Beckham: Olympian Should Light Flame, Not Me
LOS ANGELES (AP) — David Beckham doesn't believe he is the right person to light the flame in the opening ceremony of his hometown London Olympics.
"Lighting the torch in the stadium is something that should be done by an Olympian, an Olympian that has done incredible things for our country and has won gold medals," Beckham said at Los Angeles Galaxy training.
Beckham helped London's successful bid to win the games and was disappointed to miss out on Britain's soccer team but said he will have an undisclosed role to play during the Olympics.
"It is yet to be decided, but I will be part of it in some ways," Beckham said. "I have been speaking to Seb Coe and a couple of other people about what it is I am going to be doing."
With more than 100 games for England, Beckham was heartbroken to be left off of the Britain Olympic squad but had kind words for his former Manchester United teammate Ryan Giggs, who will captain the team.
"Ryan has had such an amazing career with Manchester United ... he deserves to be there, and it would have been great to be there with him," Beckham said. "We have a lot of great memories with Manchester United. I have moved on and am getting on with things now and I hope the GB team wins as many medals as possible."
The 37-year-old Beckham, who grew up in London, can't wait for the games to begin in two weeks.
"I am going to be just proud to be there as a fan more so than anything," he said. "In a part of London where I grew up, and I used to play over the soccer fields that have now been changed, and as an Englishman, I am going to be very proud."
