January was usually a busy month at Electronics Boutique/Waldensoftware. It wasn't until late in the month that the malls died. One exception to that trend was January 14 1996, at least it was in Milwaukee. We were used to having extremely slow business on Sundays during football season. The entire state of Wisconsin shuts down when the Packers play, anyone who's lived there can affirm that. On January 14th the Packers played the Cowboys for the NFC championship. The game wasn't until 3:30 but it didn't matter. The mall was empty by 2:00, no hyperbole here, truly empty except for employees. Thankfully Bayshore Mall was only open until 5:00 on Sundays. Those three hours were the among the most dull of my entire life. Glad I wasn't there for the Super Bowl in 1997 (for a number of reasons).
The Packers lost the NFC championship game to the Cowboys that year. A deep depression set over the entire city. The rest of the week we saw few customers. Those we did see were deeply depressed and not up for spending money on games. Look, I love football but it has zero emotional impact on me once the game is over. Again, if you don't believe this story, ask anyone who lived in Wisconsin at the time.
Needless to say, Troy Aikman Football was not a big seller at this location.