The creators of the website 40and0.com thought their short-lived business venture might come to a screeching halt when Kentucky lost to Michigan State on Tuesday night. The Wildcats were supposed to be virtually unstoppable this season, and 40and0.com had been selling very basic T-shirts that were based on that theory.
The shirts say are royal blue and say “40-0” across the front in white writing. Kentucky is 2-1, but somehow the shirts are selling quicker than they were before the loss to the Spartans.
“It’s absolutely mind-boggling,” website founder David Son told The Dagger on Thursday. “We’re selling more T-shirts than we were before, and the crazy thing is we aren’t doing anything to promote the site. Some of the guys I’m working with do social media for all kinds of companies, a dentist, a law firm, everything. They’re like, ‘This is insane. We don’t get this kind of traffic.'”
How can this be? Behold, the power of heckling.
“I think they’re Louisville fans, I think they’re Michigan State fans, I think they’re North Carolina fans,” Son said. “People love to hate the evil empire. If you’re not a UK fan and you’re not from the state of Kentucky, you hate Kentucky. And if you’re a Kentucky fan, you love being hated.”
Most of the sales have come from residents of Louisville, Michigan, Kansas and North Carolina. That can’t be a coincidence. Fans of the nation’s other powerhouse teams are clearly looking to rub salt in the wounds of John Calipari and company, and its well worth their $14.95 to do so.
Son said he had prepared for the Wildcats to lose by planning to change the site name to SeeYouInDallas.com and start selling shirts that have a Final Four theme. That plan may now be pushed back a while. College basketball fans — gotta love ’em.
