WARMING UP during a training session in Colorado are the MLS All-Stars as they prepare for a series of friendly games, including against Scottish champions Celtic. -- PHOTO: AFP

That was proven again last month, when Los Angeles Galaxy president Alexi Lalas claimed Major League Soccer (MLS) was on par with the English Premier League (EPL).

'Rubbish' was probably how most fans reacted to that boast.

David Beckham's joining the Galaxy on a five-year, US$250 million (S$377 million) deal is the only reason that so many eyeballs are suddenly turning towards America, long considered a footballing backwater.

After all the razzmatazz that greeted his arrival a few days earlier, Beckham must have shuddered on Wednesday as he watched his new club crash 0-3 to little-known Mexican side Tigres.

Not exactly Armageddon, but the 32-year-old England midfielder will have to put up with misplaced passes, slower teammates, and bumpy pitches, which are all par for the course across the Atlantic.

The Colorado Rapids' Terry Cooke, Beckham's former teammate, told BBC Sport that most MLS teams are about Championship standards.

The English Championship is one rung below the EPL.

So fans who are weaned on a diet of Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal should not expect too much from the Real Salt Lakes and New England Revolutions.

For the uninitiated, the MLS was formed in 1993 as part of Fifa stipulations after the world body awarded the 1994 World Cup hosting rights to the US.

The 10-team league kicked off in 1996. It started life as a sickly baby whose chances of survival looked bleak.

But it is now a profitable industry, working its way into the mainstream of American sports.

Compared to sparsely filled terraces in the early years, last year's average attendance of 15,504 put it 12th among professional soccer leagues worldwide.

About 140 million Americans reportedly watched all or part of last year's World Cup, and the MLS has the backing of partners like adidas, Anschutz Entertainment Group and media giant ESPN.

Crucially, television, the medium every American is weaned on, is now interested. This season, every match is screened live.

With four months of the season still to go, Beckham's arrival is guaranteed to increase viewership and raise this season's crowd average of 14,963.

Fans who are used to watching European leagues will find the MLS format slightly different.

There are now 13 teams in the MLS. They are split into the Eastern (7 teams) and Western Conference (6 teams). Each team play home and away matches in the regular season.

At season's end, the top two in each conference and the next four with the highest points total advance to the play-offs.

The knockout stages then culminate in an MLS Cup final to determine the overall winner.

The MLS also has a Designated Player clause, which allows teams to sign one player outside the salary cap of about US$1.9 million.

This allows Beckham his eye-popping US$6.5 million annual wages.

His teammates' pay packets are meagre in comparison - ranging from US$900,000 to US$13,000 per year.

It is not only Beckham's pockets that will be fattened, but also his frequent-flyer mileage.

With teams located all over the continent, from Toronto to New York to Houston and Chicago, he will be spending much more time in aeroplanes than he probably would have liked.

Former Manchester City striker Rodney Marsh, who played in the US in the 1970s, told The Daily Mail: 'Every other week, you have to make a road trip for away games.

'That doesn't mean a 200-mile trip up the motorway as in England or Spain, but 4,000 miles to play the New England Revolution. Over a four-day period, you can fly almost 9,000 miles and play twice.'

On the ground, do not expect too many Bend It Like Beckhams, as the bumpy and patchy American fields are nothing like the manicured lawns of Old Trafford and the Santiago Bernabeu.

With so many adjustments to make, it is unlikely Golden Balls can be a Superman and steer the Galaxy, one of the MLS's worst teams, to a play-off spot.

With just three wins from 12 games, the Galaxy are lying second from bottom in the Western Conference.

But Beckham's other stated aim of going to America - to raise the sport's profile there - might just materialise.

All the sudden global attention should attract more sponsors and compel organisers to raise their standard of football.

Perhaps, one day, Lalas' statement might prove to be a prophecy rather than a joke.