Maybe the commercial copy should read: “Got Gatorade?” instead of “Got Milk?”

As another NFL camp opens and players sweat through 100-degree heat, the liquid refreshment became the topic of a recent story told by famed kicker Garo Yepremian. Appearing at the Champs and Stars show, sponsored by Sportzbox last month in Atlantic City, Yepremian recalled the longest game in NFL history—Christmas Day, 1971—which he ended by kicking a field goal.

Yepremian’s most vivid memory of the five-and-one-half quarter, double-overtime playoff nail-biter was not the tension. Nor was it the cold.

“It was the Gatorade,” he said. “Everybody kept drinking it, but when the fourth quarter ended, we couldn’t go to the locker room because of the overtime. Then it was the double overtime and we still can’t go to the bathroom, but the guys keep drinking and drinking the Gatorade.  Now they have to go the bathroom and they can’t.  You see the pain on their faces. Guys start squirming and crossing their legs, but the game keeps going for a record amount of time. Now they finally have to give in, you know (soil their jerseys). We’re wearing the light-colored uniforms too, so it shows up. When you look at the tape of that game in overtime, you’ll see a lot of missed tackles. Many players didn’t even bother tackling the guy who had with the ball.”

Yepremian, who endured 10 back surgeries, joins the list of former players not happy with the pension system. He depicted the NFL’s frugality in his day with a grin.

“You see kickers warming up into a net when an important kick is on the line,” he said. “I asked coach Don Shula to try to get me one. He refused. Why? Because it cost $68.”

By Dave Bontempo

Casino Connection Sports Editor Dave Bontempo is an award-winning sports writer and broadcaster who calls boxing matches all over the world. He has covered the Philadelphia Flyers in the playoffs, as well as numerous PGA, LPGA and Seniors Golf Tour events, and co-hosted the Casino Connection television program with Publisher Roger Gros.