It’s rumored that the Beckhams had input on the visual design and that the Galaxy owners decided to “skip” any brand positioning typically associated with re-branding efforts, opting for uniform designs as the main effort.

By all accounts, any positioning that is being executed is called the “Beckham strategy.” According to Nielsen Media Research, his 12-minute debut with the team in July attracted an average 1.5 million viewers to ESPN that Saturday, making the Chelsea-Galaxy match the most-watched major league soccer telecast in the history of either ESPN or ESPN2, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Despite the grumblings of some diehard soccer/football supporters over the new look, Adidas reported that after Beckham’s arrival, 200,000 replica jerseys were sold to retailers. Of those, retailers are highly optimistic about how many consumers will actually buy. Adidas and sports branding agency SME collaborated on the redesign.

While the mainstream of people in the US may assume that the LA Galaxy virtually popped up overnight in tandem with the heralded arrival of David Beckham, in fact the team has been around since 1995. Originally swathed in teal and gold and playing in the Rose Bowl from 1996 to 2002, the boys went “green” (green and gold that is) in 2003 when the team was moved to the Home Depot Center in Carson City, a venue developed and owned by Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), the same owners of the team.

In addition to owning the LA Galaxy, AEG owns or has an interest in a large roster of venues, including the Staples Center in LA, and sports teams ranging from franchises for the MLS, NHL, NBA, WNBA, and others both in the States and in Europe. AEG is in fact the largest owner of sports teams and events across the globe, banking on the entertainment value of high-level sports and its proverbial “emotional connection to fans” as the key driver to increased revenue and market share.

The LA Galaxy is one of five MLS teams owned by Philip Anshutz, the land and oil heir-turned-sports mogul who is a bonafide billionaire, with a net worth estimated at around US$ 7.8 million. Fortune magazine likened Anshutz in 1999 to the legendary nineteenth-century tycoon J.P. Morgan, stating that both "struck it rich in a fundamentally different way: they operated across an astounding array of industries, mastering and reshaping entire economic landscapes."

The Guardian also reported in July how AEG “intend[s] to exploit David Beckham's revenue-gathering ability to the maximum as they plan a series of overseas tours to boost revenue, with England and Asia the most likely destinations.”

After being near the bottom of the Western standings as of this summer, let’s hope that in between the cash changing, they win a few too.

Alycia de Mesa is a brand consultant, speaker and writer with more than a decade of industry experience ranging from start-ups to Fortune 100 companies. Her latest book is Brand Avatar – Translating Virtual World Branding Into Real World Success (Palgrave-Macmillan).