We are deep into March Madness at this point, which means most of our brackets have been metaphorically and sometimes literally torn to shreds (especially if you’re this editor—thanks for nothing, Yale). The Sweet 16 kicks off tomorrow, and there’s one team that continues to dominate: Gonzaga.
If you’re like us, you typically only hear the name Gonzaga in conversations pertaining to college hoops. And it’s for that reason that late night host Jimmy Kimmel suggested a bold theory: Gonzaga is a made-up school.
On Monday night, Kimmel made a few jabs at the Bulldogs in his monologue:
Is #Gonzaga even a real thing? @ZagMBB #MarchMadness #NCAA pic.twitter.com/E8oChOUZjG
— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) March 19, 2019
“I have a theory, and I know this might be controversial, but here it is,” Kimmel said. “I don’t believe Gonzaga exists.”
“I’ve never heard the word ‘Gonzaga’ outside of college basketball,” Kimmel continued. “I don’t know where it is. I don’t know anyone who went there. I don’t even know anyone who knows anyone who went there.”
To help set Kimmel straight, a company called Zome Design in Spokane Valley created a #GonzagaExists T-shirt and sweatshirt. The T-shirts range in price from $16 to $21, with sweatshirts going for $26 to $30.
Apparently, the items are selling like crazy:
#GonzagaExists and Zome Design wants to remind everyone! They put these @GonzagaU Exists shirts online yesterday and have already sold over 1,000. Has @jimmykimmel gotten the message? 👀 pic.twitter.com/atuX5e4fqn
— Drew Reeves (@DrewReevesTV) March 26, 2019
In addition, the #GonzagaExists hashtag quickly took flight on social media, and a petition to get Kimmel to be this year’s commencement speaker even went live on change.org. (It’s got 2,100 signatures out of the 2,500 goal.)
We’ve talked at length about the rise of micro-moments in custom apparel, and how end-users love the opportunity to sport these buzzworthy options. Clearly, the trend isn’t slowing anytime soon.
