The Inevitable Offspring Of Sweet 16 Success: Merchandising Overload

Monday, March 25, 2013

The Inevitable Offspring Of Sweet 16 Success: Merchandising Overload

Posted By Brian J. Pedersen on Mon, Mar 25, 2013 at 5:15 PM

My inbox just flashed with an URGENT message from the NCAA. Thinking it was going to tell me that I'd won some raffle (that I didn't enter) to give me free tickets to Thursday's game in Los Angeles, I opened it quickly and with much anticipation.

Shoulda known better: it was for merch.

Not surprisingly, the Sweet 16 t-shirts are in ample supply online via either the NCAA or University of Arizona athletic department Web sites.

There appears to be a decent selection of choices (including the standard 'hey, we made it this far!' version shown below), and the prices aren't too bad. However, if you want your new gear in time for the big game, don't bother ordering it online: I got a warning message saying that, since this was a 'special' order, it wouldn't be shipped until April 2.

By then we all should be purchasing Final Four gear anyways, right?