MIAMI COUNTY — Tens of thousands of Chiefs and 49ers Fans across the country will be able to celebrate a world championship with ‘Super Bowl Champions’ gear made right here in the Miami Valley.
With the big game swiftly approaching, people are already picking their teams.
“I think the Chiefs haven’t been beat in the big games [these playoffs] yet, so how can you root against them?” Ludlow Falls resident Janel Hodges said.
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Some people are rooting for people from their home state, like Iowa native Nicole Johnson.
“I think I’m going with the 49ers,” Johnson said. “We’ve been watching the 49ers because of Brock Purdy. So we’ve been kind of following him since he’s from Iowa State.”
Whichever team wins Sunday, world championship shirts will be cranked out at Atlantis Sportswear in Piqua.
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“As soon as the game clock hits zero. We’re rolling,” Kyle Reardon, the VP of Operations at Atlantis Sportswear said.
The designs are top-secret until after the game, but the blank t-shirts are ready to go.
“Right now, we have each machine set up. One-half of them with Chiefs, half with 49ers [prints]. So as soon as the game is over, we’ll flip over to whatever team wins. We’ll start up half the production with the team that won, get the rest of the machines going, which will take about an hour, and then fire on all cylinders,” Reardon said.
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Reardon said they take a lot of pride in having a product made in Miami County play such a big part in fans’ post-Super Bowl celebrations.
“Yeah. For one of the biggest events in the world,” Reardon said.
Atlantis Sportswear is slotted to make 25,000 shirts overnight from Sunday into Monday. These shirts will be made all in the span of a 12-hour shift, and then get shipped to a distribution center in Columbus where they’ll be sent to fans all over the country who order them online.