The plane was 42 minutes late, but Midwest Flight 350 finally landed at 4:57 p.m. Friday afternoon at Kansas City International Airport &#8212; just like countless other flights throughout the day.</p><p>That is, until the passengers exited the plane.</p><p>The fifth person to walk out of Gate 24 at Terminal A, a slight man with a navy blue DC cap pulled tightly over his close-cropped blond hair, was greeted by a small-but-enthusiastic crowd holding cameras, posters, pens and paper.</p><p>David Beckham had arrived in Kansas City.</p><p>Beckham, one of the biggest celebrities in the world, will captain the Los Angeles Galaxy against the Wizards at 4 p.m. today at Arrowhead Stadium. Even though the forecast calls for showers and thunderstorms in the morning, followed by a few lingering showers in the afternoon, there surely will be a buzz as one of the best soccer players in the world steps onto the field.</p><p>That buzz already was palpable at the airport on Friday. One autograph seeker said he had family members staked out at the gates of every airline throughout the airport in hopes of being the one who saw Beckham step off the plane. He was the lucky one.</p><p>Beckham, who just arrived in Los Angeles on Thursday from England, where he&#8217;d played in two World Cup qualifiers for the national team, appeared a little travel weary. He wore a white T-shirt, blue jeans and black leather jacket as he made his way through the terminal and toward a waiting bus. He wasn&#8217;t granting interviews but did stop briefly to sign autographs and have his picture taken with about 20 fans.</p><p>He did issue a few comments through a Galaxy representative.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m looking forward to the game against Kansas City (today),&#8221; Beckham said. &#8220;With only seven games left in the season, it&#8217;s important for us to come in and try to get a positive result. This is my first visit to Kansas City, and I&#8217;m looking forward to what&#8217;s sure to be a great atmosphere at the stadium.</p><p>&#8220;The team is starting to play better. I could see it on the training pitch before I left to play for England. The guys are getting a better feel for each other, and it&#8217;s just a matter of time before we turn the corner.&#8221;</p><p>The scene at KCI on Friday was nothing new for Galaxy players and coaches.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s like this at about every airport,&#8221; said former Wizards midfielder Chris Klein, now a teammate of Beckham&#8217;s. &#8220;The attention he receives and has received is great for the league. I think other teams around the league appreciate that. But teams still want to beat us.&#8221;</p><p>New Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena, who coached the U.S. men&#8217;s national team in the last two World Cups, said: &#8220;The guys are used to this. It&#8217;s been good (having Beckham on the team). Obviously, he&#8217;s a very good player and a good professional.&#8221;</p><p>After loading into the bus, the Galaxy traveled downtown to the team hotel. The scene there was much tamer; only a few autograph seekers milled about &#8212; at least those wanting an autograph from Beckham. Most fans in the lobby were dressed in red and were there to see their favorite Chiefs at a Red Friday event.</p><p>Beckham, first to leave the bus, was rushed directly to a waiting elevator. With the closing of the doors, he was gone.</p><p>&#8220;We just got here, but he went straight up,&#8221; said Tony Bougadis of Gladstone, who was there with his daughter Melissa. &#8220;Maybe he&#8217;ll come back down and sign in a while. We&#8217;ll stake out here for a while.&#8221;