Super Bowl XLIX will be played this Sunday. And for many inveterate sports fans, this is the pièce de résistance of the TV sports year. Yes siree. Endless hours of Sunday afternoon and evening spent noshing on nachos and chicken wings, quaffing beer, listening to talking heads, actually being eager to watch the commercials, and getting to see a very few minutes of some excellent football action. But don’t blink.
A few years ago The Wall Street Journal analyzed the content of an average National Football League game telecast. They found the average NFL game lasted 3 hours and 12 minutes. The amount of time the ball was actually in play? 11 minutes! (The average NFL play lasts just four seconds.) In fact, the Journal found an average NFL telecast spent more time on replays (17 minutes) than live plays.
The Journal also found that the average NFL game showed about 100 advertisements during 20 commercial breaks which consumed about an hour, or almost a third of the broadcast game.
Now remember this. The Journal analyzed an average NFL game. The Super Bowl does everything in spades except for the amount of live action. And the commercials are so good you won’t even want to take a bathroom break.
Deflate-Gate
However, the talking heads will give you plenty of opportunity to relieve your water pressure while they drone on endlessly about this year’s big topic: air pressure. If you skipped that science class, you’ll be able to earn an “A” in a make-up exam by Monday.
We’re all vaguely aware of our blood pressure, atmospheric pressure, the optimum inflatable pressure for our automobile and bicycle tires. By the time you go to bed Sunday night you will be an expert on the optimum inflatable pressure of an NFL football. You may never remember watching this game or what its outcome was. But you will never forget that a NFL football should be inflated to 12.5 to 13.5 PSI before the start of a game.
If you don’t know what we’re talking about by now, you probably have no interest whatsoever in watching the Super Bowl. But if you too want to get a PhD in air pressure, just Google “Deflate-gate” and you can spend all day and night Sunday reading about what Forbes Magazine calls “The Dumbest Sports Controversy Ever”.
If you’re still determined, or coerced, to watch the game this Sunday, we have three suggestions to help make the “investment” of your time more enjoyable, or even, maybe, more valuable.
Super Bowl Indicator
This is a nonsensical concept for a stock market predictor that, amazingly, has been right about 80 per cent of the time. The theory holds that if a team from the NFL’s National Football Conference (Seattle) wins, then there will be a bull market that year. If a team from the American Football Conference (New England) wins, it’s a bear market to follow. Since the winner of a football game and the stock market’s performance has no relationship, this indicator’s success rate is just an amazing coincidence. Or, as the more statistically- and scientifically-inclined may put it: “Correlation does not imply causation”.
So if you don’t have a favorite team, then cheer for yourself. That is, if you’re fully invested you should probably cheer for Seattle. If you’re waiting for the market to drop more before buying in, then you should probably cheer for New England. Either way, don’t believe a word of this story.
The Little Book of Investment Knowledge
We also like to tell useful stories that are filled with valuable advice here at The Investment Reporter. In fact, we’ve written a book full of them. It’s called The Little Book of Investment Knowledge and it’s free for the asking. Ever since 1941 our Investment Planning Committee has met continuously, but, obviously, with an ever-changing cast of characters. In our book these characters meet to discuss the principles of successful investing in a story-telling environment.
So even though it’s Super Bowl Sunday this week-end, you may just want to find a quiet room in the house all to yourself and enjoy a good read. Our book is free and you can download it easily by going to our home page at AdviceForInvestors.com and following the link.
Canadian Content
But if you find that even with your new book you can’t avoid watching the game, here’s some Canadiana you can look for.
There are two Canadians playing for Seattle Seahawks this Sunday and they both played a key role in Seattle’s stunning come-from-behind overtime victory in the National Football Conference championship game.
Luke Willson, from LaSalle, ON, (near Windsor) made an incredible catch for a two-point conversion in that game while Jon Ryan, from Regina, SK, who is normally a tight end and the team’s punter, threw a touchdown pass on a fake field goal.
And the site of this year’s game, the University of Phoenix Stadium, has been updated with antennas manufactured by Galtronics Corporation Ltd., a Baylin Technologies Inc. company (TSX─BYL).
Boston Pizza Royalties Income Fund (TSX─BPF.UN) will sell over 16,000 pounds of wings on Sunday—about 50 per cent more than any other Sunday throughout the year.
The Super Bowl will be on CTV and RDS which are owned by BCE Inc. (TSX─BCE; NYSE─BCE).
Hundreds of private luxury jets will arrive at the eight airports around metropolitan Phoenix by kickoff Sunday. Many of them will be Learjets and Challengers built by Bombardier (TSX─BBD.B; OTCQX─BDRBF).
Stuck in the car? SiriusXM Canada (TSX─XSR) will broadcast the game on channel 88 to subscribers with a premier subscription.
The Investment Reporter, MPL Communications Inc.
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The Investment Reporter •1/30/15 •