What have David Beckham and the Countess of Wessex got in common?
You probably can't think of anything. For a start they speak a different
language and the last person on earth you would expect to see in the
stands at Old Trafford would be Sophie.
This week, however, they have both been in the news and received a very
positive press. For Sophie, as a result of the tragic loss of her baby,
she has had something nice said about her for the first time in
years.
It's no comfort for her to know that the Queen and the rest of the Royal
Family have been taking the stick normally reserved for her and her
hapless husband for not visiting her in hospital. She would undoubtedly
have preferred to keep her baby and face a hostile press for the rest of
her life but a tragedy in someone's life always seems to have a positive
effect on the media.
I will never forget how the press were writing about how useless Mo
Mowlam was until they found out that she had cancer and she suddenly
became 'Saint' Mo who could do no wrong.
But kicking someone when they're down is the normal rule of thumb and
David Beckham knows that more than most. Sophie's past press was
positive compared to what Beckham once got.
I was at 'that' game against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup when a much
more immature Beckham than today was sent off for flicking his boot at
one of the opposition. England, of course, went on to lose the match on
penalties - a game they would have won if Paul Scholes hadn't missed a
sitter and Alan Shearer hadn't elbowed the Argentinian goalkeeper in the
face as Sol Campbell put the ball in the back of the net.
But it wasn't Scholes or Shearer who got blamed for that defeat, but
poor Beckham. In the whole history of football, apart from the Colombian
player who was shot dead by a fan after scoring an own goal that sent
his country out of the 1994 World Cup, no footballer has ever had to
face so much hostility from the media and fans.
The fact that Beckham is also married to Posh Spice only made things
worse for him as the media joined in a feeding frenzy every bit as bad
as Osama bin Laden has been getting since the 11 September
atrocities.
At the time I thought that the worst job in the world would be handling
PR for Beckham, but someone had to do it and The Outside Organisation's
Alan Edwards deserves high praise.
Beckham has come though all the bad press and is now a national hero, as
confirmed this week as the voted for him to win the BBC Sports
Personality of the Year award. If Beckham can do that, then Sophie could
even win a PRWeek award.
