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Super Bowl XLI: Fans across the country scoop up Urlacher merchandise

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Greg Edgeington's life changed thanks to a lucky seat at a University of New Mexico football banquet.

Edgeington, vice president of Albuquerque's Zia Graphics and Graphics Industries, sat at the same table as Lobos defensive star Brian Urlacher. They chatted and formed a quick friendship, building the foundation for a major business coup for Edgeington's sports apparel company.

He now operates the Web site urlacherstore.com on behalf of the Chicago Bears linebacker, making Edgeington arguably the biggest proprietor of all things Urlacher.

With Urlacher leading the Bears to Super Bowl XLI, which will be played in Miami on Feb. 4, the Web site and Edgeington's Albuquerque retail businesses, New Mexico Look and the Lobo Store, are getting a lot more traffic.

"Business is definitely good right now," Edgeington said. "Brian always has been a big name, but it's huge when a star makes it to the Super Bowl."

Urlacher is a hot commodity for Albuquerque sports shops and national retailers.

He had the top-selling jersey on NFLshop.com last week and has been ranked in the top five throughout the 2006-07 NFL season.

Chicago Bears customized jerseys, which allow fans to put their own names on the back, took over the top spot on the NFL Web site this week. Urlacher still holds second place in sales with his navy-and-orange Bears jersey and fourth place for his Super Bowl jersey, which both cost $74.99 without tax or shipping and handling fees. Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning's jerseys own the third and fifth spots on the Web site.

Urlacher merchandise is as popular in the Duke City.

Jim Bennett, owner of Bubba's Baseball Bullpen in Albuquerque, said he has sold out of Chicago Bears mini-helmets and footballs signed by Urlacher.

"He's been a steady, big seller for us, so I think I'll get the biggest rush after the Super Bowl if the Bears win," Bennett said. "It will take a few weeks, but I'll get Super Bowl pictures and footballs autographed by Urlacher, and those should be really hot items."

Edgeington also expects a big boom if the Bears win the Super Bowl, although he isn't complaining about the boost his company already is getting from Urlacher's success.

Urlacher's Web site and Edgeington's stores are distinct from the national retailers because they feature his UNM replica No. 44 jersey and Lovington High No. 11 jersey, along with other merchandise designed by Edgeington's staff.

UNM also should get a financial bump from Urlacher's Super Bowl run. The school receives royalties from the sale of all officially licensed UNM products, including Urlacher's Lobos jersey.

"It's really hard to say how much we'll get out of it because we don't break out where the money comes from," said Bill Richards, UNM's associate athletics director for business operations. "We also split that revenue three ways, with equal parts going to alumni, the university and the athletics department."

Edgeington said Urlacher receives all the revenue from the Lovington jerseys and uses a percentage of it to pay for the charity basketball game he holds in the town every May.

"He's always been really good about making sure he takes care of the people who helped him along the way," Edgeington said.

While the jerseys are hot locally, Edgeington said one of the most popular items he sells is the Urlacher No. 54 hat, a blue and orange cap with barbed wire running along the sides to connect Urlacher's number featured on the front and back. It costs $22.95.

"People love that one because the barbed wire is the same as his tattoo around his arm," Edgeington said.

One of the more amusing items the group came up with is a T-shirt with "My Name is Url" stamped on the front and a list of moments when he humiliated opposing players printed on the back. It's the shop's take on the popular TV show "My Name is Earl." The shirt is available for $18.95.

"I'm not sure which of our guys came up with it, but that's a really good one," Edgeington said.

The Urlacher store is about to get even bigger for Edgeington.

"We started out just printing the shirts for Brian's camps, then we developed the Web site for him," Edgeington said. "Now we're about to get our Pro Player License any day now, which will be huge for us. It will let us ship out all the merchandise wholesale as a distributor for other shops throughout the country."

The license also will allow Edgeington's shops to sell items with the Super Bowl XLI logo, the one thing missing from his array of Urlacher items.

"Brian has been very smart during every step of his career and has made great business decisions," Edgeington said. "He gets a percentage off of everything we sell and has protected his name enough that the stuff we sell is really special."