Gatorade at 50: Top 3 reasons why I love the sports drink

By Fernie Ruano Jr.

Gatorade, the most popular sports drink of this generation or any generation and one with a secured place in pop culture history, is celebrating its 50^th anniversary in 2015.

That’s right. We’ve had a Beatles breakup, been introduced to Cabbage Patch Kids and Viagra, survived 10 presidents in office and read about a wedding starring George Clooney as the groom since early summer of 1965 when four researchers took their findings into a University of Florida lab to formulate a balanced carbohydrate-electrolyte beverage that would forever change the way athletes everywhere replace fluids.

Steve Spurrier, Michael Jordan, Derek Jeter and millions of kids on playgrounds across America have drunk Gatorade. I have too. In fact it’s my favorite drink ever, unless it’s 3am and there’s a bartender in front of me; and the hell with the artificial sweeteners.

Here are my Top 3 reasons why I love Gatorade.

1. It fuels me up: You can keep your energy bar and protein shakes because there’s nothing that fuels me up after a long run or game of basketball like Gatorade. Yes I drink plenty of water but the anticipation of twisting the orange cap off a plastic Gatorade bottle makes my mouth watery. Hell, I’m getting thirsty right now. I’ll take a lemon-lime Gatorade, please…
    
2. Sense of accomplishment: Just like any athlete during or after a game chugging some Gatorade, I feel an extra boost of energy, if not a sense of accomplishment, when I am taking the orange cap off the plastic Gatorade bottle in front of me whether it’s after a 12-mile run, 30-minute basketball game or sex.
    
3. The commercials: From “I want to be like Mike” to Peyton Manning’s oversized head to Derek Jeter’s farewell walk through the streets of New York, Gatorade has mastered the art of commercials and they will forever withstand the test of time. C’mon… Even an oversized head can’t derail Jenny Finch’s hotness.
    

Do you want to know more about this 305-reeking, beach-bumming, Cuban food-obsessed dude? Well, then.. You can connect with Fernie @wordbyfernie (Twitter) and Fernie Ruano (Facebook). Who knows? If he really likes you, he might even give you his email.