Gatorade’s Unreal New Flavor: The Green Fury
Imagine this: just a few minutes left till the referee blows the final whistle with the score tied. Time is running out. You are terribly exhausted, but you know that it takes just one spark to turn the game around so you push yourself beyond the ordinary limits, give it all you’ve got, wear your heart on your sleeve. Before you know it, you’ve acquired possession of the ball and on your way to shooting. You shoot. Goal! The crowd goes wild! You have just exhibited an unreal performance for everyone to witness.
Without proper hydration, your body would have given up on you and you wouldn’t have scored that goal. This is exactly what Gatorade offers, the hydration that allows you to go that extra mile. Quoting Gatorade’s tagline, “Unreal performances demands real hydration.” Now, the world’s most popular sports drink has a new limited edition flavor to offer: Green Fury. This flavor is a way of showing Gatorade’s support for football in the country with affiliation with top Philippine clubs like Loyola Meralco Sparks, Kaya, and Green Archers.
A who’s who of Philippine football journalists participating in the evening’s activities
To launch Green Fury, Gatorade invited its media friends to an evening of football at the Gatorade-Chelsea Blue Pitch at Circuit Makati. As an avid supporter of the Azkals and Philippine football in general, I was standing among stars. Fresh from their historic silver-medal run at Maldives, Phil and James Younghusband were present, as well as Chieffy Caligdong, Nate Burkey, and Patrick Deyto. There were also familiar faces from the Philippine football media, and even basketball star LA Tenorio was there.
My friend Derick with the Philippines’ top scorer of the modern era, Phil Younghusband
Me with Azkals and Green Archers keeper, Patrick Deyto
The whole idea of the evening was to hop from one drill station to another, just like how it is in a regular football camp. Before going through the whole thing, though, we were all given a bottle of ice-cold Green Fury Gatorade because it is of utmost importance that a person should hydrate before doing any strenuous activities, not during.
Even before drinking this new flavor, I was already in love with its eye-candy color. I fell even more in love with it when I started drinking. Simply put, it’s Kiwi with that extra energizing punch Gatorade is known for. This is something you just have to taste for yourself. You won’t be disappointed, I tell you.
Green Fury is just as satisfying to look at as it is to drink!
Two members of Futkaleros exhibiting the juggling skills
There were eight different stations focusing on the various aspects of football. To enumerate: the heading section, throw-in, precision pass, dribbling, shooting, and three sports science stations manned by UST students. It’s been a while since I’ve played some football so I was rusty at some of the drills; fun nonetheless. My favorite was definitely the precision pass section because it was so difficult to accurately shoot the ball into the barrels laid down by the goal posts and when I did score one, the sense of achievement was monumental.
Azkals forward Nate Burkey leading the warm-up routine for the player-participants
(Itching to play some football? Check out Football Manila here: Football Manila: Bringing the Football Fever to Manila)
Coaches from the Younghusband Football Academy teaching their trade to the player-participants
Aiming for that small barrel is harder than you think!Â
Phil Younghusband getting ready to undergo a test of agility
Me eyeing a device that measures how high a person’s jump is
A typical dribbling drill that is utilized in football camps around the world
 (Need high-caliber sportswear to complement your unreal performance? Check out Under Armour Philippines and their new Alter-Ego collection here: Under Armour Philippines)
The main highlight of the night for me was the scrimmage between teams co-captained by Phil and Chieffy, and by James and Nate. I was fortunate enough to play with these stars of Philippine football, and I was hellbent on impressing them (or at least get noticed!). The team I was drafted into was Team Phil & Chieffy and as soon as Referee Michael Barajas blew the whistle, Team James-Nate immediately tried for a shot on goal, which goalkeeper and Philippine Azkals commentator Bob Guerrero tapped beyond the crossbar for a corner.
The corner was converted into a goal (unfortunately, for my team). Team James & Nate scored another one a few minutes later, to which Phil replied with a goal. Sadly, it proved too late for Team Phil & Chieffy as the match ended 2-1. The pace was undeniably intense but I felt very little strain; wouldn’t have been possible without Green Fury.
Chieffy gives his teammates bibs to be worn during the scrimmage
Team James-Nate celebrates their victory.
All exhausted but still happy!
The lucky winners of David Luiz, Aguero, and Messi jerseys. Phil Younghusband wins one too.
It may sound corny to some, but we were all winners that evening, partly because all of us got these classy shirts from Gatorade. Plus, we were all given a taste of the new Green Fury Gatorade, which I reiterate is a limited edition flavor. So, make sure you get some at leading supermarkets and convenience stores before they run out!
Gatorade Philippines
Twitter: @GatoradePH
Facebook:Â https://www.facebook.com/GatoradePH
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