Bad biz: Pats weren’t the only losers; Super Bowl defeat hurts many merchants’ bottom line

By ADAM RIGLIAN, The Patriot Ledger

Had the Patriots won the Super Bowl, local stores would have been buzzing today with people buying 19-0 shirts and Super Bowl XLII championship hats.

With $15.95 and a PayPal account, you can still get one of those Patriots Super Bowl championship T-shirts on eBay, but it’s not exactly the same for fans or certainly for local businesses.

Lisa Seyffert, co-owner of Pre-Game Sports in Marshfield, estimates that her store will miss out on about $5,000 in Patriots merchandise sales because of Sunday’s Super Bowl loss to the New York Giants.

‘‘We were tripling our days last year (leading up to the game),’’ Seyffert said. ‘‘We made up everything we lost on ice skates and then thousands. It’s going to be a tough February if those (cranberry) bogs don’t freeze back up.’’

A smaller sporting goods store like Pre-Game puts in an ‘‘if-win’’ order for Super Bowl merchandise, which would have arrived today. But while the smaller stores do not have to pay up-front for the goods, manufacturers like Canton-based Reebok produce Patriots championship shirts and hats before the game and are left in a much different position.

Dan Sarro, a Reebok representative, said the company donates the losing team’s goods to World Vision, a charitable organization based in Washington.

Karen Kartes, a World Vision spokeswoman, said the organization used to get a couple of hundred losing-team shirts and caps that were made up in advance for distribution on the field.

‘‘In recent years, it has gotten bigger,’’ Kartes said. ‘‘The NFL has asked their retail affiliates to give to World Vision.’’

Last season, World Vision received roughly $2.5 million worth of Chicago Bears apparel following the Bears’ Super Bowl loss to the Indianapolis Colts.

Those unwanted shirts and hats and jackets that the National Football League wants out of sight are distributed in poorer countries around the world.

‘‘It ends up going to people that desperately need it,’’ Kartes said. ‘‘Some of these people have never worn a new shirt, and they don’t really care what’s on it.’’

This year, Patriots goods will reach about a dozen countries, including Romania and Nicaragua. ESPN will follow the journey of the shirts to Nicaragua as part of a special report.

Sporting goods stores and manufacturers aren’t the only losers after the Patriots’ crushing defeat.

The Patriot Ledger had prepared a special 24-page section commemorating the Patriots’ perfect season. It would have been in today’s paper as the Patriots rolled through Boston in a victory parade.

Adam Riglian may be reached at ariglian@ledger.com .