SYRACUSE -- Local T-shirt companies are cheering with Syracuse University fans buying shirts in record numbers. They're boxing up bulk orders and shipping out the Syracuse Marathon Men T-shirts. Sales at Holy Shirt are in full swing. "The response has really been overwhelming," said John Groat, owner of Holy Shirt. "We've been told by Syracuse University that this shirt is now officially the largest selling T-shirt in the history of SU sports," he said.
So far, they've sold more than 35,000 shirts and are now approaching the 40,000 mark. SU fans can't get enough. "I think it's great for the University and I hope they do well in the NCAA's," said SU fan Charlie Crouse. He and his friend Matthew Debottis are scooping up shirts in time for tomorrow night's big game against Oklahoma. "I think it's great. In the middle of the season, they're saying they're not that good. I guess they proved them wrong, didn't they?" said Debottis.
It's an economic shot in the arm to local businesses, who are cashing in on SU's wild ride. "So many times in big time college athletics and sports, shirts for fans and things come from big companies like Nike and multi-national corporations. In this case, it's just two guys from Syracuse and their staff," Groat said.
Up on the SU Hill at Manny's, they've rolled out their own new Orange shirt. Six in the City shirts are for sale there, capitalizing on the six overtime win against UConn. SU fans hope wearing orange will help the team push past Oklahoma to secure a spot in the Elite Eight tomorrow night. "My wife is just an SU fanatic and I'd just as soon be down there watching them. But this will be even better. I got her the Marathon and the Sweet 16 (T-shirts), so she'll have that on, screaming at the TV," said Debottis.
Bottom line, it's a big boom in business for these local stores and they're happy to keep printing T-shirts for as long as the Orange winning streak continues.
