Funny how Ring Protection changes public perception.
Fans who claimed to hate the Heat are now twisting their ankles to jump on the Championship Bandwagon.
In the first 12 hours following the Heat’s victory Thursday in Game 5, sales of NBA merchandise equaled nearly all of last year’s total sales in the first 24 hours following the Dallas Mavericks’ championship, according to Fanatics, a licensed retailer of sports merchandise.
A spokesman for Fanatics said early sales are the strongest in years for NBA championships gear on the e-commerce sites it powers, including NBAStore.com, Fanatics.com and FansEdge.com.
By the end of Friday, revenues from merchandise sales were expected to surpass seven figures, exceeding sales following the L.A. Lakers’ championship in 2010.
Interestingly, about 70 percent of orders are being shipped outside of Florida, which belies the common belief that most of the country was against the Heat.