It's proving to be a dismal summer for sports. Doped-up Tour de France cyclists are dropping out left and right, basketball referees are on the take, and an (American) football player is charged with running dogfighting rings. 

But there is one bright spot, and that's in the world of real football: David Beckham's arrival in the United States to play for the Los Angeles Galaxy pro soccer team.

ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images

I know, I know. All you naysayers can point to his tepid debut last weekend—in which, according to The Independent, "A sell-out crowd ... turned up to watch a barely fit footballer play a friendly for a below-average team in a second-rate league."—and say I'm crazy. You can complain all you want about how he and Posh are BFF with Tom and Katie and how that will bring the sport down.

But read Will Leitch's Op-Ed in today's New York Times, and you just might change your mind. Leitch argues that Beckham will heighten awareness of the beautiful game among ordinary Americans. And even though Becks may be over the hill, his superstar status is enough to raise the level of American play:

European basketball leagues have only grown in popularity — and quality — over the last decade while showcasing curio local products and Americans who couldn’t cut it in the N.B.A. The leagues benefited from a sampling of American talent while still nurturing their own players. What happened? Did you see the N.B.A. finals? The San Antonio Spurs won with a lineup stocked with European (and South American) players. Think of today’s M.L.S. as Spanish basketball circa 1997.

If Leitch is right, then maybe by 2017 we'll see some American stars tearing up the Premier League.