The folks on South Street are cheering the World Series victory by the Philadelphia Phillies, but it would be for the best if the Phils didn’t get anywhere near a title again in 2009. Philadelphia sports franchises have suffered through a number of lean years, but when the teams finally ascend to the pinnacle of their respective sports, it’s at a time when the market’s economic condition resembles a drunken Flyers fan passed out in a bathroom. The last (and first) time the Phillies won it all was in 1980, when GDP contracted 0.2% for the year, the first leg of the double-dip recession (the second was in 1982, the year basketball’s 76ers were on their way to winning the NBA championship for only the third time). The brawling Flyers were at their best in the 1970s, winning titles in 1974 and 1975, which represent the last time the economy contracted for two consecutive years. It’s been a long time since the NFL’s Eagles won a championship, but two of their three came in years when the Standard & Poor’s 500 finished the year below where it started (1948 and 1960), and in the other, 1949, the economy contracted by 0.5%. When it’s sunny in Philadelphia, it’s gloomy everywhere else.
The Whole story can be found at David Gaffen's Blog-
http://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2008/10/30/four-at-four-philadelphia-wins-everyone-else-loses/
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