Television made the Highlight Era of sports possible, giving birth not just to 24-hour sports media outlets but also cementing iconic moments like Kirk Gibson’s 1988 walk-off home run and Michael Jordan’s “The Shot.”
Digital media has transformed the Highlight Era beyond on-field heroics. What used to be a blooper, annoyance or worse now has the potential to instantly become a new cultural and emotional touch point. The subjects of these moments are not the players or teams, but brands exercising new levels of vigilance. These days, no one is further on the edge of their seat hoping for the right combination of circumstance, luck and timing than brand marketers, looking for a chance to create their Oreo Moment.
Off-court Action
When the air conditioning malfunctioned at the AT&T Center in Game 1 of the NBA Finals and Lebron James left the game with cramps, the sports drink industry’s moment arrived. Gatorade – an NBA sponsor – made an innocuous comment on the arena’s heat and humidity. The moment could have passed until some inquiring – possibly trolling – fans tweeted at Gatorade. And then it was on.
@ryanbkoo The person cramping wasn’t our client. Our athletes can take the heat.
— Gatorade (@Gatorade) June 6, 2014
@CarmichaelDave This is awkward….We don’t sponsor him. #fail — Gatorade (@Gatorade) June 6, 2014
Two upstart sports drinks jumped in on the action, with their fans and pro athlete users leading the charge. BodyArmor Super Drink promoted its “potassium-packed electrolytes to help prevent cramping” and asked what James was really drinking courtside. BioSteel Sports directed James to his teammates Chris Bosh and Mario Chalmers, both BioSteel users; and called out its competitors in the sports nutrition space, tweeting “they all pretty much have the same formula.” They then leveled this gauntlet at their industry:
@DarrenHeitner @adbrandt Would love 4 someone of significance to ACTUALLY test all Sports Drinks for ingredients & performance #DrinkThePink
— BioSteel (@BioSteelSports) June 6, 2014
While we all enjoy a 4-way social media throwdown, BioSteel raises the crucial question: Would any of the products have made a difference? If James had been drinking something other than his Powerade or the league’s Gatorade, would he have been able to endure the Texas humidity and stay in the game (like, you know, the other 23 players did)?
The Science of Cramping
Complicating the companies’ competing claims is the simple fact that exercise physiologists still do not know what causes exercise-associated muscle cramps (EAMC). The traditional explanation is that EAMC are caused by a combination of dehydration and electrolyte imbalance, brought about by exercising in hot, humid conditions. Much of the support for this hypothesis comes from field observations and retrospective studies. Athletes presenting with EAMC in these studies exercised in hot and humid environments and experienced dehydration or electrolyte imbalance. However, this only demonstrates correlation between the EAMC and environmental conditions – not causation. Studies have shown marathoners presenting with EAMC despite mild temperatures (10-12 C). Other studies found that under hot, humid conditions, even athletes with a tendency to cramp do not do so predictably. Likewise, research comparing athletes with EAMC and those without failed to find a significant difference between the groups in change in plasma volume, change in blood volume, change in body weight, sweat rate or sodium loss rate.
Current research – derived from controlled studies with higher scientific validity – point to a neuromuscular basis for EAMC. This theory says that muscle overload and fatigue results in an imbalance between excitatory and inhibitory impulses going to the muscle fibers. A muscle that contracts from an already-shortened position, as would occur towards the end of a fatiguing exercise bout (or playoff game), reduces the usual inhibitory feedback that would relax that muscle. The reduced inhibitory feedback no longer effectively balances the excitatory signals that cause muscle contractions, resulting in a sustained and non-voluntary contraction: a cramp.
The effective treatment of cramps also supports the neuromuscular theory. Stretching is the most effective method for overcoming EAMC. Stretching increases the tension in the muscle tendon. This produces greater inhibitory output on the muscle, immediately correcting the excitation-inhibition imbalance proposed by the neuromuscular theory. Drinking even the best-designed sports drink would not provide such immediate relief, since it takes about 10 minutes for ingested fluids to fully enter the bloodstream.
Assessing the Competition
If we assume the electrolyte theory of EAMC is correct, could any of the sports drink companies claim to have been Lebron’s savior? The major electrolytes in the body are sodium, potassium, chlorine, calcium and magnesium. Sodium losses due to sweat are at least 7 times greater than losses of any other electrolyte, consistent with sodium’s higher baseline concentration. A study on NCAA Division I football players found that cramping athletes and non-cramping athletes had similar fluid intakes, fluid sweat losses and sweat potassium concentrations. The two groups differed in sweat sodium levels, with the cramping athletes losing significantly more sodium. Other studies have found that sodium and chloride losses due to sweating have the greatest impact on power output and athletic performance. The effects of losing other electrolytes (such as potassium) through sweat had insignificant effects on performance. While many studies have investigated the role of carbohydrates, vitamins and amino acids to exercise endurance and performance, none of these factors have been linked to onset of or recovery from EAMC.
| Sodium | Potassium | Carbs | Vitamin B | Amino Acids | ||
| Gatorade | 160 mg | 45 mg | 21 g | – | 0 | |
| Powerade | 150 mg | 35 mg | 21 g | 15% RDI | 0 | |
| BioSteel | 157 mg | – | 3 g | 1761 mcg | 3.8 g | |
| BodyArmor | 15 mg | 300 mg | 18 g | 100% RDI | 0 |
Source: Gatorade.com, Powerade.com, DrinkBodyArmor.com, BioSteel Product Info Sheet
Prepping for the Next Game
Exercising in heat and humidity requires greater exertion for a given level of output, resulting in a greater level of fatigue than an athlete might otherwise experience. Hot, humid conditions as found in the AT&T Center Friday night may have indirectly contributed to the onset of James’ muscle cramps via the neuromuscular mechanisms of fatigue and overload. Whereas James would ordinarily have been able to sustain his performance levels for the entire game, the environmental conditions reduced his exercise tolerance, possibly resulting in EAMC. The optimal sports drink for #6, then, would be one that best promotes recovery during breaks in the action, and that reduces mental and muscular fatigue.
The science better supports what the Spurs have been doing for years: yoga. Before putting up 35 points and 10 rebounds Sunday night, James got his downward dog on at the team hotel that morning.
We can only imagine what a brand could do if those pictures got released.
Exit Question #1: Who won Twitter?
Exit Question #2: What sports drink would you recommend if the AC goes out again?
Exit Question #3: Spurs in 7?
Let us know on Twitter.