[an error occurred while processing this directive]

Sunday, December 28, 1997

Cowboys' losses on field result in losses for area businesses

By PAM EASTON / Associated Press Writer

DALLAS (AP) -- A lone rack of Dallas Cowboys merchandise sits in the front right-hand corner of the FootAction USA athletic shoe store at the Dallas Galleria.

At least a quarter of the store used to be dedicated to Cowboys' paraphernalia. Now, there's a small four-tier rack of Cowboys' jerseys, T-shirts and royal-blue pants, which aren't official Cowboys' merchandise.

"We have a hard time moving even that," said store salesman Fernando Young. "A lot of it is on clearance."

The signs of a fall are unmistakable. It used to be that the Cowboys' merchandise sold quicker than the store could place it on their sales floor.

Then the team started losing.

"They sent us less, and what we do have, isn't going," Young said.

According to the industry trade publication, Sporting Goods Business, the Cowboys now account for 21 percent of the market behind Green Bay's 25 percent. The Cowboys had been the NFL's top seller since 1992.

And now?

"Nobody really wants it," Young said, pointing to a full rack of jackets with $30-off signs on each jacket. "We used to run out of those."

The first Sunday without the Cowboys in a playoff game since 1990 has left many stores, bars and fans with a dismal outlook for a team that has taken a roller-coaster ride in recent years.

"I'm disgusted with them," said Dallas native Lisa Smith, 34. "I stopped watching them whenever they stopped winning. I watch cooking shows all day now on Sunday. Let's put it that way."

Ms. Smith's self-description as a "former fan" is one many have taken up.

It's a classification and attitude that worries many local businesses, which rely on the Cowboys' performance to move merchandise.

"They drive our business, there's no doubt about that," said Champs Sports assistant manager Corey Fletcher.

The store, which is located on the floor directly above FootAction USA in the four-level mall, typically is a big draw for Cowboys' fans from as far away as Spain.

Fletcher said many of his customers are repeat customers who come in on game days to buy the newest and hottest Cowboys' merchandise available.

"People buy a hat because Troy Aikman wore it," he said. "People see them and follow their lead."

Not this year. At Champs Sports, where 70 percent of the merchandise is Cowboys paraphernalia, hooded jackets, T-shirts and jerseys are marked off up to 50 percent.

The Cowboys' 6-10 performance this season has added to an already rocky history that first hit area businesses when Michael Irvin was arrested in March 1996 after he was found in an Irving hotel room with two topless dancers and cocaine, Fletcher said.

"There's not much positive to say," Young said. "The thing that disappoints most people is you still have the best players in the game, they're just not playing."

That disappointment has left many fans turning to other teams such as the Green Bay Packers and underlings such as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who have emerged into notoriety this season, after changing the team's coach, colors and record.

"The Cowboys are out of it," Young said. "It used to be the minority that asked for other teams. But now, it's the majority."

Greg Smith, a manager at Champp's Americana, a local restaurant and bar that has developed into the place to watch sporting events in North Dallas, said he thinks Dallas fans might give up on the Cowboys, but not on football.

"This season, they were out of it so early you could just see the fans giving up," he said. "The last couple games when the Cowboys scored, you wouldn't have known if you weren't watching the TV."

But Smith said he expects to attract a crowd this Sunday and throughout the playoffs. Fletcher says he's not so lucky. His market, just like a team's popularity, can change in an instant, and changing out his merchandise based on that market is a chance he can't take.

"We sell what we have," he said. "In this industry, a little drop is big business. We've sold some Cowboys stuff because it's Christmas and people want it, but once we hit the first of the year, it will drop."

Fletcher anticipates that drop will be between two and five percent for the year.

Chuck Van Patten, an assistant manager at a Centennial Liquor Store in North Dallas, said he expects Sunday business to drop by about 20 percent without the Cowboys in the playoffs.

"We get pretty busy before the Cowboys' games," he said. "It's probably going to take a little bit of a hit."

Of course, Van Patten said with New Year's Eve falling on Wednesday, there's at least one more big Sunday to look forward to.

"This Sunday we may have a record day, and the Cowboys aren't going to have anything to do with it," he said with a smile.