The University of Florida is located in Gainesville. Gainesville is a good-sized city about 35 miles north of Ocala. The Oaks Mall is located in Gainesville.
The alligator is the University of Florida mascot. Gator Mania, in the Oaks Mall, sells all kinds of items related to the University of Florida's sports teams and all this stuff features alligators. As I recall, there are two or three Gator Mania stores in the Oaks Mall and UF gator memorabilia is also sold in a large open area of the mall. You can buy a ton of "Gator" tee shirts featuring a gator engaging in a variety of activities.
It's one heck of a money-making operation which I don't understand at all. A number of years ago, T-shirts were plain, without lettering or advertising. They were worn primarily as undershirts. Then some marketing execs got a bright idea. Let's sell T-shirts that advertise our junk and tell people they don't need any other kind of shirt.
I remember clearly the first T-shirts I saw with advertising on it; Coca-Cola I believe. And I was insulted. Coca-Cola wanted me to buy a T-shirt and advertise their product! How stupid is that? Now, if they want to pay me to wear one of their T-shirts, I'd take that under consideration but I'll be darned if I'm going to wear their T-shirt for nothing.
You can see how well that turned out. Common sense got flipped on its head and people ran out to buy shirts advertising somebody else's product.
Nobody knew it at the time, but that's probably when Gator Mania was born.
12 comments:
Bingo! You nailed it!
Uma grande loja, aproveito para desejar um bom Domingo.
Andarilhar
Dedais de Francisco e Idalisa
Livros-Autografados
I totally agree. There are far too many pieces of clothing that have the label or the manufacturer's logo on the outside. I refuse to wear anything that has writing across my chest!
Making money is all that counts..
Well you certainly expressed the views of lots and lots of people including me. However, there must be a lot more people who believe otherwise. Two or three stores in one mall?? Really? That really is "mania".
tu vas devoir jouer au basket ?
and I worked for Coca-Cola so I got my shirts for free. I also drank Pepsi back in the days. Now I don't drink any kind of soda, pop or whatever it's called these days.
Not a fan of gators so that wouldn't appeal to me either. :)
I'm with you - they can pay me!!
You got that right. Gators are small potatoes. The big name designers are at the top of the heap. Handbags, shoes, clothes, fragrances. I think the term for it is "premium."
I tend to prefer my T-shirts plain, and usually black.
It's the soccer team shirts that I find take things too far- the shirts always have corporate branding on it, so you see fans walking around the streets with Fly Emirates on their chests, for example. For a team that otherwise has absolutely nothing to do with that part of the world.
Here in Eugene it is the Duck Store (yeah, our team is the Oregon Ducks). Same thing though and I share your feelings (unsurprisingly because I have the same memories). I read about some college kids who have agreed to have advertising slogans shaved into their haircuts or even tattooed to earn some money. Probably apocryphal, but if true at least they got paid.
commenting a different way here, to make sure at least one of them works. Thank you for your help !!!
I do not like the brands Lowell clothes, I only wear Vespa's on my shirts 🛵 who has been with us since always.
Un abrazo.
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