Championship fan gear is a very competitive business. Most people check around online for championship gear, but you have to pay shipping and sometimes you may end up waiting 30+ days to get that product. We offer that product online as well, but we’ve also chosen to open one or more of our locations to service those fans that are excited about the win and want their Locker Room product before anyone else. I mean how cool is it to walk into the office on the day after your team wins the Big Championship with the cap and/or shirt your team had on right after the game?
We started this practice in 1998 when Tennessee won the Football National Championship. We found we were very unprepared, because we didn’t know what the reaction would be. It didn’t take long to sell out of every piece of product we had. We’d never been through that before. It was kinda ugly. If you were at one of our stores that night, I apologize. Since then we’ve been better and better prepared for the outcome.
People ask us, “How do you get this stuff so fast after the game?” We don’t get it after the game. We have to sign legal documents with our vendors, who pre-produce the product, saying we won’t display or sell the product before the outcome of the game is determined. We buy both teams’ Championship product a couple of weeks before the game. We have to pay for both teams, so we really don’t make any money on Championship product, but it’s a service to those fans that are loyal to Sport Seasons throughout the season, and we love to do it. (Curious about what happens with the losing team’s merchandise?)
This year, our Cool Springs location will be opening after the final gun sounds. We’ll have Locker Room product for the winning team, Auburn or Oregon, and some other things we have been able to get vendors to pre-produce for us. We don’t care if you are an Auburn or a Oregon fan, come on down and see what all the hubbub is about we’d love to see ya!
~ Lance