Football at Pennsylvania State University isn’t just a big sport; in many ways the school is big sports. Even people who didn’t go to Penn State and aren’t from Pennsylvania support the institution.
Or at least they used to. According to an article at Sports Illustrated:
Sales of hats, shirts, and other items emblazoned with the Penn State name have plummeted about 40 percent overall compared with the same period last year, according to retailers and industry analysts.
“This is the first time I can recall ever seeing a decline of sales right out of the box,” said Matt Powell, an analyst with industry research organization SportsOneSource Group. “I have never seen anything this before.”
Well right. That’s because this scandal is horrific. Even if one ultimately supports former Head Coach Joe Paterno, it doesn’t really seem like a great idea to buy a child a Penn State sweatshirt for Christmas, does it?
