‘Planning as if it’s already in the win column’: How Philly sports apparel stores prep for the Super Bowl

The orders for officially licensed Eagles Super Bowl champion gear are in. The finishing touches are being put on new designs by local artists, who have spent months crafting unique illustrations for tees, sweatshirts, and other apparel that encapsulate the energy of this team and this season.

Philadelphia sports apparel store owners have no choice.

Putting aside any superstitions or fears of jinxing, they must prepare as if the Birds are going to win their second Super Bowl in five years if they want to make money off the celebratory spending sprees that follow a victory.

“When they win, we’ll actually start production,” said Jay Pross, owner of Art History 101 in Mayfair, which sells and designs all of its products in-house. “I’m planning as if it’s already in the win column.”

“As a Philly sports fan, you just assume the worst. You assume we’re going to lose,” said Brian Michael, co-owner of Shibe Vintage Sports, which sells both original apparel and officially licensed items. “Planning to win, it’s fun. … You do get excited a little bit.”

While thousands of pieces of Super Bowl champion clothing for each team will be printed in advance and shipped to State Farm Stadium and larger retailers, smaller companies have to play a waiting game.

At Shibe, for instance, they placed an order on official Eagles Super Bowl champion apparel from one of the top NFL licensees, 47 Brand, weeks ago, Michael said. And if the Eagles win on Sunday, the gear will be printed and shipped, hopefully arriving in the store by Tuesday. If the Eagles lose, the order will be canceled at no charge, he said.

Other large licensees, such as Fanatics, New Era, and Nike, did not respond to requests for comment for this story.

At Shibe, which has locations in Center City and Wayne, a team of four local artists has been working all week on a specific Eagles project, which will be unveiled Sunday if they win.

But local sports store owners and designers will also be watching the game with an eye for plays and other potentially viral scenes that fans might want to wear on their chests for years to come. (Think: the Philly Special from the 2018 Super Bowl, which found its way onto countless items in the days following the big game.)

“That is one of the benefits of being a small business that does the production,” Pross said. “When something happens during the game, you want to capture that moment and get that on a shirt as soon as possible.”

“We take a bunch of different inspiration from the players and the team,” said Drew DeLong, owner of online retailer Philly Sports Shirts. It’s what he likes to call “a perfect blend of art and sport.”

As for the advance Super Bowl designs, DeLong will be at the ready Sunday night. If the Eagles are on top when the clock winds down, all it takes is a couple keystrokes to make several products with brand-new designs live on his website, Philly Sports Shirts. The orders will be printed as they come in, he added, and shipped out in the days after.

Pross, meanwhile, will be inside Art History 101 during the second half of the game, ready to witness the flood of people heading to Frankford and Cottman if the Eagles win.

His limited-edition Super Bowl design won’t be at the store yet (he said he plans to put that live on the website for preorder starting Monday), but he anticipates demand and spirits to be high.

From a personal and business perspective, he doesn’t want to miss it.

When the Eagles won in 2018, Pross boarded up his storefront in advance, as police had suggested. But he ignored that advice this fall when the Phillies punched their ticket to the World Series.

“We opened up instead of boarded up,” he said. “It was great for business … You got so much foot traffic.”

So “if the Eagles win the Super Bowl, we’ll be open Sunday night,” Pross said. “It is a memory that I’ll probably remember forever.”

And for those thousands of licensed items that are printed with the words “Super Bowl Champions” and the name of the team that did not, in fact, end up winning the Super Bowl?

They go to a good cause: nonprofits in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East, according to Good360, an Alexandria, Va.-based nonprofit that works with the NFL to send the unused clothing to people in need.

After the Super Bowl, the NFL shares its general inventory with Good360, said CEO Romaine Seguin, and Good360 reaches out to vetted charities worldwide, asking if the people they serve would benefit from the particular items. The league sends needed clothing to Good360, which stores them until they’re ready to be sent overseas.

“Even for the nonwinner, if the whole community and city knows the gear is getting repurposed, it might bring a smile to their faces,” Seguin said.