The mainstream media has been a bit critical of WIBR in recent months. For one, this blog closed in September. Then, without any real explanation, re-opened just weeks later. This crater-sized plot hole was never explained or addressed. It was like Bayside High curiously trading Kelly and Jesse for Tori Scott and her stupid bike helmet. Where did these two popular cheerleaders go for an entire semester? What seventeen year old girl owns a motorcycle? Why did I close WIBR, and then, on a whim, write 800 words on Verizon? Why can’t I stop asking rhetorical questions?

It’s been a struggle, this here public relations effort. Despite my work in the local community, planting orchids at the local Fenway Gardens and what not, the media has been hounded me with the same question:

“Sure, Dave, you write a lot, but are you really saying anything?”

It’s as if I’m being accused of ignoring the plight of today’s world. Health Care, Tax Reform, etc, etc. And while I understand the turbulent economic times we live in, what can I really do? I’m just one man. I’m here to offer an escape from your credit card debt, not a solution. I’m here to assess I.R.S.' in-ring ability, not provide you with invaluable tax tips. Steve Mix famously used the phrase, “KYP: Know your personnel.” It is advice I’ve taken to heart. I maximize my strengths all while acknowledging my limitations.

Until today.

Today, we travel outside our comfort zone. Today, I provide you with something of substance. Together we crawl out of debt. We will steer this economic ship out from troubled waters. But first, we need a leader, a captain: A captain of finance. A captain of industry. A captain of a 1989 Survivor Series team. 

For my Finance 311: Markets and Investments class in 2006, I wrote a five-page paper entitled, “Everyone Has a Price: Some Just Sell at the Wrong Time.” 

The following is an excerpt.

<snip>

Invest in Gold

In 1987, Ted DiBiase approached Hulk Hogan about the World Heavyweight Championship. A classic buyer meets seller tale. From there, Ted’s instincts took over. He asked some introductory questions. Kept the conversation light. Took some mental notes.

How are the wife and kids?

That Adonis sure is a strange duck, huh?

I think Danny Davis calls it right down the middle.    

This is good business right here. Ease into it. Foreplay before negotiation. Smoothly, DiBiase then transitioned into the business at hand.  

Would you be interested in selling the belt, Hulk? If so, how much are you trying to get out of it?

Now, what was DiBiase trying to acquire? In Professor James’ marketing class, I was taught that Starbucks sells an image, not coffee. Coke sells Americana, not soda pop. But I think the label as champion meant nothing to DiBiase. Consider this: The price of gold on December 1^st, 1987 was $487.80. The price of gold at the close of business day on May 12th: $725.00. The heavyweight belt was nothing but an investment for our hero. He would’ve melted that strap down the first chance he got. Did he successfully acquire the belt back in ’87? No, but Ted’s intuition was spot-on.  

<snip>

Invest in underappreciated assets; Sell the overvalued ones

In 1988, it was Hercules Hernandez, a powerhouse who had muscles on top of muscles. In 1994, it was Nikolai Volkoff, a down on his luck former tag champion who DiBiase acquired on the cheap.

And then there was Virgil. By the end of 1990, the bodyguard’s stock had reached its peak. By Royal Rumble ‘91, he was more bloated then a Canisius co-ed. DiBiase recognized this, even if the public didn’t. He tossed Virgil aside at the Royal Rumble and never looked back. Sure, Virgil’s value saw a brief spike later that year, but by the spring of ‘92, he was nothing more than mid-card fodder.

<snip>

The professor gave me a C-. Wasn’t really a wrestling fan.