When Local Teams Win Big, So Do Local Sports Stores

October 6, 2014

WXXV,

Mississippi is in the limelight after a huge weekend in college football. Both Mississippi State and Ole Miss pulled upsets this weekend and now find themselves tied for third in the AP polls.

Becki Smith thumbed through Mississippi State gear at Academy Monday morning, looking for a t-shirt her husband can wear to work on Friday. Smith says, “There’s some rivalry at work. He has some Auburn people. I believe they’re playing Auburn this weekend. He has Auburn people at work that he kind of wants to make sure they know he’s supporting Mississippi State.”

After a huge weekend for both Mississippi State and Ole Miss, Academy Sports is stocking up on their gear. They’ve talked to their buyers and are expecting to have some very good merchandise lining their shelves soon. Store Director, James Lamb, says when these teams do well, so do their sales. Lamb says, “Oh definitely. It’s definitely gonna’ ramp up our sales. We’re looking for some good numbers.”

Management tells News 25 that after a big game, it normally takes about a week to see a spike in the sales, and with Mississippi State and Ole Miss being both ranked third in the polls, they’re expecting a big weekend for business. Lamb also says, “Probably Thursday we’ll start re-doing our front end. As you walk into Academy, we’ll put some rounders, some four-ways with Ole Miss, Mississippi State, try to get some canopies, ice chests. We’re really going to merchandise the front end so everybody knows we’re ready for football business.”

While State fans like Smith were out at Academy Monday morning, Ole Miss fans were nowhere to be found, but Lamb says he expects both fan bases to be storming the store throughout the week. Lamb closes, “I think they’ll be out in force this weekend. You bet, there will be plenty of them out here.”

Lamb says Academy Sports is busiest on Fridays and Saturdays right before the games, so if you don’t want to stand in line, your best bet is to stock up on gear during the week.

ESPN College Gameday will be in Mississippi for the second week in a row on Saturday. Gameday is headed to Starkville for the first time in M.S.U. history to highlight the Auburn vs. Mississippi State matchup.