When winning produces losers

Recently, The Oregonian ran a front-page story about how the grades of male university students in Eugene declined as the fortunes of the Ducks’ football team improved.

Of the male students, one of the researchers said: “They drink more when the team wins, they party more when the team wins, and they study less when the team wins.”

You can tell where this might lead. Note that the study was done by economists. The obvious question is whether the same phenomenon might be at work in the economy. Could the findings about students be applied to sports-crazed Duck alumni?

“They drink more when the team wins, they party more when the team wins, and they WORK less when the team wins.”

The study also raises questions about professional sports. Consider Green Bay, Wisconsin, whose Packers are on a tear. How’s the economy in Green Bay and its surroundings? Could "Cheeseheadedness" explain Wisconsin's political problems?

And more generally, could there be a feminist interpretation to all this. The researchers found that women at the University of Oregon were unaffected by the fortunes of the Duck football team. Generally females do better in school at all levels than males do. Could this have something to do with the male obsession with/addiction to all things sports?

Finally, if winning on the field produces losers in the classroom, do losing athletic teams produce academic winners?

And, getting back to the economy and civic life, could Chicago's grit have something to do with its hapless Cubs?