yudansha
TheGreatOne
Would you pay this much for a ball? I can buy a Nissan Maxima instead!
Beckham penalty ball sold to collector for more than $45,000 Cdn ($34k USD)
MADRID (CP) - A collector has paid more than $45,000 Cdn for the ball David Beckham booted high into the crowd during England's penalty shootout loss to Portugal in the European Championship quarter-finals.
But there was confusion over just who shelled out 28,050 euros ($45,400 Cdn) on the Spanish Internet auction site ebay.com. El Mundo newspaper announced on its website that the successful bidder was a Canadian collector. It did not offer further details.
But the auction website said the successful bidder was "goldenpalacecasino." That appears to be an online casino, whose ties to Canada are through a licence with the Quebec-based Kahnawake Gaming Commission.
Apart from online gambling, Golden Palace is known for paying boxers to advertise their website by entering the ring with its website marked on their bodies like a slogan.
The Internet casino has also used streakers to serve as human billboards, most recently at the world figure skating championship in Germany earlier this year.
Former NBA bad boy Dennis Rodman - wearing goldenpalace.com apparel - recently ran with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, to raise funds for MS research.
At one point last week, the Beckham ball price was bid up to 10 million euros ($16.2 million Cdn) in the online auction, though that was purely fanciful.
What makes it memorable is the circumstance. Beckham stepped up to take the first penalty shot in the nail-biting Euro 2004 match.
As he ran forward, his left foot slipped on the turf and he skied the ball, giving subsequent penalty-takers a hint that the penalty spot was potentially tricky underfoot. The ball was caught in the stands by Spaniard Pablo Carral.
At first he thought of protecting himself from the approaching ball, then he reached out and grabbed it.
"The incredible thing was that the ball reached our row because we were sitting a long way from the goal," Carral was quoted by sports daily As. "To leave the stadium, I was guarded by two friends whilst I hid it in my clothes."
The tournament's official Adidas "Roteiro" balls were manufactured in Thailand. The Beckham ball bears the date of the quarter-final - 24 June 2004.
Copies of official competition balls had been on sale for 100 euros ($162 Cdn) during the championship matches in Portugal.
Tempted by the chance of owning a small piece of soccer history, or a memento of English humiliation, bidders had followed the ebay instruction: "Don't miss this great and unique chance, place a bid now!"
A Scottish bidder is reported to have made the 10-million-euro bid, later claiming he made a mistake and kept his finger on the "0" button too long.
Beckham penalty ball sold to collector for more than $45,000 Cdn ($34k USD)
MADRID (CP) - A collector has paid more than $45,000 Cdn for the ball David Beckham booted high into the crowd during England's penalty shootout loss to Portugal in the European Championship quarter-finals.
But there was confusion over just who shelled out 28,050 euros ($45,400 Cdn) on the Spanish Internet auction site ebay.com. El Mundo newspaper announced on its website that the successful bidder was a Canadian collector. It did not offer further details.
But the auction website said the successful bidder was "goldenpalacecasino." That appears to be an online casino, whose ties to Canada are through a licence with the Quebec-based Kahnawake Gaming Commission.
Apart from online gambling, Golden Palace is known for paying boxers to advertise their website by entering the ring with its website marked on their bodies like a slogan.
The Internet casino has also used streakers to serve as human billboards, most recently at the world figure skating championship in Germany earlier this year.
Former NBA bad boy Dennis Rodman - wearing goldenpalace.com apparel - recently ran with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, to raise funds for MS research.
At one point last week, the Beckham ball price was bid up to 10 million euros ($16.2 million Cdn) in the online auction, though that was purely fanciful.
What makes it memorable is the circumstance. Beckham stepped up to take the first penalty shot in the nail-biting Euro 2004 match.
As he ran forward, his left foot slipped on the turf and he skied the ball, giving subsequent penalty-takers a hint that the penalty spot was potentially tricky underfoot. The ball was caught in the stands by Spaniard Pablo Carral.
At first he thought of protecting himself from the approaching ball, then he reached out and grabbed it.
"The incredible thing was that the ball reached our row because we were sitting a long way from the goal," Carral was quoted by sports daily As. "To leave the stadium, I was guarded by two friends whilst I hid it in my clothes."
The tournament's official Adidas "Roteiro" balls were manufactured in Thailand. The Beckham ball bears the date of the quarter-final - 24 June 2004.
Copies of official competition balls had been on sale for 100 euros ($162 Cdn) during the championship matches in Portugal.
Tempted by the chance of owning a small piece of soccer history, or a memento of English humiliation, bidders had followed the ebay instruction: "Don't miss this great and unique chance, place a bid now!"
A Scottish bidder is reported to have made the 10-million-euro bid, later claiming he made a mistake and kept his finger on the "0" button too long.