Gatorade Cooler

By Ivette Ricco
As we all know, Gatorade has been fueling NFL players for 40 years and at Super Bowl XLIV Gatorade redefined the sideline to meet the athletes’ pre, during and post-game fueling needs.  A new Gatorade cooler and sideline hydration system was unveiled during the Super Bowl. 
I’m told the newly designed coolers and squeeze bottles make it easier for players to get what they need to fuel their performance.  Sounds simple, but Gatorade worked directly with athletes and athletic training staffs on specific functional improvements.  Players on both Super Bowl sidelines will also be using Gatorade’s new line of performance products before, during, and after the game.  Several athletes including Dwyane Wade, Peyton Manning, Serena Williams and Derek Jeter worked with Gatorade on the development of the new series of products. 

 The kind people at Gatorade sent me a very cool Gatorade cooler autographed by Bill Parcells to enjoy during my Super Bowl Party.
My guests really got a kick out of my Gatorade display and enjoyed the heck out of the cool beverages that filled the cooler.
The cooler is not only large and colorful it is pretty darn heavy.
I can see why it takes a few football behemoths to lift a Gatorade cooler full of Gatorade and pour it on a defenseless coach’s head!
I was curious about this tradition. Have you ever wondered how it all started?

Who started the tradition?
Although the exact origins of the tradition are hotly debated, former New York Giants defensive tackle Jim Burt often gets the credit for the first bath.
According to Darren Rovell’s interesting book “First in Thirst: How Gatorade Turned the Science of Sweat into a Cultural Phenomenon”, Burt had the idea for the prank while the Giants were struggling during the 1985 season.
Head Coach Bill Parcells had been riding Burt pretty hard before a mid season game against the Washington redskins, and after the Giants emerged from that game with a 17-3 win, Burt playfully dumped a cooler full of Gatorade on the Big Tuna.
Linebacker Harry Carson, a favorite of Parcells, took the baths to the next level. While Burt eventually decided the dousing had lost its originality, Carson kept it up, showering Parcells with Gatorade after each of the Giants’ wins en route to their Super Bowl championship during the 1986 season.

Gatorade Shower/Rex Ryan

However, while Burt and Carson popularized the Gatorade shower, they didn’t pull off the first dunking.That honor goes to former Chicago Bears lineman Dan Hampton, who collaborated with teammates Steve McMichael and Mike Singletary to get Coach Mike Ditka wet after a regular season win over the Vikings in 1984.
Excerpts from an article by Ethan Trex, CNN.com

Thank you Gatorade for adding a very special element to Super Bowl Sunday.
I will take my Gatorade Cooler laden with a variety of beverages, not the least of which will be Gatorade as I tailgate at various sporting events.
But I will steer clear of people who might be tempted to see what I look like covered in yellow Gatorade.