Those of us who detest professional football nonethless have a vested interest in the outcome of the upcoming Super Bowl. A victory for the New York Giants should line our pockets with money — or at least help keep our TIAA-CREF accounts solvent.
That, at least, is the implication of the Super Bowl Predictor of Stocks, which has correctly called the direction — up or down — of the following year’s Dow Jones Industrial Average 33 of 41 times, an 81% success rate.
The logic of the predictor is simple: If a team from the original NFL wins, the market is destined to go up; if one of the old AFL teams wins, the Dow is about to sink.
The Patriots of New England, one of the old AFL teams, are heavily favored. Even though I’m a devout non-fan of the sport, I’ll be pocketbook-cheering for an upset.
[Via William Power, “Win for the Patriots Is Win for ‘Da Bears,'” Wall Street Journal, 29 January, p. C2]