Posted on 05/23/2009 2:38:11 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
After crossing the bricked finish line on Sunday, the winner of the Indianapolis 500 will drive into the winner’s circle, be presented with a celebratory wreath and take a swig from a cold bottle of milk. The latter is one of the grandest traditions in sports, but also one of the most confusing. Why milk? Why is it in a bottle? And (this one was actually asked by a girl I knew in college) has it been sitting in the sun all day?
After solving mysteries in Beijing, Boston and Augusta, GA, the old Y! Sports investigative unit is here to answer all your questions in order to solve the mystery of the milk-drinking drivers. It all started in 1933. After Louis Meyer won his second Indianapolis 500, he requested a cold bottle of buttermilk to quench his thirst. The Yonkers, NY native had grown up drinking the beverage and favored it throughout his racing days.
Three years later, Meyer won his third title and, again, he requested a cold glass of buttermilk to celebrate. This time, a newspaper photographer snapped a photo of Meyer taking a swig from the bottle while holding up three fingers, one to represent each of his Indy victories. The shot would appear the next day in a number of newspapers.
As legend has it, a local dairy executive saw the photo and, realizing a great marketing opportunity, vowed that milk would be given to the winner the following year. (They had thought Meyer was drinking regular milk, not buttermilk.) Except for a stretch from 1947 to 1955, milk has been presented at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway ever since.
Today, instead of buttermilk, the winner is given a choice between whole milk, two percent and skim. ..
(Excerpt) Read more at sports.yahoo.com ...
I always thought it was because they didn’t want the image of their sport (driving really fast) linked with alcohol.
Regardless, great tradition. Americana to the core.
That’s not milk, that’s....
Wonder if this years mild will be from Miss America’s family dairy farm? Katie is a ten year 4-H member and often showed dairy cows.
Yup. Weather looks a little iffy at Indy and Charlotte as well tomorrow.. Dang. I was looking to 1100 miles in the old recliner.
Hey it could be Oreos without the milk for enuf bucks .. a tradition? Yes,, and also a business enterprise unto itself.
I hope Jim Nabors is well.
Prohibition?
How does the weather look for tonight’s race in Charlotte?
I know Emmo P.O.-ed the Milk folks when he drank OJ in victoty lane (but he had a big sponsorship deal with them)
See, this is why I could never race in the 500...no chocolate or coffee milk? Pass...
Not good..
http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=charlotte,nc&wuSelect=WEATHER
Now
Through 7 PM...showers will continue to move northwest across the western Carolinas and northeast Georgia. Most of these showers will be light with most locations receiving no more than 1/10 of an inch of rain over the next couple of hours. A few locations where there are stronger storms could get up to three quarters of an inch of rain.
Looks like I get to watch the Tiggers beat up on the Rockies tonight then.
Nah...this is post race anyway. Lots of races have celebratory adult beverages in their festivities. Formula 1 seems to have developed a tradition of the winner spraying the crowd with a large bottle of champagne.
I thought it was for the same reason my son, a cross country runner, drinks milk immediately after a long distance race... it helps him recover faster!
There was some university test done on sports drinks. They concluded milk is the best sports drink. It has everything for fast and long energy.
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