievers

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On Sunday evening David Beckham was presented with the BBC SPOTY Lifetime Achievement Award. It would be interesting to take a poll of the viewers to see how many people stopped during the roll call of his glittering career to question the fact that it seems slightly strange to get such an award at the age of 35. Indeed it’s only a few years ago that David’s hero Sir Bobby Charlton, who spoke during the presentation, was given the same award after literally a lifetime of achievement.

Is it that David has crammed a whole lifetime into those 35 years or is it that they ran out of suitable candidates of the right age? His success and skills are undeniable as is his prominent ambassadorial role as he reaches the end of his playing career. But while not wishing to detract from his achievements or his award, perhaps he hasn’t always been the best example of sporting behaviour and sportsmanship on the pitch.

In looking at the list of previous winners including Pele, Navratilova, Ballesteros, Best, Ferguson, Botham, Bobby Robson, Bobby Charlton and Borg, two things spring to mind. One that they had all finished or were in the twilight of their careers, apart from the perennial question of Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement and two that does it help to have a name starting with B!

One thing though is also clear. Many of them have turned some attention towards giving something back through some sort of charitable work. David has supported a number of charitable causes and now has the Victoria and David Beckham Charitable Trust. In the US, the Giving Pledge, led by Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates, has been encouraging American billionaires to commit the majority of their wealth to philanthropic causes. Again two questions spring to mind. Why is this only targeted at wealthy Americans? Secondly, perhaps it’s time for some highly paid sportsmen and women to publicly commit to such behaviour in support of the greater good to combat the champagne lifestyle perception that football and several other sports have acquired.

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