Well there's at least one healthy segment of the economy

Baraboo maker of Terrible Towel at 450,000 and counting

For a small Baraboo company, the Terrible Towel count is 450,000 and rising.

McArthur Towel and Sports LLC, towel-maker to the Pittsburgh Steelers, is riding high on this Super Bowl weekend, and will be riding higher still if Pittsburgh wins.

Since the Steelers won the AFC championship two weeks ago, the firm has produced nearly half a million Terrible Towels, the 15-by-24-inch pieces of terry cloth that fans have been waving wildly above their heads since 1975 to spur the team on.

If the Steelers become Super Bowl champions, McArthur has orders for another half million or so towels, President and CEO Gregg McArthur said.

The benefits extend beyond the company, which employs 32 people in Baraboo. McArthur contracts with a nonprofit workshop in Chippewa Falls, which employs people with disabilities, to do the dyeing and printing.

On the other end, sales of Terrible Towels benefit a Pennsylvania school that cares for children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Since 1996, the school has received more than $2.5 million from Terrible Towel sales.

I'm still cheering for the Cardinals.