Beckham's Fans Play For the Best Position

"That's Beckham," Olanrewaju asserts coolly, and he's right.

In mostly quiet reverence, clubgoers form a fortress wall around the players and their bodyguards, watching them mix drinks and chat with a few lucky ladies and gents allowed inside the ropes. Variations on "BECKHAM IS HERE" are hastily texted on cellphones, triumphant electronic evidence of having picked the right party. Beckham is escorted across the club to the bathroom, shaking hands and smiling along the way. The palpable anticipation has turned to palpable astonishment: Why hasn't anything exploded? Why haven't the planets realigned? David Beckham is here!

Elsewhere in the city, Lima patrons were somewhat disgruntled by overwhelming crowds and the open bar abruptly cutting off at midnight, but some United players showed up to let off some post-game steam. When midfielder Ben Olsen was asked what he planned to do with the jersey he got after swapping shirts with Beckham at the end of Thursday's game, he said he'd "burn it in effigy."

IndeBleu rep Mark Gundersen said players from both teams stopped by to join the festivities there.

But back at Play, Beckham returns from the bathroom and retreats to his alcove. The drama subsides. Later, a few people turn to the man in Beckham's national team jersey. Was it worth the wait?

"That's not him," he says, shaking his head in disbelief and returning to his champagne. Indeed, superstars are human, and it can be difficult to realize when one of them is sitting right there.

The surreal moment of Beckham's entrance lasts through the remainder of the party, spilling out into the rainy D.C. streets with frantic phone calls to friends ("Beckham was there and we tried to say hi to him once and we made eye contact with him twice!"). Yet some remain unimpressed.

"I would hate to be him," Olanrewaju says. "He can't just sit down and have a good time."

Fritz Hahn of washingtonpost.com contributed to this report.