The New York Giants' last-minute upset of the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII did more than burst a perfect-season bubble. It also let the air out of souvenir manufacturer Rick Roth's hopes.

"All we can do now is take down the screens, box up the blank T-shirts and cry," said Roth, whose Pawtucket screen printing business would have printed thousands of Patriots Super Bowl Championship commemorative T-shirts had Plaxico Burress not caught Eli Manning's 13-yard pass in the end zone Sunday with less than a minute remaining.

The loss was especially painful to Roth because the demand for souvenirs from an undefeated, 19-0 Super Bowl championship run might well have been unprecedented. The Fox Network telecast garnered the highest ratings ever for a Super Bowl between teams in two of the largest NFL markets.

As Patriots fans licked their wounds from Sunday's disappointment, merchants that had stocked up on Patriots merchandise in anticipation of a New England victory could only dream about what might have been.

"We're going to have to mourn for a couple of days," said Marco Pacheco, manager of Dick's Sporting Goods in North Attleboro. It's not all bad. Although chains that stock up on the losing team's souvenirs incur some losses, Pacheco said, they normally make up for it in the winning team's market.

In general, Patriots fans Monday were feeling the after effects of disappointment worsened by expectations of a Patriots win.

The depth to which some Patriots watchers felt the loss came as no surprise to Dr. Victor Komry, a psychiatrist and a Pats fan.

"The degree to which you're disappointed depends on your expectations," said Komry who works for Community Care Services in Taunton and Attleboro.

"And to a lot of people it came as an abrupt shock."

Some, he said, may also be feeling anger over Coach Bill Bellichick's decision not to try a 49-yard field goal that would have kept the game tied.

For those who might still feel depressed over the Super shocker, Komry has some advice:

"Try to look at the positives," he said. "This is a team that won 18 straight games, a great season. There's always next year."

"When's the first preseason game?"

RICK FOSTER can be reached at 508-236-0360 or at rfoster@thesunchronicle.com.