T-shirts featuring 'Super Bowl Champion Rams' end up as rags

By Associated Press, 02/05/02

ST. LOUIS -- While they do exist, don't expect to see any T-shirts featuring the "Super Bowl Champion" St. Louis Rams anywhere near the Gateway City.

While some of the shirts, printed before kickoff of the Rams' 20-17 loss in the Super Bowl to New England on Sunday, will be given to homeless shelters away from St. Louis, most will be destroyed and end up as rags.

"None of it will see the light of day in retail," said National Football League spokesman Steve Alic.

Larry Hanneke, of Hanneke's Logo Wear in St. Louis, said two large department stores in the St. Louis area, Famous-Barr and Dillard's, ordered 7,500 to 8,000 preprinted shirts for their stores.

A spokesman for Dillard's said the company ordered about 100 of the preprinted shirts for each of its stores. Famous-Barr planned to sell the early-version shirts Sunday night, replacing them with new merchandise in time for the stores' opening Monday morning.

But after the Rams lost, the merchandise was returned to suppliers, who were responsible for destroying it.

The shirts that Hanneke printed and sent to New Orleans, to be worn by the Rams on the field and in the locker room had they won, will be donated to a homeless shelter. Alic said there were no more than 300 of the shirts at the Superdome.

"It'll be rare that you'll see those shirts pop up unless you find some individuals who've received those shirts through clothing donations," Alic said.

While Famous-Barr stores in St. Louis lost some business when the Rams lost, owner May Department Stores has stores in Boston under the Filene's brand. T-shirts there proclaiming the Patriots Super Bowl champs are selling "like crazy," said Helen Weiss, a spokeswoman for Famous-Barr.

Hanneke lost some business, too. His company was scheduled to print 65,000 Rams shirts, but is now making about 25,000 Patriots sweat shirts instead.

"Our numbers got cut down in half, but we still got to print," Hanneke said.