Is hockey merch available in your home town?
By Jason Reed
November 18, 2007 -- LONG BEACH, CA -- Josh and I started yapping recently about how you go into places like Target and you find merchandise for local professional and college sports teams, but you never see any for hockey teams. Let me just say that this is not a Target bashing article. My family spends a lot of money there every year and we like them. This is just to prove that the NHL is, quite frankly, the red-headed stepchild when it comes to exposure and sales.
Josh bet me that I couldn't go into Target (or Wal Mart or K-mart) and find any licensed NHL shirts or hats. I didn't take that bet because I knew that he was right. So, around noon, when I knew that the Raiders would lose again, I headed for the local mall just to verify the theory. There is a Target in this particular mall so I started there and sure enough, Angels, Lakers, USC, UCLA, and that's it. I took it one step further. I knew that in the mall there were three prominent national chains that sold primarily professional and college sports apparel, so I checked out the three stores. What I found sickened me.
I went into the first and found nothing related to hockey--not a jersey or a t-shirt. Not even a cheesy plastic stick with a picture of Joe Sakic on it. When I asked the kid behind the counter (who was wearing a Ricky Williams Dolphins jersey--go figure) if they had anything hockey he said no. When I asked if they had any hockey apparel on their website he replied that he wasn't sure if they even had a website. Here is your next employee of the month.
I headed down the escalator to store number two. Here I found a couple of jerseys but no hats. I asked someone if they had any and he pointed to the bottom corner of a wall filled with NFL hats. They had one Red Wings hat (not one style. One hat) and a few Ducks hats. I asked if this was it and he said yes but he thought that maybe I could possibly order something form their website. At least this guy knows they have a website. I see Assistant Manager in his future!
The third store had no NHL hats (all they sell are hats) but I was instantly told that their entire NHL inventory was on their website and that if I had it shipped to the store for pickup that there was no cost for shipping. This still sucks, but at least I am getting closer to replacing that St. Louis Blues hat that I haven't been able to find in a couple of years.
What the heck is wrong with this picture? I know that the NHL has always been a "mid-major" sports league, but for Pete's sake, the first store (the one that had no NHL stuff) had a couple of WNBA hats! The WNBA? You may as well just kick ol' Lord Stanley in the sack for Christ sake.
So here's the deal...
Josh and I both want to know what it is like in your little part of the world. Are your experiences similar to mine or does it seem like I'm crazy? I lived in Chicago for a couple of years and there was some stuff, though not as much as the other sports. It amazes me that in the LA area with two teams and the reigning Stanley Cup champions that you can't find jack. I don't ever expect that we will be the NFL or NASCAR in terms of exposure, but is a little retail selection too much to ask?
EMAIL JASON:
JASON@REEDWRITING.NET
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