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PrintIn the last 10 Super Bowls, the head coach of the winning team has received a Gatorade bath eight times. The two times the winning coach didn’t receive one were in 2002 and 2004, and each time the coach was Bill Belichick.
Of course, Belichick had a legitimate excuse on both occasions. In 2002, the Patriots didn’t win the Super Bowl until the final play of the game when Adam Vinatieri kicked a field goal as time expired. Two years later, the Pats won with four seconds left after yet another Vinatieri field goal.
The lone time Belichick took a Super Bowl Gatorade bath was in 2005 after the Patriots defeated the Eagles 35-32. Belichick, who celebrated the victory with his father, received a water bath.
If you look back at all of Belichick’s “Gatorade baths,” you’d notice a similar trend:
- In the 1986 divisional round of the playoffs, Belichick, then a defensive coordinator with the Giants, received a clear bath from Harry Carson and Lawrence Taylor.
- After the Patriots defeated the Steelers in the 2002 AFC Championship game, Belichick got yet another white wash.
- In this photo from 2004, another water bath, the Patriots celebrate after winning an NFL-record 19 straight games against the Dolphins.
After searching nearly every photo on the Internet, I was unable to find even one that showed Belichick taking a bath in anything but water. It’s an interesting sub-plot to the “What color will the Gatorade be?” prop, which is being offered at the majority of sportsbooks.
While Belichick’s sample is admittedly a limited one, is it possible that he has told his players that if they insist on showering him with praise, they better use water? Another question: Do the Pats even have Gatorade on their sideline? (I’m assuming they do, but don’t know the answer to this question.)
Regardless, the 2-to-1 odds is an appealing payout if you like the Patriots to win.
The sucker bets: Red, Green and Blue. Since 2001, only yellow (2), orange (2), purple (1) and clear (four) have been used. Water had a four-year run from 2005 to 2008.
The winning coach of the 2008 Super Bowl, you ask?
Tom Coughlin.
