Could a Phillies World Series Win Make the Economy Tank?
Philadelphia sports fans are all geeked about the Phillies performing so well this year, but now, there is a lingering rumor of sorts that could rain on our parade.
Ryan Ermey of CNBC.com gets it. He’s a big Phillies fan, and noted in a recent article that he came across a tidbit stating, “Over the past 100 years the surest sign of an economic downturn has been a Philly-based baseball team winning the World Series. It happened in 1929, 1930, 1980, and 2008.”
That’s depressing to think about, but Ermey assures us that a Phillies win won’t necessarily mean the economy will tank. He says, “…even if the assertion is that Philly World Series and financial downturns go hand-in-hand, it’s worth remembering that a million of these sorts of silly indicators and truisms have floated around among market watchers for decades — and they rarely mean anything.”
He does on to point out other so-called economic “indicators” over the years of a downturn. One is the “hemline index,” which says that shorter skirt styles are fashionable when eras of economic prosperity are upon us, while more modest hemlines indicate an economic downturn on the way. That’s a funny one, and I’ve heard about that theory for many years. In the end, Ermey is simply trying to reassure Philadelphia sports fans that they can root for their beloved Phillies without worrying that it’s going to tank their bank account. Read his full take here.
