The Rookie makes good

Young Geoff Cameron, the rookie Orangeman from the University of Rhode Island,* won the adoration of the Dynamo faithful with his stoppage time equalizer versus FC Dallas last Sunday. Turns out, he also won goal of the week honors with this same strike, his first ever MLS netting.

There were some good goals up for the award, but Cameron's was the justifiable winner for a variety of reasons.
1. It was a high quality, well-struck laser that would have beaten the world's best goalkeepers.
2. It was a difference-maker, giving his team a point and denying their rivals 2 points.
3. It was dramatic, being literally a last minute catharsis for the home crowd.
4. It was a result of solid combination play rather than fluky happenstance or the result of winning a simple footrace with poky defenders.

You know which candidate's strike didn't deserve the award? That's right: Beckham. His was a decent goal, but a pedestrian one without flair or the other surrounding qualities that make a goal meaningful. The only reason his was at the top of the voting was because it was made by Beckham. That's kind of embarrassing, because it suggests that MLS fans can't recognize quality, we just vote for the popular face as if we've never learned from our puerile selections of prom queen and cutest couple in high school.

And, no, just as I'm not one to applaud a deed simply because it was performed by Becks, so also am I not one to decry a feat simply because it was performed by Becks. I merely believe a respectable sports league should provide recognition based on merit, not on popularity. I know that differentiates me from Don Garber, but that's not always a bad thing. Can you imagine how embarrassing it would be if Beckham was talking with his mates over in England and he is forced to sheepishly say "Yeah, basically I paffed the ball into the net, and the boll went frew Cannon's legs. I'm not too proud of it, weally; but, since I won, apparently it waf better than anyfing any Americans in the League could do."

* I'm told that Rhode Island is a county in New England that has been pumped up to statehood status.