July 23, 2021
Milwaukee’s 50-Year Championship Drought Fuels Merch
The Bucks’ historic playoff run has fans clamoring for merch and products to remember the championship.
On Tuesday, July 20, the Bucks clinched their first NBA championship in 50 years after beating the Phoenix Suns 105-98. To make that moment sweeter it was in front of a packed Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee with at least 16,000 fans, and their beloved Deer District outside the arena had 65,000. As soon as the clock struck zero, fans were ready to celebrate their home team’s newfound success.
Cheered on the @Bucks to victory TOGETHER. 💚 pic.twitter.com/HjJxZTBrfz
— Deer District (@DeerDistrict) July 21, 2021
The final seconds! 🎉 pic.twitter.com/bkxEn1bQ7p
— Fiserv Forum (@FiservForum) July 21, 2021
Beyond partying, people love merchandise and memorabilia to have something physical to remember this once-in-a-lifetime moment. Demand was high after the winning game, with merch being sold out in stores across the city. Multiples stores with Bucks’ apparel were adding extended hours and shipments to certain locations to help with demand, according to Maredithe Meyer of the Milwaukee Biz Times.
This New Era hat celebrating Milwaukee’s NBA championship win is available in the official NBA online store. The demand has been so high that a Lids in Wauwatosa has been sold out of gear since the Bucks won the Eastern Conference Finals earlier in July, according to the Biz Times. Some notable products that fans have been preordering are the Nike Locker T-Shirt and New Era hat.
The Milwaukee Bucks are your 2021 NBA Champions! Congratulations @Bucks 🦌 Find 2021 Milwaukee Bucks Championship gear in select stores soon and online now! #FearTheDeer #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/hlcTstO8Ve
— Lids (@lids) July 21, 2021
Though the sold-out merch is frustrating for fans, the high demand has been welcome news, especially for small businesses around Milwaukee. “This really helps smaller companies like us get back on track,” Jason King, manager of retail shop Name of the Game, told the Biz Times. “Hopefully, customers can be patient because we don’t have enough staff.”
In addition to apparel, other popular collectibles include a limited-edition set of Bucks trading cards from Panini. The championship set includes a team logo card, head coach card, two celebration cards and one card for the entire roster.
Sports have the power to drive sales of merch that will be treasured for a lifetime, and the Bucks are a perfect example of how the marriage of branded merch and sports benefits multiple industries.
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