If soccer was like this all the time, it might not only be the most popular sport in the world but America too.
David Beckham has been warming up for the royal wedding (oh, and trying to win something with LA Galaxy) by appearing in this ad for Diet Pepsi. Following in the footsteps of tennis player Roger Federer, who seemingly achieved the impossible in a like-minded spot for Gillette by serving a tennis ball and knocking a can off someone’s head, Beckham takes up the cameraman’s challenge to kick three balls into far away trash cans on the beach. Does he do it? What do you think?
(More on TIME.com: See pictures of David Beckham)
NewsFeed is willing to suspend disbelief with the best of them (don’t even try to tell us that the Tooth Fairy doesn’t exist) but has spent far too much time watching Beckham break our hearts during international soccer matches to accept that this was on the level and not the result of some tremendous technical trickery.
Fair play to Becks as he sure gives the impression that he pulled off the impressive stunt, thanks to the spontaneous nature of the clip. The online buzz (over a million page views in a matter of days) has, to a degree, wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt but when you consider that NewsFeed was in the stadium back in EURO 2004 when he missed a penalty kick from just 12 yards away (officials are still looking for the ball, it ballooned so high into the Lisbon night), it’s a little far-fetched to think that this truly happened. But if it makes America sit up and take notice of soccer, that would be magic.
(More on TIME.com: See an interview with David Beckham)