ECONOMIC BOON OF GAME JUST PART OF SUPER BOWL HYPE -- Like exploding water mains caused by everyone flushing their toilets at the same time during commercial breaks, the economic boon a Super Bowl brings to its host city may be more myth than reality, says Temple economics professor Michael Leeds, author of a soon-to-be-released textbook on the economics of sports.
"As far as the southern resort cities like Miami and New Orleans where the game is often played, the impact is usually less than the hundreds of millions estimated by boosters," he says.
The reason for the disparity, Leeds says, is that most estimates don't take into account the number of tourists who would visit the cities even without the game. And while the game might have a greater economic impact in a northern city like Philadelphia that doesn't attract many tourists during the winter, Leeds questions whether the added expense of a domed stadium would be worth it. "You're looking at tens of millions of additional dollars upfront for benefits that -- realistically speaking -- will occur once (maybe twice) over the life of the stadium."
Reach Dr. Leeds through the Office of News and Media Relations, 215- 204-7476.
'I GEORGE W. BUSH..." THEN WHAT? -- Though unprecedented circumstances led him to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, George W. Bush's inaugural speech won't likely be one for the memory books, says Temple speech communications professor Herb Simons.
"I expect his rhetoric to conform to type," says Simons, an expert on presidential rhetoric. "It will honor America's forefathers, celebrate freedom and faith, discipline and determination, and, above all, emphasize the need to address the daunting tasks that are before us in a spirit of bipartisanship," says Simons.
Bush, he says, won't "dwell at length upon the post-election conflict, but will acknowledge it briefly by way of gratitude to President Clinton and Vice President Gore for their statesmanship in smoothing the way to a transfer of power." Bush's main objective during his speech will be to appear presidential, says Simons. "He will attempt, by matter and manner, to suggest that he is presidential timbre," says Simons. "The situation fairly requires that he speak inoffensively, even if ineloquently." So, while some presidents "have sought for memorability in their inaugural addresses, President Bush might settle for middling, platitudinous forgettability."
Reach Dr. Simons at his office, 215-204-1880, at home, 215-844-5969, or through the Office of News & Media Relations.
CLINTON LEAVING HIS MARK--There's much heat being generated in Washington surrounding the presidential transition. Although the country has not experienced a transition in power for eight years, It's normal, says Temple history professor James Hilty.
"Actually, things are moving pretty much as usual. The outgoing president is busy making last-minute appointments, and predictably establishing his own version of the history of the last eight years, including a comprehensive report on the state of the economy, which credits his own policies for unprecedented economic expansion," says Hilty. "Bush, on the other hand, seeks to establish benchmarks against which his own progress may be charted, thus necessitating the need to downplay Clinton's view of the last eight years and identify problem areas for which he, of course, will provide solutions."
Reach Hilty at his office, 204-5581, or through the Office of News and Media Relations.
This Week at Temple...
Tuesday, Jan. 16: SPRING SEMESTER BEGINS -- With Commencement just four months and a single day away (May 17), Temple seniors, as well as freshmen, sophomores, juniors and graduate students, will return to campus for the official start of the Spring 2001 semester.
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