Fans Seek Merchandise, Stanley Cup

The Kowalczyks estimate they've spent $500 on Hurricanes merchandise this year, excluding their season tickets, and said every penny was worth it.

"We're hoping to pay for a free agent somewhere," Doug said.

Fans like the Kowalczyks across the Triangle are snatching up Hurricanes memorabilia almost as fast as retailers are putting it on the shelves.

"It's a challenge (keeping goods stocked), but we're staying even with it, if not ahead of the game," said Kevin Murphy, director of merchandise for the Hurricanes and the ESA.

The hottest item is the Eastern Conference championship T-shirts. They started selling about "30 seconds after (Martin) Gelinas scored the game-winner," Murphy said, referring to the series-clinching game six win against Toronto.

Once the playoffs began, merchandise sales saw a dramatic increase, said James Blitch, retail operations manager of The Eye, a store at Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh owned by the Hurricanes.

Blitch said The Eye gets three to four shipments every day and that if it doesn't have what a customer is looking for, it's usually on the way.

In addition to 'Canes merchandise, fans can enter the "Bring Home the Cup" contest, which allows one fan from the championship team's market to spend four hours with the Stanley Cup.

Lord Stanley, Earl of Preston, donated a cup to be presented as the championship trophy of amateur hockey in Canada in 1892. The NHL began using it as its championship trophy in 1917.

Although unaware of the contest, Hurricanes fan Steve Martin's eyes lit up at the idea of spending time with Lord Stanley's cup.

"I'd mount it on the hood of my truck," said Martin, an independent contractor. "What a hood ornament! What would be better? I'd put a bug guard on it and everything."

The Cup measures 35 1/2 inches tall, has a 54-inch circumference and weighs 32 pounds. Five silver bands listing a total of 13 championship teams each make up the bottom portion of the trophy, while a replica of the original bowl Lord Stanley bought rests on top.

A championship team's name is engraved on the bottom band, where it remains for 64 years, before space runs out. That band is then retired to the Hall of Fame in Toronto for display.

If Ndidi Kowalczyk had time with the Cup, she said she'd like to take a picture of Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker standing next to it with the city in the background, then send it to Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, "so he realizes we're from Raleigh, not Charlotte."

Meeker called Kilpatrick on Tuesday prior to game one, but Kilpatrick was unavailable. When Kilpatrick returned Meeker's call, he phoned Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory's office.

"And we're the dumb ones?" Ndidi asked.

The idea behind the "Bring Home the Cup" promotion is to increase awareness and draw more people to hockey, an NHL spokesperson said.

It seems to be working. More than 34,000 people entered last year's contest.

After seeing the Cup at Crabtree Valley Mall, Martin said, "It's awesome."

When the Hurricanes opened play in North Carolina in 1997, the NHL had no idea how long it would take for the 'Canes to catch on, but the league is happy with the ever-growing fan base, the spokesperson said.

For the 'Canes to bring North Carolina its first professional championship -- it'll happen in six games, said Doug Kowalczyk -- they'll have to get by the the star-studded Detroit Red Wings.

The Sports Editor can be reached at sports@unc.edu.