Every four years, the World Cup reminds the world what soccer fans already know. Watching countries from around the world face off in this tournament has a way of pulling in people who rarely watch sports to enjoy the "Beautiful Game." Entire countries stop what they're doing, and cities gather around giant screens when their team is playing. For a little over a month, the sport my kids have grown up playing gets to be seen on center stage.
As someone who has spent the better part of the last decade driving to practices, sitting through weekend tournaments, and watching Zane and Molly develop as players, I have a particular appreciation for what this tournament reveals about the game. Soccer can be one of the most frustrating and rewarding sports on the planet, sometimes in the same ninety minutes.
A few weeks ago, I was watching Zane play and found myself thinking about something I've thought dozens of times while watching my kids play. The better team had possession, was creating chances, winning the 50/50 balls, and controlling the game. Then, in a matter of seconds, a turnover in the middle of the field, one quick pass, a fast transition, and the other team scored. Just like that, the supposedly weaker side that had spent most of the game defending was winning.
If you've watched enough soccer, you know exactly what that feels like. The scoreboard doesn't care who had more possession or who looked better. It only cares about the result.
The Same Thing Happens in Investing
The older I get, the more I see that dynamic play out in financial markets too.
There are stretches when the markets seem unstoppable. Every headline is positive. Pullbacks get bought back quickly. In these situations, investing looks easy. Then something shifts. Maybe it's inflation, interest rates, or a headline from halfway around the world that nobody saw coming. Next thing you know, momentum changes, and the scoreboard looks different by the end of the game.
What I've noticed over the years is that investors often make just as many mistakes when markets are going up as when they're going down. When markets fall, people fear losing money. Rising markets bring a different kind of fear altogether, the fear of missing out. That second one can be one of the most expensive emotions in investing. A client hears about a stock from a friend, sees something online, or catches a segment on television about the next big opportunity. They start worrying that everyone else is getting ahead while they're standing still.
Soccer players do the same thing. A player who hasn't scored in a while starts pressing, trying to make the spectacular play instead of the smart one. Every touch becomes an attempt to force something that isn't there, rather than making a smart pass or moving into open space.
What the Best Players and the Best Investors Have in Common
The best players I've watched over the years aren't always the most talented. They're the ones who stay disciplined when the game gets difficult. They make the right play even when it isn't the exciting one. They show up to practice when they don't feel like it.
After years of early morning sessions across West Virginia, long drives, hotel stays, rain, heat, cold, and everything else that comes with youth sports, I've learned that showing up consistently is a skill in itself. It doesn't look impressive and doesn’t earn likes on social media. But it's where the real development happens. The skill, the instincts, and the mental toughness all come from repetition, hard work, and putting in the effort when no one is watching.
Investing works the same way. Success is rarely built during the dramatic moments. It's built during the quiet ones, when nobody is paying much attention, when the headlines are trying to convince you to do something different, but you decide to stick to the plan. As a financial advisor, I spend a lot of time talking about investments. But the longer I do this work, the more I realize the job often has less to do with picking investments and more to do with helping people manage their emotions and behavior. Avoiding panic. Tuning out the noise. Staying focused on where they're trying to go instead of following the crowd.
What the World Cup Reminds Us
Over the next few weeks, the tournament will deliver its share of surprises. An underdog will pull an upset. Teams will dominate possession and lose. An unexpected moment will decide a game. That's what makes it great to watch.
It's also what makes winning it all so difficult. The same is true in investing. Neither comes with guarantees, and both have a way of humbling us when we think we have it figured out. But over time, the little things tend to make the difference, especially in those unexpected moments: preparation, discipline, patience, and the ability to stay focused when emotions are high.
The team with the most possession won't always win. The investor holding the hottest stock won't always come out ahead. But the ones who trust the process and make the right plays instead of forcing the action tend to give themselves the best chance over the long run.