Winston/Nextel/Sprint Cup ~ What Comes Next?

(Feel better soon Junior. You are missed!)

 

I bid you welcome gentle readers, and a warm welcome also to our assigned reader of all things NASCAR. We do hope wherever you are, you’re keeping cool. Here in the Georgia hills, we’re looking at anywhere between 98º and 100º for the next however many days. That says “Summer” with a capital HOT! I have AC and don’t have to be out there, so I’m a happy old lady.

 

Speaking of happy makes one immediately think of smiles; at least it does this one, and I’m the one writing the column, so today, I have decreed that we all be sharing our smiles with each other.

 

Yes, it’s true; there is little to smile about on the NASCAR front these days when considering attendance or TV ratings, and we just left one of the most boring races of the season… New Hampshire… to move to the other one… Indianapolis… but hear me out. I’ve thought up an entertaining game for us to play.

 

The idea came to me, not in a dream or a flash of fire, but while reading an article on the Cup News page at Jayski.com, citing an article from Forbes regarding the search for a new Series sponsor. The article included a short list of “possibles” in contention for becoming Series sponsor. However, the list was from last October, and I’ve no idea of the relevance of such a list today. Still, I’ll give it to you if you haven’t read it or don’t readily remember what was happening last October other than Halloween.

 

Panasonic Japan

LG South Korean

Coca-Cola Atlanta GA

Goodyear Akron OH

Comcast Philadelphia PA

Hisense China

 

Your scribe took the liberty of adding the Home Office locations of each company listed. In a word, “Interesting!” Let’s just move on for today though and get to the game. I remember having some fun with this around the time we learned that R.J. Reynolds and their Winston Brand had been unceremoniously “dumped” by our Federal Government and could no longer continue as sponsor of NASCAR’s elite series, then known as the Winston Cup Series.

 

Because it had been known for so many years as the “Cup” series, it seemed likely that part of the name would continue, which it did. The Winston Cup always entailed an actual cup, hence the name. The new Cup, when revealed had nothing to do with a cup, and all I’ll say here is I’m not drinking out of that!

And so it is, gentle readers, that your scribe has compiled a quick list of companies and how their product might be known if the parent company were to become the new NASCAR Series Sponsor. Some make perfect sense such as the Coffee Cup and Tea Cup. Others might be a bit of a stretch but all are legitimate cups.

 

Land O’Lakes The Buttercup

Maidenform The Double-D Cup

Dukes of Hazzard The Dixie Cup

Under Armour The Athletic Cup

Maxwell House The Coffee Cup

Twinings The Tea Cup

Starbucks The Cappuccino Cup

Lunette The Menstrual Cup

Dart Container The Solo Cup (Red if you like)

WebRestaurantStore The Styrofoam Cup

JIF The Peanut Butter Cup

Boyer Candies The Mallo Cup

Lipton The Cup-a Soup Cup

Match.com The Loving Cup

Parker Brothers The Dice Cup

Yankee Candles The Candle Cup

Taylor Instrument The Measuring Cup

E. & J. Gallo Winery The Wine Cup

Tupperware The Plastic Cup

Hoover Vacuum The Suction Cup

Dixie Cups The Paper Cup

Pfizer The Pill Cup

Keurig The K-Cup

Alcoholics Anonymous The No-Drinking Cup

Victoria’s Secret The Padded Cup

 

Alright folks, you have my ideas. Now we want to hear yours. Please, don’t be shy… post your ideas below, or if you really are the bashful type, email them to me and I’ll post them for you, anonymously if you like, or with your name… your choice. I know that there are some extremely clever folks reading this, and I can’t wait to see some of the “Cups” y’all can come up with. Personally, I’m having a bit of a giggle-fest just imagining what the trophies might look like for some of the ones already listed. Still, I don’t think they could be worse than the one we currently have. Waving flags? Really? Look again Sprint! Look closely!

Hey! It’s a Cup, and fits the theme of the day, and that musical cup signals that it’s time for our Classic Country Closeout. I doubt I can keep that theme intact throughout, but I do have a wonderful recording to start us off. This is Jimmy Dean doing his recitation of “Drinking from My Saucer.” Please enjoy!

Next let’s listen to Marty Robbins as he tells us all about those “Smokin’ Cigarettes and Drinkin’ Coffee Blues.”

Here’s a sad one from one of my favorites. This is Ernest Tubb singing “I’ll Just Have a Cup of Coffee.”

OK gentle readers, I’m about tapped out of “Cup” songs in the Country vein, so we’ll wrap it up this week with Box Car Willie singing “Auld Lang Syne.” It qualifies… barely… there is that part about taking a “Cup of Kindness.”

 

Be well gentle readers, and remember to keep smiling. It looks so good on you!


~PattyKay