Thanks Den. When you mentioned "brand awareness" I thought you were looking at that over his athletic skills.

Yes, people are more aware of Beckham because of the advertisments and the "Bend it" film, and his marriage to Posh.   There are probably a lot of American atheletes who have the same issue - they sign advertising deals and become well known for that, but many people may never have seen them play a game. Most people know George Foreman was a boxer, but I would bet most people who see him selling his grills today never saw him throw a punch.