Super Bowl Gatorade Bath: How This Celebratory Tradition Began, And Why It Is Still Loved Today

Once again, the Super Bowl is upon us. Each year, this one single NFL football game seems to get bigger and bigger. More views, more wagering on the big game, and of course, more hype.

One part of the game has taken on a life of it’s own, and it all started by accident. In fact, it has grown so big that you can actually wager on if it will happen or not.

I’m talking about the now-famous Gatorade bath.

Ever wonder how the Super Bowl Gatorade bath became a thing? Believe it or not, it wasn’t some marketing master plan — it started as a little sideline mischief.

Back in the mid-1980s, the New York Giants players decided their tough, no-nonsense head coach, Bill Parcells, deserved a surprise cool-down after a hard-fought win. Legend has it that defensive lineman Jim Burt first dumped a cooler over Parcells as a playful “payback” for brutal practices, and linebacker Harry Carson helped keep the gag going. Once it happened after big wins — including their Super Bowl XXI victory — the tradition stuck.

Fast forward to today, and that icy splash is basically the unofficial signal that a team just won the Super Bowl. In fact, we now see the Gatorade bath everywhere! MLB games after a dramatic walk-off hit, and most college sporting events, especially football and even golfers and high school kids have gotten in on the act!

The famous sports drink is known for dumping it on fellow players more than for drinking!

It’s messy, it’s chaotic, it ruins perfectly good headsets…and somehow it never gets old. Heck, it’s even turned into a betting prop every year — because apparently we’ll gamble on anything, including beverage colors.

Moral of the story: work hard, win championships…and always keep one eye on the nearest cooler.