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MLS is ready for Freddy

I'm Always Write

Keenan Singleton

I don't know whether it was the Catholic Priests or the Michael Jackson trial, but something has rubbed off on me. 

Because this week I will be anxiously awaiting a special treat -- to gleefully watch a 14-year-old boy run from men twice his age. 

But this isn't your average Playstation 2 playing teenager. To some, he's worth $500,000. To me, he's worth my Saturday afternoon.

Without further ado, I want Freddy Adu. 

Instead of watching Oklahoma State versus Georgia Tech in the Final Four or the Los Angeles Lakers battle the San Antonio Spurs, I'll be watching the debut of Adu as a member of D.C. United on Saturday. And I won't be alone, not by a longshot.

Adu, who emigrated to the United States from Ghana seven years ago (he is a naturalized citizen), is already the highest-paid player in the ever-struggling professional American soccer league, Major League Soccer.

Just this week, Adu has been featured in Sports Illustrated, Vanity Fair and 60 Minutes, bringing publicity the league has never enjoyed before. 

Even if he has a poor showing Saturday, Adu is almost certain to draw the highest ratings in MLS history. 

All this before he can apply for a driver's license.

What were you doing when you were 14? Discovering the wonders of puberty? Popping wheelies on your Huffy? Either way, you surely were not the single-handed savior of a national sports league.

If girls in sports bras (the U.S. women's soccer team) couldn't do it, can a kid without legal access to R-rated movies kick-start professional soccer in the States?

Without major injuries and with major television coverage, the answer is a resounding yes. Adu has a $500,000 smile, breathtaking skills and the innocence of a doe.

He has the potential to become more important than LeBron James, who seems eager to follow in the footsteps of Michael Jordan (by wearing the No. 23), because the sky is, literally, the limit. 

Besides the patriarchal play of Pele, Adu has no forefather. With every step he takes and every move he makes, America and the world will watch to see if he can lord over soccer, stinging sniper shots from all over the field.

To be remembered as a success, Adu will have to be American soccer's Atlas. Carrying the welfare of the sport on his still-developing shoulders. Is that too much weight for a 14-year-old? Only time will tell.

So here's to Freddy, soccer's new nightmare. I'll be waiting for you in my living room. I promise there'll be no funny business.

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