# Pouring gatorade on the coach origins **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 23, 2006, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pouring-gatorade-on-the-coach-origins/341215 "2006-01-23T05:20:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pouring-gatorade-on-the-coach-origins/341215/1 "2006-01-23T05:20:49Z")
Where does the tradition of pouring gatorade on the couach when you’re winning a football game come from? ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pouring-gatorade-on-the-coach-origins/341215/2 "2006-01-23T05:26:04Z")
Several online sources say it began with Bill Parcells circa 1985. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pouring-gatorade-on-the-coach-origins/341215/3 "2006-01-23T05:36:51Z")
Newspaper stories have Parcells getting the bucket of _water_ dumped on him in Oct of 1984. ---
**Author:** ![Spidey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@Spidey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spidey)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pouring-gatorade-on-the-coach-origins/341215/4 "2006-01-23T05:39:26Z")
I believe the term for it is a ‘Golden Shower’. Try doing a google image search and see what you come up with 😉 ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pouring-gatorade-on-the-coach-origins/341215/5 "2006-01-23T05:50:06Z")
> [@Spidey](#): > > I believe the term for it is a ‘Golden Shower’. Try doing a google image search and see what you come up with 😉 Or not. **Spidey** If you value your posting privileges here, try to stay within the rules. Just a head’s up. **samclem** GQ moderator ---
**Author:** ![Ponster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponster/32/17081_2.png) [@Ponster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponster)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pouring-gatorade-on-the-coach-origins/341215/6 "2006-01-23T10:14:14Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > Or not. > > **Spidey** If you value your posting privileges here, try to stay within the rules. Just a head’s up. > > **samclem** GQ moderator Then again, if you do search for ‘golden shower’ in Google Images all you get is a load of images of flowers (but at least they are golden!). ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pouring-gatorade-on-the-coach-origins/341215/7 "2006-01-23T10:17:03Z")
> [@Ponster](#): > > Then again, if you do search for ‘golden shower’ in Google Images all you get is a load of images of flowers (but at least they are golden!). I think someone must have safe search turned on. I couldn’t believe that was all that an image search would bring up, so I tried and yeah… time to go bleach my eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Ponster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponster/32/17081_2.png) [@Ponster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponster)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pouring-gatorade-on-the-coach-origins/341215/8 "2006-01-23T15:09:06Z")
> [@TellMeI'mNotCrazy](#): > > I think someone must have safe search turned on. Oh God ! I did have it turned on, turned it off and searched again…got any bleach left? ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pouring-gatorade-on-the-coach-origins/341215/9 "2006-01-23T15:30:08Z")
Boy some of you guys are so sheltered… ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pouring-gatorade-on-the-coach-origins/341215/10 "2006-01-23T16:02:08Z")
You know, in the myth of Perseus, Danae is sealed in an underground chamber, presumably with some sort of grasting for air. Zeus came to her by turning into a shower of gold, defeating the attempts of her father Acrisius to prevent her conceiving, and Perseus was born. It’s been suggested (by me) that this imagery was inspired by the Perseid meteorite shower. (It’s notable that just about every classical depiction of Perseus and Danae being sealed in the chest has stars on the outside of the chest, leading A.B. Cook to suggest a meteorite shower was responsible for the imagery almost a hundred years ago. I’m surprised he didn’t narrow it down to the Perseids.) So “Golden Shower” has classical roots. I wonder if this came up during anybody’s google search. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pouring-gatorade-on-the-coach-origins/341215/11 "2006-01-23T16:09:37Z")
Not one clue as to where or when or to whom it started, but every time I see a coach getting doused I expect the coach to have a heart attack and drop dead. I wonder if it will take such an occurrence before they get smart about that sort of thing. Especially to older coaches and especially in really cold weather. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pouring-gatorade-on-the-coach-origins/341215/12 "2006-01-23T16:43:55Z")
Maybe they heat the gatorade a little bit? Oh, and I know there are no such things as “couaches” being doused. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pouring-gatorade-on-the-coach-origins/341215/13 "2006-01-23T22:39:08Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Maybe they heat the gatorade a little bit? > > Oh, and I know there are no such things as “couaches” being doused. > > :smack: Not so! Should your couache catch fire, dial 911 and we’ll come by right away to douse it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pouring-gatorade-on-the-coach-origins/341215/14 "2006-01-24T00:12:08Z")
The 1986 March to the superbowl was the beginning of the Dumping the Gatorade. **Lawrence LT Taylor** and I believe \*\*Carl Banks \*\* were the first two. Parcell was definitely the Coach. Jim (Big fan of the Big Blue) ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pouring-gatorade-on-the-coach-origins/341215/15 "2006-01-24T00:32:46Z")
Despite bein’ a Cowboys fan and all, I’m still hoping those Golden Showers hits didn’t include Bill Parcell’s image. _vigorously shudders like eight or nine times_ ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pouring-gatorade-on-the-coach-origins/341215/16 "2006-01-24T00:45:03Z")
More Info: [It was these 1986 Giants that popularized the football tradition of dousing](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Giants#Back_on_Top:_1986-1990) the head coach with a cooler of Gatorade near the end of a victorious game. This started in Week 2 of the 1986 season, when Lawrence Taylor and Harry Carson snuck up on Coach Parcells to dump the remaining Gatorade over his head. The dousing was a big hit with fans, and the Gatorade dumping would continued on throughout the season after each win, with Taylor and Carson (or whichever players were involved) concocting increasingly elaborate, sneaky and playful rouses, so as to at least attempt to keep the inevitable dousing a surprise. Jim ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pouring-gatorade-on-the-coach-origins/341215/17 "2006-01-24T01:22:34Z")
> [@What Exit?](#): > > The 1986 March to the superbowl was the beginning of the Dumping the Gatorade. > **Lawrence LT Taylor** and I believe \*\*Carl Banks \*\* were the first two. > Parcell was definitely the Coach. > > Jim (Big fan of the Big Blue) They _popularized it_. See the link in your post #16. If you go back and read my statement, the tradition was born in October of 1984. With Parcells as the recipient. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pouring-gatorade-on-the-coach-origins/341215/18 "2006-01-24T01:28:22Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > So “Golden Shower” has classical roots. I wonder if this came up during anybody’s google search. Sure. It’s first mentioned on page 1,014,900 when you’re searching. ---
**Author:** ![marymargaret](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@marymargaret](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marymargaret)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pouring-gatorade-on-the-coach-origins/341215/19 "2006-01-24T02:42:33Z")
Ewww… ---
**Author:** ![Spidey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@Spidey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spidey)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pouring-gatorade-on-the-coach-origins/341215/20 "2006-01-24T04:58:02Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > Or not. > > **Spidey** If you value your posting privileges here, try to stay within the rules. Just a head’s up. > > **samclem** GQ moderator duly noted. I do apologize, realizing someone could lose their job over that, or even be forced to bleach their eyeballs. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pouring-gatorade-on-the-coach-origins/341215.md?page=2)