Twelve hours after Michigan State lost a disappointing Big Ten Championship Game, a pop-up ad appearing on the Spartans' website (pointed out by CNBC's Darren Rovell), was offering B1G championship gear.
After visiting the site, I couldn't confirm the ad's presence (because I run ad-blocker plus), but it's the ultimate kick in the teeth when your team loses and then memorabilia representing what could have been is paraded in front of you and your uneasy stomach.
It's not quite as bad as the seemingly inevitable full-page newspaper ad for championship gear, which The Oakland Press was a victim of during the Red Wings' 2008 Cup run. (They lost Game 5, but a full-page ad for a retailer advertising championship gear ran on the wrong day. The same ad ran again, appropriately, following the Game 6 clincher.)
Spartans fans should take it with a grain of salt being that the BCS rankings, which will likely not include Michigan State in a BCS bowl, will be released late Sunday.