Why Americans Don't Watch the World Cup, and What It Has To Do With Personal Finance.

There's a quote in White Men Can't Jump.  Billy Hoyle, played by Woody Harrelson, says to Sidney Deane (Wesley Snipes), "You'd rather look good and lose than look bad and win."  It was said in a racial context, but that part is not important.  I think it applies to most Americans, regardless of ethnicity.

There's another quote, common in sports, "Offense sells tickets, but defense wins championships."  The meaning is simple.  Walk off home runs, high flying slam dunks, Hail Mary Touchdowns, knockout punches, and "GOOOOOOAAAAALLLLLL!!!" puts people in the seats, and keeps them tuned in to the TV.  But tactically, championships are won with great pitching, goalkeeping, defense, defense and defense.

It's the same reason that this year's NBA playoffs were considered among the most exciting in years.  High scoring teams, Phoenix, Dallas and Miami all went far into the playoffs.  Prolific scorers Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Dirk Nowitzki all participated in the post-season.  Last year's NBA finals drew historically low television ratings.  Not surprisingly, it featured two "boring" teams in San Antonio and Detroit, who played fundamentally sound ball, and solid defense.

But soccer is catching on, right?  The World Cup ratings are up from four years ago.  Okay then, who among you can tell me what the MLS is?  No, it's not Lou Gehrig's disease.  That's ALS.  Okay, so maybe you knew that it stood for Major League Soccer.  Can you tell me what months the season runs?  Who last season's champion was?  The MVP?  I can't, cause I don't know.  And I'm a big sports fan.  Seriously, just as my Fiancee how much sports I watch.  She'd be more than happy to tell you ALL about it.  Did you know that www.mls.com doesn't even take you to the Major League Soccer site?  The Multiple Listing Service beat them out!

Given American's fascination with scoring, it is no surprise that soccer has not caught on.  Zero-Zero ties after 90 minutes of regular play and 30 minutes of overtime is not the riveting end to end buzzer beater scoring frenzy that grabs the attention of the American public.  Seriously, I love the cries of "GOOOAAAAL!" as much as the next guy, but you don't hear it even once in a zero-zero game.  C'mon, that's the payoff we're all waiting around for!

Alright already!  Point made, Americans love scoring, Soccer features virtually no scoring, so Americans don't like Soccer.  But what does that have to do with Personal Finance?  Everything.

If you listen to Dave Ramsey, he equates the two sides of your income statement to the two phases of a sport, offense and defense.  If someone calls in and tells Dave that he makes six figures, but can't make ends meet, Dave tells him, "Whatcha got here is a case of good offense, but not much defense."

In this analogy, your income is your offense and your budgeting and saving is your defense.  Just as in sports, a good offense with a lousy defense still results in more losses than wins.  And just as in sports, Americans are more interested in high incomes than saving and budgeting.  High incomes are exciting.  How often have you heard someone talking about other people's incomes, "She's doing really well, she probably makes around nearly $200 grand a year."  or "Dude, he makes bank!"  But how often do you hear people talk about how much others save?  "Man, she really watches her budget," or "Dude, she saves mad money!"

No, saving and budgeting is often commented on negatively.  "I think she makes pretty good money, but she never spends any of it.  What fun is it that?  Jeez, live a little."

Incomes impress people.  Just like slam dunks and home runs impress people.  We would enjoy goals, but there just aren't enough of them.  So, it seems that my lesson is that we should appreciate the defense.  Show more appreciation for teams like the San Antonio Spurs, or the way college football is played in the SEC, or even the game of soccer.  Well, sorry, I can't go there.  I'm still an American who wants to see touchdowns and three pointers.  And if the typical soccer score was 8-5, I could easily become a fan.  Those guys are incredible athletes!

Back to our friend Woody Harrelson, and his quote, "You'd rather look good and lose than look bad and win."  When we look at it from a personal finance perspective, isn't that what most people are doing?  Last year the national savings rate went negative for the first time in generations.  We are trying so hard to look good, we don't care if we are losing in the process.

The bottom line:  Work hard on your offense.  Continue job training, do the things that will help you grow your income.  But as your offense improves, work even harder on you defense.  Michael Jordon is most remembered for gravity defying dunks, buzzer beater game winning shots and scoring titles.  However, what makes him arguably the greatest ever is that he complimented all that with a defensive player of the year award in 1988 and being named to the All NBA Defensive Team nine times.

Always be mindful of your defense.  Initially that means living on less than you make.  It includes maintaining proper insurance.  Pay down your debts, buy a house responsibly, save for retirement and other goals.  Invest wisely.  Play good defense.

Some nights a hard hit ball falls a few feet short of a home run, your three point attempt rolls around the rim and fall outside the basket, or the touchdown pass glances off the receiver's fingertips.  But good defense is about hard work and tenacity.  You can bring that every night.

Comments

[Him]

Fantastic post. The analogy is spot-on.

For the record, I play soccer, and I am a defenseman. According to your post, I must be the most BORING person to watch.

[financial freedumb]

Great post! I don't remember that about Jordan either...interesting.

[David Hallerman]

While I basically agree that offense wows Americans far more than defense, how do you explain star pitchers in baseball -- such as Pedro Martinez -- increasing attendence each time they pitch?

So, while offense tends to star more than defense (in sports, in politics, in economics), great defense can carry its own star power. N'est pas?

[Medicated Money]

Excellent analogy in a superb post! Definitely the best thing I have read this week.

-Medicated

[Jason]

Great analogy and discussion of the typical American mindset. Best post I've read in awhile.

[lamoneyguy]

Thanks for all the comments.

To Him: I'm sure you are not boring, but you probably won't see me in the stands at any of your games. :)

David: Interesting comment. Baseball is funny. When you are attending a game, others may ask, "who's pitching?" But they will never ask who is starting in left field. Obviously, the pitcher is different every game, while the left fielder is likely to be the same guy night after night. But, we want to see stars, thus if we only go to a few games per year (like most fans), we want to see the best play. Once we are at the game, only the baseball purists love a pitcher's duel. The casual fan will love to be at a no-hitter or perfect game, but a 2-1 game, with each team getting 3 or 4 hits. Not as exciting to most fans. That's why baseball features beachballs, the wave and other distractions that you do not find at basketball or football games.

Anyway, it's a bit off topic. The important part really is the personal finance analogy.

[Ceclia]

I remember the US commentary for the World Cup final. For the first 20 minutes, the commentators excitedly pointed out every play and exchange. Then, with no scoring and no drama, the commentators settled into a "here's a summary of the game thus far. France 1, Italy 1. 1st goal in the 8th minute, equalizer in the 19th minute. Nothing since then." They kept doing this until Zidane's surprising act, after which that was the only thing that they could talk about.

The game, for the most part, was actually pretty fun to watch. The Italian defence was doing its job, even if the offence wasn't. But today, all anyone cared to talk about was Zidane's head and how bad the Italian offence was.

It's a great analogy.

[Jerry]

This is a terrific analogy, and it leads me to recall when I first learned to play hockey as a kid. Of course, I initially wanted to play wing or center, where "the action" is... what I learned in time was that if you want some insurance of real "action," play STRONG, DETERMINED defence and try to keep the other mooks from putting the puck in your net! Most people may ignore your efforts, and the goal-scorers may get most of the accolades, but at the end of the game you know that you played with your heart on your sleeve and it was exciting because you understand what it takes to win on that end of the ice. It's rather like the excitement of paying off a debt... people might ooh-and-ahh over someone who leased a fancy new car (that they can't afford), but my wife and I exchanged impassioned high-fives and kisses last week when we booted yet another debt to the curb! That wasn't boring to us... not at all.
Jerry
www.leads4insurance.com

[Writer's Coin]

I'm jealous of the great analogy. I've been trying to come up with good investment analogies to sports and this one is spot on when it comes to personal finance. Well done.

As an aside, I recommend sports fans watch European League soccer matches—it's the best soccer you'll see in the world (other than the world cup) and if that doesn't do it for you, nothing will.

Watching the MLS is like watching the WNBA. No offense, but it's just not that much fun.

[Ralph]

I respectfully disagree - then why is Hockey popular here in USA? It's our mindset - we don't care about anything "we" didn't invent or are already better at. Soccer is a "foreign sport" - hence, it will never catch on. They have cricket, we have baseball. IMHO.

[lamoneyguy]

Ralph, hockey is popular in the US? Not that I noticed. Anyway, it was an analogy to make a point. It's not actually about the sports.