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YSU Championship Game Shirts Fly Off the Shelves
More than half of second shipment already pre-sold
By JUSTIN WIER
YOUNGSTOWN
“Insane.”
That’s how Youngstown State University bookstore manager Heather White described the demand for T-shirts commemorating the YSU football team’s trip to Frisco, Texas, to play in the national championship game.
Employees at the bookstore were busy stuffing T-shirts into shipping envelopes on Tuesday afternoon, when the first order of 360 shirts arrived.
The red shirts feature a YSU helmet. They read “2017 NCAA Division I Football Championship” and list the date and location of the title game.
Those shirts were spoken for before the bookstore received the delivery.
White said they will be receiving another 360 today. As of Tuesday, more than half of the second shipment already had been presold.
White anticipated placing new orders daily as long as the demand keeps up.
The Penguins will face James Madison University for the national title Jan. 7. White said the game has generated a lot of excitement, which has increased traffic in the bookstore.
“It’s a crazy-busy time of year for us anyway because we’re getting ready for spring semester, and then you throw this in the mix,” White said.
She encouraged people to place orders at www.ysubookstore.com.
“If they want one that’s their best bet,” she said. “Otherwise they’re probably going to be out of luck until the end of next week.”
Nonetheless, many in the store were inquiring about the shirts, including Edward and Carol Jay of Boardman, who were considering purchasing a shirt for their son. The two have been fans of YSU football for a long time. Carol said that in past years, they had driven to the airport to greet previous national championship teams arriving home.
Edward even underwent surgery so he could continue attending games.
“I got to a point where I had a hard time walking the ramp [at Stambaugh Stadium],” he said. “I had my knees done so I could walk the ramp. Seriously.”
While they are only offering T-shirts celebrating the trip to the national title game, White said there would be a larger variety of merchandise in the event that YSU wins the championship.
Matt Prologo, a defensive back on YSU’s first championship football team in 1991, also was there purchasing gear for a friend in Michigan.
“He wanted to make sure he had some stuff [for the game],” Prologo said.
He’s been following the team closely, and he said he sees many similarities between the current playoff run and the one his team made.
“[Wide receiver] Herbie Williams had a great catch to get us to the national championship,” Prologo said. “[Current tight end Kevin] Rader had a great catch [to get this team to the national championship]. It’s just deja vu almost. Different players, different numbers, but you know.”
Prologo’s friend was interested in a championship game T-shirt, but Prologo said he’s not interested.
“I’m going to wait until we win it, because I want that one.”