I believe that I’ve mentioned before on this blog that I live in the sprawling metropolis that is Green Bay, Wisconsin.
I’ve also likely mentioned that -as you’d expect- I’m a loyal fan of the glorious Green Bay Packers.
This Sunday, I will be cheering on my team as they face the Steelers in Super Bowl XLV. If you really truly love America, you’ll become a cheesehead yourself and root for the Green and Gold as well. There is undeniable evidence that a Packers’ win will lead to more economic growth in 2011.
Don’t believe me? Economic experts have researched this extensively!
I found out about this intriguing data in an article by Mike Moffatt for the Economy Lab at The Globe and Mail.
It turns out the Super Bowl winner just might be an indicator of economic growth. Remember the ’80s? That’s when economists first noticed that if an NFC team wins the big game, the stock market does well and the economy tends to grow. But it’s typically not such good news for the markets when an AFC team wins.
This measure accurately predicted the movement of the Dow 91% of the time from 1967 to 1988.
Mike Moffatt wanted to know if this was still the case in more recent Super Bowl history:
“The relationship still holds. The economy grows at 3.1 percent when the NFC team wins while only at 2.6 per cent when the AFC team is victorious.”
Despite his research, Moffatt will not be cheering for the Packers this Sunday.
“Not because I want the economy to do badly, but because I’m a Chicago Bears fan. I want the economy to do well, but rooting for the Packers is too high a price to pay.”
Well Moffat…I just want you to know that I did root for the Bears in Super Bowl XLI when they blew it and lost to Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts.
I did so despite my deep hatred for the Bears, because they are a fellow NFC North team and represent the upper Midwest of the United States. Also – Peyton Manning rubs me the wrong way for some reason. But Mr. Moffat – if you feel like cheering on a team that’s already won three Super Bowls in the last six years just to spite the Packers – go right ahead.
Here are some other fun facts about the Super Bowl and the economy…
- It’s estimated football fans in Dallas will fork out more than $202 million on everything from hotels to food and souvenirs.
- This year record attendance is expected in the new Cowboy’s Stadium, which can hold a whopping 105,000. That’s almost the entire population of the city of Green Bay. Some people are paying almost $300,000 for Hall of Fame Suites at the game!
- The major pizza chains (Pizza Hot, Dominos and Poppa John’s ) say orders double on Super Bowl Sunday.
- Pizza Hut will make it’s Super Bowl commercial debut this year. But you can also expect to see a ton of car commercials as the auto industry tries to beef up their sales following the recession.
- A 30-second spot during Super Bowl XLV is selling for a cool $3 million. FOX is expected to rake in $250 million on the big game.
Dallas isn’t the only city where people are spending money. Hotels in Green Bay are filling up with fans who want to cheer on the Packers near Lambeau Field. Plus, sports bars are gearing up for big days on Sunday.
I’m sure there’s just as much excitement in Pittsburgh with Steelers fans buying up merchandise – including those Terrible Towels, which are made by a company in Wisconsin by the way.
The NFL certainly has an impact on the U.S. economy. The scary thing for football fans and cities with NFL teams is that there could be no season next year if players and owners don’t come to a contract agreement. Read more about that in our post NFL Players Advised to Save Their Checks.
But let’s not think about what might happen next season. Let’s just enjoy Super Bowl XLV right now and cheer on the Green Bay Packers. You’ll do it if you really love this country, or if you really want to get off unemployment, or if you really want your 401k to bounce back. (I kid)
To get you in the mood to cheer like a cheesehead – here’s a remake of a hip hop song called Black and Yellow by rapper Wiz Khalifa that was meant as a tribute to the Steelers. The first Green and Yellow version was written by a couple young rappers from here in Titletown. Now Lil Wayne is a Packers fan too, and has already done his own version of Green and Yellow.
But I’ve got to give some credit to these guys first!
Kasey Steinbrinck provides useful advice on personal finances and news about the economy on behalf of Check Advantage. The online check printer is always adding new checks to its collection of personal checks online. Get free content for your blog by contacting Kasey with a request.
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I just couldn’t bring myelf to root for the Packers. I’m a Bears fan and they beat the Bears in the NFC Championship game. Plus they are the Bears rivals. They did play great though and deserved to win.
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Ha ha! That’s understandable.
Although whenever the Bears make it to the Super Bowl – I’ll root for them – like I did back in XLI. Gotta stick with the NFC North, but you also gotta love rivalries – makes the season more fun!