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Mountaineers strike gold, shock nation |
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Thursday, 13 September 2007 |
 Nearly 29,000 Mountaineer fans pile into Kidd Brewer Stadium Saturday to watch the Appalachian State football team take on Lenoir-Rhyne. Bryan Tarnowski
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by NICK IANNIELLO
News Reporter
by JAMISON DORAN
News Editor
The ground beneath them shook. People ran screaming in every direction. Car horns blared and people of all ages embraced.
It wasn’t an earthquake, and the event took place thousands of miles away from the shifting plates of Southern California.
Nevertheless, the aftermath of Appalachian State University’s football victory over the University of Michigan is still being felt throughout the nation.
Even
after the Kidd Brewer Stadium goal posts were replaced, and the
Appalachian football team moved on to new victories, the university and
surrounding community are still feeling the publicity from this upset
game.
Last week’s football game set a record for attendance at 28,802.
Appalachian students aren’t the only ones looking for T-shirts commemorating the win.
Calls have been pouring in from across the country, with fans hoping to purchase a piece of history.
“We have seen an increase in phone calls and interest in
Appalachian-related merchandise, especially in regards to the win over
Michigan,” said Lorraine P. Childers, supply store manager for the
University Bookstore.
While some of the increase can be attributed to alumni located
throughout the country, there have been plenty of calls from those with
no affiliation with the university.
Some have identified themselves as fans of Big Ten schools and wanted large quantities, Childers said.
However, the University Bookstore has been forced to turn down many
orders, some as large as 300-400 shirts at a time, because the
bookstore caters products only to students and alumni.
“Our primary concern is current students, faculty, staff and their immediate family,” Childers said.
While the Appalachian Bookstore sells their products only to those
affiliated with the university, local shops are also feeling the
effects of this event.
Karl Smith, the owner of Appalachian Tees on King Street, said the
demand for T-shirts has been “crazy” following the football team’s
victory over Michigan on Sept. 1.
“People out of town have even been calling my house after my name was
listed in the Washington Post. They ask, ‘are you the guy with the
T-shirt shop?’ Smith said.
Smith said he has received calls from as far as San Antonio, Texas and
has been contacted by many publications, as well as filmed by ESPN.
He said in addition to T-shirts, he is planning on making mugs and glassware to commemorate the win.
Smith designed the Michigan T-shirts two months ago with everything but the score.
Smith printed 80 additional Michigan T-shirts Saturday morning to prepare for the first home game against Lenoir-Rhyne College.
He has already printed and sold 400 Michigan T-shirts since the game.
“I have been in business over 20 years and this is the biggest thing to
happen since Hugo,” Smith said. “I am so proud of Coach Moore and his
staff. It’s unreal.”
The Appalachian Admissions Office has also been feeling the effects of the football team’s victory.
Since Michigan’s defeat, the Admission’s Office has seen a steady increase in the number of calls about the university.
“The staff has noticed an increase in the number of calls and a lot of
them are mentioning the Michigan victory,” said Paul N. Hiatt, the
director of admissions.
The steady increase in calls seen by the Admissions Office is good news for the university.
“It will certainly add to the interest that people have in the university and that’s always a good thing,” Hiatt said.
Thanks to this victory, Appalachian has received press in not only
Sport’s Illustrated, but also the New York Times and the internet
critique program, “The Blog Show.”
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