Packers Merch Flies Off Shelves In Wake Of NFC Championship

A "pent-up line of Packers fanatics was waiting" yesterday outside The Sports Authority location in Greenfield, Wisc., when the store opened at 6:00am CT to buy merchandise commemorating the team's NFC Championship game victory, according to Meg Jones of the MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL. Store Manager Kathy Davis noted the store was open Sunday after the Packers-Bears game and "sold out" of NFC Championship shirts and hats. Another shipment "was delivered at 5 a.m. Monday, which was snapped up by the people who came early." Meanwhile, customers at the Green & Gold Zone store in West Allis, Wisc., "bought two kinds of T-shirts, including the gray version worn by the Packers in the locker room." A "shipment of T-shirts picked up from wholesalers at 6 a.m. Monday in Franklin and Green Bay sold out within a few hours" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 1/25). In Green Bay, Davis & Phelps note Packers fans "picked up merchandise early" yesterday. Packers Dir of Retail Operations Kate Hogan noted that the Packers Pro Shop "sold out of nearly 600 championship hats," and "more apparel and accessories are set to arrive today and Wednesday." Packers fan Tom Henquinet said, "Price doesn't seem to be so important once you start winning" (GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE, 1/25). 

RECORD SETTER? NFL VP/Communications Brian McCarthy said that while the sales record for Super Bowl gear was about $140M for the Steelers-Seahawks Super Bowl XL in '06, the Packers-Steelers Super Bowl "could top that because both teams have a rich history and national following." McArthur Towel & Sports President Gregg McArthur added that Packers-Steelers is the "perfect storm." In Dallas, Melissa Repko reports McArthur, the manufacturer of the Terrible Towel, "also is cranking out 'Title Town USA' towels, in honor of the Packers." Meanwhile, Cheesehead manufacturer Foamation received 500 Cheesehead orders "from the end of Sunday's NFC championship game until work began Monday morning," and the company "plans to drive a truck full of products to Arlington and set up shop near Cowboys Stadium" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 1/25).