(FORTUNE Small Business) – Yes, there really are folks who mourn the loss of the XFL. You remember: It was supposed to be a can't-miss combination of the delicate sensibilities of professional wrestling and the raw rivalry of football with innovations such as putting cameras in the cheerleaders' locker rooms. But miss it did. The league folded last May amid the worst television ratings in prime-time history. (Take heart, Bette Midler.)

And don't even try to console Kelly Vande Mheen. He may not have been a fan of extreme football--who was?--but his sports-memorabilia company was counting on its success, as were many other small companies. His Omaha-based Casey's Distributing was one of about 30 businesses that struck licensing deals with the doomed league. Now his nine-person firm is stuck with close to $50,000 worth of unwanted inventory, including helmets and footballs. If he had to do it again, Vande Mheen understates, he'd be "a little more cautious."

There's similar regret afoot at Wingo Sports Group, a collectible-helmet maker based in Stafford, Texas. Signing with the XFL seemed like a coup for the six-person company run by husband-and-wife team J.C. and Laura Wingo. Before the league folded they had seen sales double to $1 million, largely because of the helmets the company shipped just as the XFL's season began. Now the Wingos are sitting on 1,000 full-sized helmets and 6,000 52-inch mini-helmets. (What, no bobble-headed Jesse Ventura dolls?) Still, J.C. remains sanguine. "As a small business, you have to take every opportunity you can get," he said before tossing in a metaphor from what may now be his favorite sport. "You have to step up to the plate if you want to hit the ball."