All About the Pan-Pacific Championship

By: Laurie | February 19th, 2008

This week only! February 20 and 23rd! The first ever Pan-Pacific Championship, played in Hawai’i!

And what is the Pan-Pacific tournament, you ask? Well, according to local (Hawai’ian) press:

The Pan-Pacific Soccer Championships, an international tournament showcasing David Beckham and Hawai’i’s Brian Ching, features the Los Angeles Galaxy and Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer, and teams from Japan (Gamba, Osaka) and Australia.

Because really, we all know it’s only about Becks and Chingy. Actually, I’m pretty sure they’ll be the only two on the field for the LA Galaxy and Houston Dynamo, respectively. Chingy being Hawai’ian and Becks being…well…Becks. The guy who puts butts in the seats and dollars in the organizers’ pockets.

And how would you like to be Sydney FC here? You’re not “Sydney FC.” You’re the “team from Australia.” At least the Japanese team, Gamba Osaka, gets a name. If you want publicity next time, Sydney FC? Sign Becks or Chingy.

So what is the Pan-Pacific Championship and why are these particular teams the ones playing?

It’s a four-team tournament: The US champions: Houston Dynamo. The Japanese champions: Gamba Osaka. The Australian A-league champs: Sydney FC. And…um…the LA Galaxy. You know. The guys who didn’t make the playoffs last year because they couldn’t finish in the top eight of thirteen teams. And they’re here because…

Wait a second, I know I will eventually find a reason for them to be there that does NOT involve David Beckham’s ability to draw a crowd…

Oh, here it is! From Luis Bueno at Sideline Views:

Supposedly it was to be the US champs (Houston), the Japanese champs (Gamba Osaka), an Australian team (Sydney FC) and the SuperLiga champs (Pachuca). But since Pachuca supposedly declined to participate, the SuperLiga runners-up were chosen to go, and thus we have the LA Galaxy.

See? I knew there was a reason!

That said, I’m actually looking forward to this tournament, which will be shown on ESPN360 and ESPN Classic. It’s been a long MLS-free off-season. Go Galaxy!

Finally, if you’re only paying attention to this because of Beckham (and you know who you are), I’ll close with this link to an article that is completely, totally devoted to Beckham Does Hawai’i.

(And I believe I’ll save my requisite “Beckham gets lei’d” joke for some other time.)