Many planned on celebrating the Packers Super Bowl XLII appearance by hosting or attending a party. Others planned on heading out to a local watering hole to cheer on the green and gold in the big game. When all was said and done, it's a good bet a large number of those people would have bought a "champions" T-shirt had Green Bay won its fourth Vince Lombardi Trophy.

They weren't alone. Many businesses in the area had been looking forward to a Packers' Super Bowl appearance. Bars, restaurants, grocery stores, liquor depots and area souvenir shops and screen printing companies stood to make a pretty penny in the wake of the Packers' success.

But, a 23-20 overtime loss to the Giants in the NFC Championship Game forced many to turn to Plan B.

Roundy's, the area's largest grocery store chain, expects brisk business for the Super Bowl. But the Packers' trip to the NFC Championship Game was a boost to business along the lines of the two biggest grocery holidays of the year; Christmas and New Year's.

"Super Bowl weekend is typically very busy for all stores because so many people are interested in the Super Bowl," Roundy's spokeswoman Vivian King explains. "Regardless of who's in the game, people are planning parties -- at least to watch the commercials -- and we do a lot of business with food items and party trays for the Super Bowl.

"What was different this year was that the Packers were in the playoffs for so long. It was a huge boon to our business. Fans were having big gatherings to watch the games."

Local Pick 'n Save stores got into the spirit of the playoffs by putting together special cakes and floral arrangements. While most sales are organized from higher in the corporate chain, things that Wisconsinites typically enjoy at parties -- brats, cheese and sausage platters and, of course, beer -- were hot sellers.

No fan's wardrobe is complete without the latest apparel. Ross Salchow of Insomniac Ink, a local T-shirt company, was ready to get the work following a Packers victory. With the season over, his stock of blank green shirts will be used for other items.