Beckham's arrival in the US has prompted an outpouring of vitriol from the usual anti-soccer (pronounced ant-eye-saw-ker) establishment. Have a look at this drivel from Jay Mariotti for example (spotted via WSD. The usual balls about how Americans will never love soccer, and then a whole article discussing Beckham the celebrity, not Beckham the player.

But one mainstream sports broadcaster has stood up against the haters and very sensibly asked for calm. Ladies and gents, a round of applause for Bryant Gumbel.

video spotted at ThroughBall.