The Rocket

Issue date: 2/10/06 Section: Sports

Frank Skrip - News Editor

With the Super Bowl nearly a week behind us, and the weeks of scrutinizing every aspect of our beloved Steelers currently going on, it would be easy to write a column preaching my love for the Steelers, the insanity of us fans and the pride that goes along with getting "the one for the thumb."

One thing that occasionally gets overlooked however, is the off-the-field benefits, specifically the financial off-the-field benefits.

According to a Feb. 5 article in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette by Len Boselvic, there is a distinct correlation between the Steelers playing in the Super Bowl and Wall Street doing better than usual.

In 1979, the year the Steelers defeated the Dallas Cowboys 35-31 in Super Bowl XIII, the Standard & Poor's 500 improved 12.3 percent. Coincidentally, that was the lowest increase the S&P 500 ever had during a Steelers Super Bowl appearance. The average increase during a Steeler Super Bowl year is an astounding 22 percent, compared to the regular average increase of 8.9 percent.

To put this even more into perspective, the San Francisco 49ers, another team with five Super Bowl rings, sent the S&P 500 to a dismal 6.6 percent decrease in 1989.

The fact of the matter is, even with a city that is so far in debt it's going to have to probably borrow money from their own basement dwelling Pirates someday (I apologize for even bringing them up folks), we buy lots of stuff when our team is clicking. Whether it's Iron City Beer, Primanti Bros. sandwiches, or Heinz ketchup by the gallon, when the Steelers win, we all spend.

The city of Pittsburgh is roughly $1.68 billion in total debt last time I checked. Now, to most Pittsburghers and SRU students, this may not even come close to matching the importance of our men in black and gold winning the Super Bowl. Fittingly, the Steelers have consistently affected the local budget in years they go to the big game.

It's so uplifting to see Pittsburgh and the surrounding counties freshly invigorated and ready to spend their hard-earned $8.95 on an original Myron Cope Terrible Towel or their $18.95 on a bootlegged Super Bowl XL NFL Champions Commemorative T-shirt. Not only does this help the local businesses, such as University Sportswear and Hometowne Sports, but also it helps the larger chains like Dick's and Dunham's. In turn, these larger companies, as well as the smaller ones for that matter, pay taxes on all this Steelers merchandise, and eventually, if we keep winning, they can take at least a nibble out of the city's terrible debt.

So that's the solution then to the city's debt right? The Steelers simply have to keep winning the Super Bowl every year. Hey, we could send this suggestion to President Bush and maybe start a nationwide trend… Terrible Towels for everyone. I can see it now; a sea of yellow spanning the country. What a sight eh?

If only the Penguins and Buccos could follow suit. Maybe then the city could have as much money as the Rooney family.

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