Too soon, Lululemon. Too soon.
That's the message from Buffalo, New York, sports fans that had the athletic-wear company apologizing for a piece of store art referencing the city's tortured sports history.
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The kerfuffle began after an irate customer posted this photo to Twitter on Tuesday.
Are you kidding me @lululemon?? You put this in your Buffalo store??? #disrespectful #boycott #waldengalleria pic.twitter.com/46hvBF3YAa
— Nunie (@arkandove) October 14, 2014
For context: "Wide right" references kicker Scott Norwood's missed field goal in Super Bowl XXV against the New York Giants in 1991 that cost the Buffalo Bills an NFL championship. That was the first of a shocking four consecutive Super Bowl losses for the Bills. "No goal" references a dubious Dallas Stars goal that sent the Buffalo Sabres home as losers in the 1991 Stanley Cup Final.
Both traumatic episodes still loom large in Buffalo's collective sports memory. Just how or why Lululemon thought rubbing them in the face of local customers would be a smart marketing move is a total mystery. The initial tweeted photo triggered a string of complaints from other fans and customers.
Congratulations, @lululemon- you've done the impossible- turned a bunch of straight men against a store that sells yoga pants. #Buffalo
— MacKintosh Barker (@themackattack) October 15, 2014
If your "goal" is to make the entire city of Buffalo hate you, mission accomplished @lululemon #WideRightNoGoal #BanLuluLemonInBuffalo
— Sarah McMahon (@sarahndipityyy_) October 15, 2014
The company's first response to those complaints only increased the facepalm factor.
@arkandove The inspiration behind this art was how these games solidified Buffalo as a proud and loyal community.
— lululemon athletica (@lululemon) October 14, 2014
@arkandove We know emotions run deep and these events are part of our history and built Buffalo’s strength and character.
— lululemon athletica (@lululemon) October 14, 2014
Oy.
By Wednesday afternoon though, the company appeared to have realized its gaffe and apologized.
“We want the Buffalo community to know that we have heard them and we are sorry,” Paul Zaengle, the company's senior vice president of U.S. retail, said in an e-mailed statement, according to Bloomberg. “We get that this didn’t land well, and we want to make it right. We have covered up the mosaic and are having it removed.”
For the time being, however, a more temporary solution will have to suffice. That solution, it seems, is a doormat.
. @lululemon in the @waldengalleria has covered the #WideRight & #NoGoal floor mosaic. #Buffalo pic.twitter.com/SLtOe0V45x
— Athan Kompos (@akompos) October 15, 2014
Kind of like the Bills were in those four Super Bowls.
Sorry, sorry; too soon.