Furniture Store Out $600K on Ravens' Super Bowl Return

Baltimore store owner had taken out an insurance policy, fortunately
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 5, 2013 12:05 PM CST
Furniture Store Out $600K on Ravens' Super Bowl Return
Jacoby Jones celebrates after returning a kickoff for a 108-yard touchdown against the 49ers during the second half of the NFL Super Bowl XLVII football game, Sunday, Feb. 3, 2013, in New Orleans.   (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

When Jacoby Jones of the Baltimore Ravens returned a kickoff 108 yards to score the first touchdown of the Super Bowl's second half, he probably didn't realize he was causing a local furniture store to give away $600,000 in free furniture. Gary Mullaney, co-owner of Gardiners Furniture, promised customers that any furniture purchased between Jan. 31 and 3pm on Super Bowl Sunday would be free if the Ravens returned a kick for a touchdown, and ever since they did just that, Mullaney says his phone has been ringing off the hook.

The chain has been running the same promotion for three years, in an effort to drum up furniture sales during a time most people wouldn't normally buy it. "We're not a bar. We're not a restaurant. During the Super Bowl, no one says, 'Hey let's go to the furniture store,'" Mullaney says. "It was just our small way of being able to participate in the hoopla." And he had taken out a $12,000 insurance policy to cover the cost of the furniture, just in case, the Baltimore Sun reports. (More strange stuff stories.)

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