Gee!
12-07-2006, 09:37 AM
The National Football League sells hundreds of styles of replica jerseys at its official Web site, nflshop.com, and fans can add to the choices by customizing jerseys with the name and number of a player.
In almost every case, though, the best sellers are replicas of those worn by the most popular players in the league today, including Reggie Bush, the rookie running back with the New Orleans Saints, and Peyton Manning, the starting quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts.
One notable exception is Pat Tillman, who last played for the Arizona Cardinals nearly five years ago and was killed while on duty as an Army Ranger in Afghanistan in April 2004.
Of the top 10 jerseys sold in October, Mr. Tillman ranks No. 7, the league said. (November figures were not yet available, but sales of Mr. Tillman’s jersey have been steady, a league representative said. Because of regional preferences, a selection of personalized replica jerseys from all 32 N.F.L. teams may not be available at all stores across the country.)
The N.F.L. sold more replica jerseys of Mr. Tillman last month than those of Terrell Owens of the Dallas Cowboys.
“You don’t have to be a Cardinals fan to wear Pat’s jersey,” Alex Garwood, the executive director of the Pat Tillman Foundation and a brother-in-law of Mr. Tillman’s widow, Marie, said in a telephone interview last week.
Mr. Tillman was a relentlessly ferocious player who became more valuable than a typical player selected in the seventh round of the draft. That made him a fan favorite after the Cardinals picked him out of Arizona State in 1998.
But it is what Mr. Tillman decided to do in May 2002, eight months after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, that turned him into a reluctant national hero.
He walked away from the Cardinals and their contract proposal of three years for $3.6 million. He joined the Army instead.
Mr. Tillman, who was 27 at the time of his death, was the first N.F.L. player to be killed in combat since 1970, when Bob Kalsu, a Buffalo Bills tackle, died in Vietnam in 1970.
The N.F.L. halted the sale of Mr. Tillman’s replica jerseys immediately after his death. The league resumed the sales after consulting with his family.
“The story of Pat Tillman, a guy who walked away from a truly brilliant career and who took a very principled stand, resonates with a lot of people,” Susan Rothman, the N.F.L.’s vice president of consumer products, said last week. “The purchase of these Tillman jerseys honors that stand and his sacrifice.”
Neither the N.F.L. nor the Cardinals make a dime off those sales. According to the wishes of Mr. Tillman’s family, proceeds from the sales benefit the Pat Tillman Foundation. (The jerseys sell for $64.99 at www.azcardinals.com, where they are the team’s top-selling replica jersey, and $74.99 at the N.F.L. site.)
“These are not garments or jerseys we seek to promote,” Ms. Rothman said. “We let the fans come to us.”
The tax-exempt foundation’s mission is to continue Mr. Tillman’s legacy by encouraging people to change themselves and improve the world. The sale of the jersey helps the foundation deliver that message through its leadership programs for youth.
“It’s such a dichotomy,” Mr. Garwood said. “There’s this good that’s borne from a tragedy.”
The Defense Department has said that Mr. Tillman was killed by friendly fire, but the sales of the replica jerseys are not necessarily related to the controversy over his death, nor do they seem to be related to the war in Iraq, Mr. Garwood and Ms. Rothman said.
“People believe in Pat,” Mr. Garwood said. “People are inspired by him.”
Ms. Rothman said: “It’s totally disassociated from any kind of political statement. It’s a statement of admiration for a brave individual.”
On Nov. 12, a day after Veterans Day, the Cardinals dedicated a plaza outside their new stadium in Glendale, Ariz., to Mr. Tillman. Thousands of fans wore No. 40 Cardinals jerseys to the game that day against the Cowboys.
“Here’s a guy who turned it all down in his prime,” said Jack Corson, a Phoenix resident who has been a Cardinals season-ticket holder for 13 years. “I think what he did is something people respect because it’s something that people couldn’t, or wouldn’t, do.”
Mr. Corson said he did not hear a lot of pro-war or antiwar sentiment surrounding fans’ support for Mr. Tillman. “I think if he would have been in Iraq, it would have been different,” he said.
Mr. Garwood said he was amazed that the No. 40 jerseys continue to be used by fans to salute the sacrifice made by Mr. Tillman. He paused.
“Unfortunately,” he said, “it doesn’t bring Pat back.”
The top-selling N.F.L. replica jerseys in October:
1. REGGIE BUSH, New Orleans Saints
2. BRIAN URLACHER, Chicago Bears
3. PEYTON MANNING, Indianapolis Colts
4. LADAINIAN TOMLINSON, San Diego Chargers
5. BRETT FAVRE, Green Bay Packers
6. REX GROSSMAN, Chicago Bears
7. PAT TILLMAN
8. TERRELL OWENS, Dallas Cowboys
9. MATT LEINART, Arizona Cardinals
10. TROY POLAMALU, Pittsburgh Steelers
Source: sales on nflshop .com.
In almost every case, though, the best sellers are replicas of those worn by the most popular players in the league today, including Reggie Bush, the rookie running back with the New Orleans Saints, and Peyton Manning, the starting quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts.
One notable exception is Pat Tillman, who last played for the Arizona Cardinals nearly five years ago and was killed while on duty as an Army Ranger in Afghanistan in April 2004.
Of the top 10 jerseys sold in October, Mr. Tillman ranks No. 7, the league said. (November figures were not yet available, but sales of Mr. Tillman’s jersey have been steady, a league representative said. Because of regional preferences, a selection of personalized replica jerseys from all 32 N.F.L. teams may not be available at all stores across the country.)
The N.F.L. sold more replica jerseys of Mr. Tillman last month than those of Terrell Owens of the Dallas Cowboys.
“You don’t have to be a Cardinals fan to wear Pat’s jersey,” Alex Garwood, the executive director of the Pat Tillman Foundation and a brother-in-law of Mr. Tillman’s widow, Marie, said in a telephone interview last week.
Mr. Tillman was a relentlessly ferocious player who became more valuable than a typical player selected in the seventh round of the draft. That made him a fan favorite after the Cardinals picked him out of Arizona State in 1998.
But it is what Mr. Tillman decided to do in May 2002, eight months after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, that turned him into a reluctant national hero.
He walked away from the Cardinals and their contract proposal of three years for $3.6 million. He joined the Army instead.
Mr. Tillman, who was 27 at the time of his death, was the first N.F.L. player to be killed in combat since 1970, when Bob Kalsu, a Buffalo Bills tackle, died in Vietnam in 1970.
The N.F.L. halted the sale of Mr. Tillman’s replica jerseys immediately after his death. The league resumed the sales after consulting with his family.
“The story of Pat Tillman, a guy who walked away from a truly brilliant career and who took a very principled stand, resonates with a lot of people,” Susan Rothman, the N.F.L.’s vice president of consumer products, said last week. “The purchase of these Tillman jerseys honors that stand and his sacrifice.”
Neither the N.F.L. nor the Cardinals make a dime off those sales. According to the wishes of Mr. Tillman’s family, proceeds from the sales benefit the Pat Tillman Foundation. (The jerseys sell for $64.99 at www.azcardinals.com, where they are the team’s top-selling replica jersey, and $74.99 at the N.F.L. site.)
“These are not garments or jerseys we seek to promote,” Ms. Rothman said. “We let the fans come to us.”
The tax-exempt foundation’s mission is to continue Mr. Tillman’s legacy by encouraging people to change themselves and improve the world. The sale of the jersey helps the foundation deliver that message through its leadership programs for youth.
“It’s such a dichotomy,” Mr. Garwood said. “There’s this good that’s borne from a tragedy.”
The Defense Department has said that Mr. Tillman was killed by friendly fire, but the sales of the replica jerseys are not necessarily related to the controversy over his death, nor do they seem to be related to the war in Iraq, Mr. Garwood and Ms. Rothman said.
“People believe in Pat,” Mr. Garwood said. “People are inspired by him.”
Ms. Rothman said: “It’s totally disassociated from any kind of political statement. It’s a statement of admiration for a brave individual.”
On Nov. 12, a day after Veterans Day, the Cardinals dedicated a plaza outside their new stadium in Glendale, Ariz., to Mr. Tillman. Thousands of fans wore No. 40 Cardinals jerseys to the game that day against the Cowboys.
“Here’s a guy who turned it all down in his prime,” said Jack Corson, a Phoenix resident who has been a Cardinals season-ticket holder for 13 years. “I think what he did is something people respect because it’s something that people couldn’t, or wouldn’t, do.”
Mr. Corson said he did not hear a lot of pro-war or antiwar sentiment surrounding fans’ support for Mr. Tillman. “I think if he would have been in Iraq, it would have been different,” he said.
Mr. Garwood said he was amazed that the No. 40 jerseys continue to be used by fans to salute the sacrifice made by Mr. Tillman. He paused.
“Unfortunately,” he said, “it doesn’t bring Pat back.”
The top-selling N.F.L. replica jerseys in October:
1. REGGIE BUSH, New Orleans Saints
2. BRIAN URLACHER, Chicago Bears
3. PEYTON MANNING, Indianapolis Colts
4. LADAINIAN TOMLINSON, San Diego Chargers
5. BRETT FAVRE, Green Bay Packers
6. REX GROSSMAN, Chicago Bears
7. PAT TILLMAN
8. TERRELL OWENS, Dallas Cowboys
9. MATT LEINART, Arizona Cardinals
10. TROY POLAMALU, Pittsburgh Steelers
Source: sales on nflshop .com.