Ray Browne (2005) defines popular culture as the system of attitudes, behavior patterns, beliefs, customs, and tastes that define the people of any society. Popular culture goes on day to day and changes dynamically from moment to moment. As I pursue a career in the sports industry, I feel it is important for me to understand the role that popular culture plays on the industry.What are the demographics of the fan base? What type of music should be played during intermission? What color should the foam finger be? All of these questions are impacted by what is popular at that particular moment.
Gatorade is an example of a pop culture within the sports industry. Gatorade was discovered in 1965 at the University of Florida (Gatorade.com 2009). Scientist came up with a formula to help athletes from Florida replenish lost energy. Currently, Gatorade can be found on more than 70 Division I colleges as the official drink on the sideline (Gatorade, 2009). The most notable sports figure that was endorsed by Gatorade has to be Michael Jordan. Gatorade came up with a commercial “Be Like Mike” that was very popular in the early 90’s. Today, athletes like Tiger Woods, Derek Jeter, Peyton Manning, Mia Hamm, and Matt Kenseth are sponsored by Gatorade (Gatorade, 2009). With Gatorade being present in the sports industry, the opportunities seem to be endless for this sport drink icon.
http://taylorshocks.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/gatorade.jpg
Browne, R. (Ed.). (2005). Profiles of popular culture: A reader. Wisconsin: The University of Wisconsin Press.
Gatorade. 2009 Retrieved May 22, 2009 from http://www.gatorade.com/history/
Good post Nathan. I would have never consider Gatorade to be a popular culture artifact but your post has made me think differently. Do you remember Gatorgum? I use to love that stuff when I was in high school many years ago. I wonder if they still make it.
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