Why Do Super Bowl Champions Shower the Head Coach With Gatorade? Uncovering the History of NFL’s Biggest Tradition

The Super Bowl is littered with traditions! For its 58-year journey, the Super Bowl has morphed into a sort of American folklore. And with numerous traditions, it gets difficult to keep track. However, the Gatorade shower isn’t one that fans can forget. But how did this tradition start?

Usually, the winning team throws a cooler of Gatorade on their head coach. And the Gatorade shower is more than just a prank or a joke. It’s a symbol of victory, teamwork, and fun. With the Kansas City Chiefs taking on the San Francisco 49ers within hours. Let us get acquainted with this piece of cultural history.

Super Bowl and the Gatorade dump

The first ever Gatorade shower was done on the New York Giants head coach Bill Parcells in 1984. And according to reports, the idea was from DT Jim Burt. The HC had been pushing him harder than usual before the regular season game against the Washington team. After the victory, Burt retaliated with this prank.

This practice continued for the Giants, through the 1984, 1985, and 1986 seasons! Featuring heavily in their Super Bowl XXI win in 1986 as well. However, the Giants weren’t the first team to perform the Gatorade shower on their HC after the Super Bowl victory.

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As the Giants’ iconic celebration took hold over the sports. Super Bowl XX winners, the Chicago Bears, gave their HC Mike Ditka the Gatorade Shower in 1985 itself. Now the tradition is followed by several other sports as well. But what is the Gatorade shower history of the Chiefs and the Niners?

The Gatorade shower color and its meaning

The Chiefs and the Niners have won 8 Super Bowl titles between them. However, the Chiefs’ first victory (1969) and two of the Super Bowls won by the Niners (1981  and 1984) happened before the tradition began. Hence, the Niners have poured Gatorade on their coaches three times, while the Chiefs only twice!

And after 2001, Gatorade started coming in different colors. Since then, there has also been a prop bet on what color of the drink will be used in the cooler dump. As the Niners haven’t won a Super Bowl since 1994, no colors were used in their showers. The Chiefs, on the other hand, used orange at Super Bowl LIV and purple at Super Bowl LVII, last year.

Which color will be used by the winning team after their Super Bowl victory? Let us know in the comments.

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