Any sports fan could tell you a bit about the Gatorade shower. Or at least, that it’s a thing that happens.
It may seem odd to the casual onlooker: A large cooler full of Gatorade, hoisted over a player or coach – potentially, an unwilling victim – as a deluge of the colored liquid soaks them from head to toe. It looks wet and uncomfortable, but this tradition is a beloved one that’s been around for decades now.
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"It turned into this thing that today, regardless of level of play – youth, high school, college, pro, international, you name it – a big moment, a seminal moment is oftentimes christened with that Gatorade shower," Jeff Kearney, Gatorade's head of global sports marketing, told ESPN.
The Gatorade shower has particular significance at the Super Bowl, where the winning team’s head coach is usually on the receiving end. Here’s a look at how the tradition began and also how it turned into a popular bet to make before the game.
Here's everything you need to know about the Super Bowl Gatorade shower:
The Gatorade shower tradition can be traced back to the New York Giants. And rather than starting at the Super Bowl, it started after an intense regular season game that may have saved Bill Parcells’ job.
In 1984, Parcells was in his second year as head coach. New York was sporting a not-great, not-awful record of 4-4 as they prepared to face off against Washington. The previous year, they had won only three games; so suffice to say Parcells was feeling the pressure.
In the week leading up to the game, the coach singled out nose tackle Jim Burt, making him do extra drills, telling him how good the Washington center was and even having him punch the padded locker room walls with dumbbells in both hands. Although he was picking on one player, it was a message to the whole roster that they needed to win.
New York ended up blowing past Washington, 37-13, and right after the game ended Burt picked up an orange Gatorade cooler and dumped it over Parcells’ head.
While it started as an act of spite, the Gatorade shower turned into an act of victory and celebration. It followed the Giants all the way to the 1987 Super Bowl, where Parcells was again bathed in orange Gatorade as New York beat Denver to claim the Championship. And, it eventually caught on with other teams and became the widespread winning practice it’s known as today.
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Can you bet on the Gatorade shower color?
The Gatorade shower color bet falls under the category of a “prop bet,” or proposition bet. This is a bet on a specific occurrence (or non-occurrence) during a game which is not directly tied to the outcome/winner.
An example of a prop bet for Super Bowl LIX might be: “Patrick Mahomes will throw for over 300 yards.” But they can get even more specific. For the truly daring bettor, one might suppose: “Saquon Barkley will score the first touchdown of the game, have at least one 25-yard-plus play and fumble the ball twice.” (Generally, the more outlandish the claim the more money one stands to make.)
Among prop bets, the Gatorade shower color is a popular one. But according to ESPN, it’s only allowed in Illinois, New Jersey and West Virginia, and via offshore books. Sports betting rules can be complicated, and the NFL doesn’t care for this particular bet because someone could leak the Gatorade color ahead of time.
That doesn’t mean fans don’t love to bet on it. Actually, it was among the top 30 Super Bowl prop bets placed on ESPN Bet last year.
"When setting odds for this market, our team looks at a variety of factors, including what color was poured on last year's winning coach, any recent instances of the participating teams doing a Gatorade bath, such as recent Super Bowl appearances or after a conference championship win, and even the color of the team's jerseys," the ESPN Bet trading team explained, as per ESPN.
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No one can say with any certainty what the Gatorade shower will look like after this year’s Super Bowl. At ESPN Bet, though, the majority are calling purple.
The logic is easy to follow, here. The last two Super Bowl wins by the Chiefs have culminated in a purple Gatorade shower, and many envision the same happening if the team achieves a three-peat.
After purple, the next favorite is yellow/green – probably because the Eagles used this color when they won the Championship in 2018.
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Gatorade shower colors in past Super Bowls
Here’s what Gatorade showers looked like in past Super Bowl years:
2024 (Kansas City Chiefs won): Purple2023 (Kansas City Chiefs won): Purple2022 (Los Angeles Rams won): Blue2021 (Tampa Bay Buccaneers won): Blue2020 (Kansas City Chiefs won): Orange2019 (New England Patriots won): Blue2018 (Philadelphia Eagles won): Yellow/green2017 (New England Patriots won): None2016 (Denver Broncos won): Orange2015 (New England Patriots won): Blue2014 (Seattle Seahawks won): Orange2013 (Baltimore Ravens won): None2012 (New York Giants won): Purple2011 (Green Bay Packers won): Orange2010 (New Orleans Saints won): Orange2009 (Pittsburgh Steelers won): Yellow/green2008 (New York Giants won): Clear2007 (Indianapolis Colts won): Clear2006 (Pittsburgh Steelers won): Clear2005 (New England Patriots won): Clear2004 (New England Patriots won): None2003 (Tampa Bay Buccaneers won): Purple2002 (New England Patriots won): None2001 (Baltimore Ravens won): Yellow/greenRelated: Everything to Know About Kendrick Lamar's 2025 Super Bowl Halftime Performance
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