Random thoughts after the first weekend of college football spent in San Francisco

Only some random tangential thoughts today since I'm still brain dead from the SF to Greensboro red-eye Monday morning.

(1) First some sports economics, three days after AppState's 34-32 win over Michigan:

“For Appalachian to be able to be in the newspapers the next day, showing Appalachian with Michigan, that’s got value,” said Peacock, who attended Saturday’s game. “What the score says after that is a whole ’nother story.”

It’s likely to add dollars to the university coffers as well. In addition to the $400,000 Appalachian State received from Michigan for playing the game, the athletic director Charlie Cobb said the local Wal-Mart would sell as much as $1 million worth of Appalachian State merchandise this year.

And the college has found some new clients as well. Cobb said Ohio retailers are looking to stock Appalachian State apparel now.

It seems Ohio State fans are suddenly very fond of the Mountaineers.

In microeconomics class we'd say that, since price and income hasn't changed, the higher sales of AppState t-shirts is due to (1) a change in tastes and preferences (due to a surprising victory) and (2) the number of consumers (OSU fans).

As part of this demand, I'll be gifting Tim a shirt ASAP. I'm thinking an ASU vs. Lenoir-Rhyne might stick it to Michigan fans the best way (i.e., hey UM guys! this is who AppState played the next week ... hahahahahahahahahah!).

(2) Attentive env-econ.net readers will notice that my close connection with two of the biggest upsets in college football history. From Stewart Mandel's blog:

As Mountaineer player Cory Lynch raced down the field of the Big House with the ball he’d just blocked to put the final, excruciating nail in the Wolverines’ coffin, broadcaster Thom Brennaman began spouting off some of the biggest upsets in college football history -- Centre College over Harvard (1921), Carnegie Tech over Notre Dame (1926). I can’t speak with any authority on those contests, which took place in a whole other era long before top 25 polls, “I-A” and “I-AA” or “BCS’ and “non-BCS” even entered the sport’s lexicon.

Centre College alums all know that C6H0 is not a chemical compound but shorthand for the 1921 Centre-Harvard score. As a freshman I read "Legend of the Praying Colonels" that detailed the exploits of Bo McMillan, etc.

(3) Did anyone other than me notice the mangling of the I-A, I-AA, FCS, FBS? The ESPN guys kept calling AppState a formerly I-AA school, as if we had moved up to FCS (formerly I-A).

(4) Regarding that red-eye flight. Who would have ever thought that if you arrived at SFO on Sunday night that you were a day late for a Sunday, September 2 flight that left at 12:40 am? Not me! I showed up on Sunday night and found out I missed my plane. Very luckily I made it on the red-eye that night with only a $50 fee.

(5) The AFS Governing Board sent the economic growth policy statement back to committee. This will delay a decision for another year. I'll keep you posted as past-president of the Socioeconomics Section (i.e., that albatross is not around my neck).

(6) Getting off the plane in SF on Friday I put on my non-UT burnt orange shirt forgetting the Cal-UT game on Saturday. As a Kentuckian, I had never experienced a bunch of yahoos lucking at me and saying "Go UT" or "Go Vols" before (with smiles on their faces) and I hope I never do again.

(7) Another new experience from this weekend is watching a three piece Hendrix/SRV cover band ... on the sidewalk outside the hotel.

Comments

[Tim Haab]

John,

Stop boring our international readers (see Glyn's comment).

A couple of Ohio perspective stories.

The Detroit Free Press ran a poll asking whether Lloyd Carr should be fired. 75% said yes. The Columbus Dispatch ran a similar poll and 97% said no.

I still wear the Appalachian State Cross Country t-shirt you sent me a few year's back. Yesterday, my 15 year old neighbor came over and asked if he could borrow it to wear to school today--y'see, some of his friends are Michigan fans.

This will never get old in Columbus.

[John Whitehead]

Did you let him wear it?

[John Whitehead]

Did you let him wear it?