Serious athlete ... Beckham in action against Scotland in a Euro 2000 qualifier. Photograph: Phil Noble/PA
They may not quite compare with the British Comedy Awards, but when it comes to attracting publicity, Loaded's annual Lafta awards punch well above their weight. This year's shortlist features all the usual suspects (Russell Brand, Jimmy Carr, Ricky Gervais) but it's the "funniest double act" category that's attracted most attention. For alongside Alan Carr and Justin Lee Collins (The Friday Night Project), Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt (The Mighty Boosh), David Mitchell and Robert Webb (Peep Show) and Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (Hot Fuzz), a quick browse of the list will also reveal a nomination for Posh and Becks.
Of course it's mainly just a PR stunt. Last month, Loaded recorded a 35% year-on-year fall in circulation, the biggest drop in the men's magazine sector, down to 121,000 - a far cry from its 460,000 peak in 1998. However like all memorable stunts, there's some truth in it - Victoria Beckham has always been in the entertainment business, after all. "Perhaps it's Victoria's growing comedy chest or her attempts to integrate into American culture by pitching at baseball matches," said Loaded's editor, Martin Daubney, a mite unkindly. However Beckham was never just an entertainer - he was a uniquely gifted athlete, and there's a genuine sadness in seeing his career shift so soon from sport into showbiz.
Television is notoriously bad at capturing the essence of great footballers. I never really understood what made Paul Gascoigne so special until I saw him in the flesh, and the same goes for Beckham. He's not just an inspirational player - he's an inspirational leader. He can lift a team, a stadium, a nation. The tears he shed when he resigned as England captain weren't just tears of shallow self interest. Deep down, you sensed he knew he could have helped his country to win the World Cup.
Beckham has always conducted himself with utmost dignity - on and off the pitch. Do remember that wonder goal he scored against Wimbledon from the half way line , at the start of his career? He looked bashful, almost sheepish. He's the same at press conferences - constantly polite, despite constant provocation. The frustration for the rest of us is that he should still be playing first class football. This should be the peak of his sporting career, not its swansong.
Although it feels as if he's been around forever, Beckham isn't actually all that old - not even for a professional footballer. His former Man United teammates, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, are both older, and still playing in the Premiership every week. Another of Becks' former teammates, Teddy Sheringham, is playing in the Championship in his forties. Who knows? With a game that's never relied on pace, Becks could have done a Stanley Mathews, and played for Stoke City at the age of 50. Instead he's in LA, trying to sell football (sorry, soccer) to people who weren't even persuaded when they had a team (the New York Cosmos) featuring Pele, Beckenbauer and Cruyff. "I don't know what kind of impact he can make," said Beck's old manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, at an event at Glasgow's Citizen's Theatre this week. "David Beckham himself can't change the whole country." Ferguson also spoke, tangentially, about the artist formerly known as Posh Spice. "He was never a problem until he got married," said Fergie. "Getting married into that entertainment scene was a difficult thing. From that moment his life was never going to be the same."
Of course there's a limit to how sorry you can feel for a man who's set to earn up to £128m over the next five years, but for anyone in England who loves to watch live football, in football grounds rather than on TV, it's a real shame. Loaded are half right - it's a tragicomedy. And whether they win or not, I doubt Mr and Mrs Beckham will be at London's Pigalle club next month to hear who won the prize.
