Among the thousands of Super Bowl props that sportsbooks open each year, there are a few consistently popular ones year-after-year. One of those is the color of Gatorade dumped on the winning coach after the game ends, or the Gatorade bath, if you will.
This year, bettors are wondering whether the Kansas City Chiefs have another cooler of orange Gatorade ready for Andy Reid, and trying to decipher which color the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would go with should Bruce Arians get a bath following Super Bowl 55.
Before you lock any bets in for the 2021 Super Bowl, have a look back at the past colors of Gatorade that have been dumped on winning coaches below.
Gatorade Color Dumped on Winning Coach of Super Bowl
| Super Bowl | Winner | Color | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | New York Giants | Orange | Bill Parcells |
| 22 | Washington Football Team | None | Joe Gibbs |
| 23 | San Francisco 49ers | None | Bill Walsh |
| 24 | San Francisco 49ers | None | George Seifert |
| 25 | New York Giants | None | Bill Parcells |
| 26 | Washington Football Team | None | Joe Gibbs |
| 27 | Dallas Cowboys | Clear | Jimmy Johnson |
| 28 | Dallas Cowboys | Clear | Jimmy Johnson |
| 29 | San Francisco 49ers | Clear | George Seifert |
| 30 | Dallas Cowboys | Clear | Barry Switzer |
| 31 | Green Bay Packers | None | Mike Holmgren |
| 32 | Denver Broncos | None | Mike Shanahan |
| 33 | Denver Broncos | None | Mike Shanahan |
| 34 | St Louis Rams | None | Dick Vermeil |
| 35 | Baltimore Ravens | Yellow | Brian Billick |
| 36 | New England Patriots | None | Bill Belichick |
| 37 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Purple | Jon Gruden |
| 38 | New England Patriots | None | Bill Belichick |
| 39 | New England Patriots | Clear | Bill Belichick |
| 40 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Clear | Bill Cowher |
| 41 | Indianapolis Colts | Clear | Tony Dungy |
| 42 | New York Giants | Clear | Tom Coughlin |
| 43 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Yellow | Mike Tomlin |
| 44 | New Orleans Saints | Orange | Sean Payton |
| 45 | Green Bay Packers | Orange | Mike McCarthy |
| 46 | New York Giants | Purple | Tom Coughlin |
| 47 | Baltimore Ravens | None | John Harbaugh |
| 48 | Seattle Seahawks | Orange | Pete Carroll |
| 49 | New England Patriots | Blue | Bill Belichick |
| 50 | Denver Broncos | Orange | Gary Kubiak |
| 51 | New England Patriots | None | Bill Belichick |
| 52 | Philadelphia Eagles | Yellow | Doug Pederson |
| 53 | New England Patriots | Blue | Bill Belichick |
| 54 | Kansas City Chiefs | Orange | Andy Reid |
As mentioned, the most recent Gatorade bath was given to Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, and it was of the orange variety. When you see “clear” in the table above, it generally means water. But the prop is not what type/flavor of Gatorade, just the color. This is why water gets lumped in as “clear”.
Trends in Gatorade Color Dumped
- The Gatorade dumped has been orange in five of the last 11 Super Bowls
- Clear holds the record for most consecutive years used, getting dumped four straight years on two different occasions – Super Bowls 27-30 and 39-42
- Red is the most common color of Gatorade that has never been dumped on a winning coach
- There have been three back-to-back champions in the Gatorade dumping era, with only one of those defending champions using the same color Gatorade in both games – the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowls 27 and 28
- Clear is also suffering the longest drought among colors that have been dumped, not having been used since Super Bowl 42
You can see how often each color has been used in the table below:
Number of Times Each Gatorade Color Has Been Dumped
| Color | Number of Times Dumped | Most Recent Use |
|---|---|---|
| Clear | 8 | Super Bowl 42 |
| Orange | 6 | Super Bowl 54 |
| Yellow | 3 | Super Bowl 52 |
| Purple | 2 | Super Bowl 46 |
| Blue | 2 | Super Bowl 53 |
Am I the only one who feels the only logical answer for blue not being used more is because it’s everyone’s favorite, and therefore the first cooler that runs dry?
Super Bowl 55 Gatorade Color Odds
| Color | Odds |
|---|---|
| Orange | +125 |
| Red/Pink | +200 |
| Yellow/Green/Lime | +300 |
| Clear/Water | +350 |
| Blue | +700 |
| Purple | +800 |
The sportsbooks are favoring Kansas City to either run it back with orange again in Super Bowl 55, or for Tampa Bay to keep the orange trend going.
How Did the Gatorade Shower Start?
The answer to this depends on who you ask. But it is commonly accepted that the New York Giants started this tradition in 1984. Jim Burt, a defensive lineman for the Giants at the time, was apparently upset with the way head coach Bill Parcells had treated him that week, and decided to dump the cooler of Gatorade on Parcells after beating Washington.
It didn’t immediately become a tradition, though. It wasn’t until those same Giants gave Parcells a Gatorade bath after each win during their 1986-87 season that ended in New York hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. This is the first entry you’ll see in the table at the top of this page.
