Rooting For The US Dollar

I’m a huge sports fan and no matter where I am in the world, my morning routine always involves combing through box scores, standings and tournament draws. But as soon as I get my sports fix, I turn my attention to the fate of the U.S. dollar. Nearly every weekday, I check to see how our currency is faring against the Euro, and other currencies of countries I might be heading to.

I’m currently in the middle of a three-month trip to Italy and Greece, two of the sickest economies in Europe, so Wednesday’s news that the Euro had sunk to just a 25 percent advantage over the U.S. dollar, a two-year low, had me in a celebratory mood. Yes, I do feel bad for people suffering from the economic crisis that has paralyzed Greece and threatens to do the same to Spain, Italy and perhaps other European countries, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I was rooting for the Euro to crash just as vigorously as I root for the Bills, Sabres and all my other favorite sports teams.

I still remember the good old days when the U.S. dollar traded higher than the Euro, and as someone who has lived in and spent quite a bit of time on the continent over the last decade, I’ve been frustrated by the U.S. dollar’s slow downward spiral in recent years. When the Euro dipped below 30 percent recently, I assumed it would creep right back up, as this has been the usual pattern over the last year, but it keeps going down and I couldn’t be more pleased.

Yes, I know that a strong dollar is bad for U.S. exports and for our economy more broadly. But I’m still rooting for our currency. Am I selfish? Absolutely, but here’s hoping the dollar continues its comeback.

(Image via Eric Caballero on Flickr)