The Navigoe Blog

Why Americans Don’t Watch Soccer (and what it has to do with your money)

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, popular 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.

But soccer is catching on, right?  The World Cup ratings are the highest they have ever been.  Well, we swell with national pride once every four years to support Team USA in the Olympics.  And as much as I love a good “U-S-A! U-S-A!” chant, I’m usually not watching gymnastics, track & field or swimming outside of the olympics.  And you probably aren’t either.  So, it was with soccer.  When Team USA was eliminated by Belgium (how long are we supposed to continue to boycott their waffles?), Americans tuned out.  Germany’s dismantling of Brazil notwithstanding.  But then again, what was remarkable about the game? Brazil only scoring one goal?  No, Germany scored an astounding seven goals, setting the twitterverse on fire.

Given American’s fascination with scoring, it is no surprise that soccer viewship has not caught on.  Outside of the World Cup, we don’t watch soccer, as evidenced by MLS’ abysmal ratings.  Zero-Zero ties after 90 minutes of regular play and an unclear number of extra time minutes 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 it’s just all too rare.

So, what does that have to do with Personal Finance? Plenty.

Personal finance radio entertainment personality Dave Ramsey, 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 a good income, 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 is a lot of fun to watch, but 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.  It represents the opportunity to live large.  And live large now.  Saving represents planning for the future.  If there’s one thing young people are know for (not just this generation) it’s that instant gratification takes too long.

Incomes impress people.  Just like slam dunks and home runs impress people.  We would enjoy goals, but there just aren’t enough of them.  Collectively, we’re learning to appreciate defense.  This New York Times article notes America’s love affair with Team USA goalie, Tim Howard, after his incredible 16 saves against Belgium.  But the same article notes how fleeting it might be.   The San Antonio Spurs, long viewed as a “boring” team is finally receiving some love after their dismantling of the Miami Heat.  But on an individual level, MVP titles went to NBA leading scorer, Kevin Durant, and in the NFL, Peyton Manning, whose Denver Broncos led all teams in scoring.

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?  Seventy-five percent of Americans nearing retirement age in 2010 had less than $100,000 in retirement savings.  Despite a spike in our national saving rate following the Great Recession, as a country the amount we are saving is near historic lows.

We are trying so hard to look good, we don’t care if we are losing in the process.

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The bottom line:  Work hard on your offense.  Continue job training, networking, building your skills.  Do the things that will help you grow your income.  But as your offense improves, work even harder on you defense.  Michael Jordan 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.  That means living on less than you make.  It includes maintaining proper insurance. Pay down your debts, 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.