Winston/Nextel/Sprint Cup ~ What Comes Next?
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(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