It will be an Orange Christmas for many Penn State fans this year. With Penn State's first-ever Bowl Championship Series bid Jan. 3, students and alumni are stocking up on merchandise celebrating the 2005 football season.

Clothing has been a hot commodity, and fans can purchase an Orange Bowl patch, available at The Family Clothesline, 352 E. College Ave.

The patch, the official souvenir of this year's bowl game, is the same patch sewn on the players' jerseys.

Orange Bowl Sales Director David Murphey said for students going to Miami, the patch is a good keepsake and a good bargain.

"The patches are only $10, and for people going down to the game, they are good for discounted admission to several events leading up to the bowl game," Murphey said.

These events include the Orange Bowl Patch Beach Bash, an all-day party on the beach Jan. 2, and the Miller Light Orange Bowl Tailgate Party held at the stadium on the day of the game.

Toby Grove, manager of the Family Clothesline, said the patches became available on Tuesday and started selling within the first few hours.

"It's a good souvenir for people going to the game or for people staying home," she said.

Grove also mentioned that the store will be holding promotions with the patch next week, including a ticket giveaway of three sets of club seats for the Orange Bowl.

For most stores downtown, the merchandise craze started even before the bowl announcement. Grove said the recent success of the football team has had a lot to do with boosted sales.

"It was such a fun season," she said. "Things like the whiteout really boosted business, but it was also just fun to see the guys get everything they deserved."

Dan Ryan, co-partner of Old State Clothing Co., 310 E. College Ave., said that since the bowl announcement and with the upcoming holiday season, Penn State merchandise has been in demand even more than usual. "It almost started with the Ohio State game and the push of the athletic department to get students involved and back interested in football," Ryan said. "There was the whiteout, so everyone wanted white T-shirts. They wanted to wave towels, so everyone wanted a white towel. And it always helps when they're winning."

Several students downtown were already feeling the Orange Bowl fever.

"I'm just buying Big Ten stuff right now, because I want to see the outcome of the Orange Bowl first," said Emma Straley (sophomore-journalism and English), who was shopping in Family Clothesline. "I always make an effort not to come in here, because I always end up buying so many things for myself."

Lindsay Shelton (freshman-film) is from Florida and said she was gearing up to watch the Nittany Lions play in her home state. "I'm from Florida and I have a lot of friends at FSU, so it's fun to stock up on Orange Bowl clothes for the game," Shelton said.

Shelton said the official Orange Bowl patch may be a good idea for students looking to save even a little money on their way to Miami.

"Everyone's so pumped and buying so much stuff," she said. "And Miami's expensive, so anything like that helps."