The British Invasion

July has been the month of the Brits.

Our friends across the pond gave us a thrilling Wimbledon a few weeks ago and an exciting British Open this week that ended in a playoff and three different players blowing their chance to win - until Harrington made good on his second shot.

And the Brits threw in two young men who could change American pop culture forever: Harry Potter and David Beckham.

Potter's been the No. 1 name in literature since he first burst onto the scene a few years back and has sold millions of books worldwide.*

*Note: I would give specifics, including links and statistics, but I don't want to Wiki it or Google it, for fear of finding spoilers on the last book

Beckham has been anointed the savior of soccer in America, gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated and landing as much airtime on ESPN as Mike Wilbon or Tiger Woods. ESPN reportedly had one of its 19 (!!!!!!!!!!) cameras of the LA Galaxy-Chelsea FC game Saturday night glued to Beckham at all times.

Both Beckham and Potter have been given nearly impossible tasks: Beckham is supposed to make Americans care about soccer; Potter is supposed to make Americans care about reading.

So which one has the harder task?

Americans stopped reading years ago. Why look at boring words when you can see cute dogs on YouTube or make yourself a video game character and take over the world...of Warcraft? As a self-proclaimed reading dork and journalist hoping to make a living on the printed page, it's a sad truth, but it's a truth nonetheless.

And, frankly, soccer is too boring for Americans. We like our women, cars and sports fast. There's a reason people like watching Peyton Manning (or, *sigh*, Tom Brady) play quarterback instead of, say, Rex Grossman and 'da Bears. There's a reason Steve Nash and the Suns make for good ratings, but Tim Duncan and the snooze-fest Spurs don't.

Soccer's had its chance. Pele came over in the '70s (granted, after his prime) and never made a splash. Kids today play soccer on the weekends as much as they do basketball, I would argue. But the game just doesn't fit our SportsCenter-highlight-reel society.

If Beckham had played an incredible game Saturday, recording an assist or goal or two, and had the game itself been intense, things could have been different. He had the mob there, and people were excited, but nothing happend. His first game had all the hype of the Super Bowl - but with all of the excitement of professional bowling.

Sadly, I don't think Potter will fare any better. Kids - and adults - will read the last book, and maybe a few books about how great Potter is, but that's about it. I certainly hope I'm wrong - for the sake of my career and great literature. But with the way our culture works, I just don't think that's going to happen.

I find it ironic that some members of the media have compared the arrival of Beckham or Potter to The Beatles. Although I'm not a big Beatles fan, they changed America forever by introducing us to a new breed of music.

Just don't expect Potter or Beckham to do the same.