Gatorade is one of the most valuable brands in marketing today. Associated with the most exciting moments in sports history, Gatorade is always on the sidelines when the greatest plays get made. It’s the sacrament of American competitive fervor. It keeps the best players in the game hydrated and energized. It gets poured over the heads of coaches at the proudest moments. And even if you just watch these games from your TV screen, you can buy the same stuff at any convenience store in the country. For a nation hooked on competitive sports, Gatorade is the drink of choice.

They are also a big part of how and why we are able to see these remarkable games. Gatorade does better the more popular sports like basketball and football are. When people get wrapped up in narratives of greatness, of rivalry, of overnight success, Gatorade’s stock in trade is on the rise. For this reason, they’ve been part of the innovation that brings us closer to the action. There’s always demand for better cameras, more accurate ways of viewing sports’ greatest moments. And because each of these is in the public record as they happen, there’s a clear record of who is the best. This is a cultural line in the sand, and athletes around the world strive to out-achieve the moments forever recorded by the media teams sponsored by Gatorade.

Once a great athlete has captured the imagination of the public, like a Jordan or a James, it’s only a matter of time before someone will be motivated to outdo them. This takes a lifetime of work and preparation. But just as Gatorade, the liquid, fuels and energizes active bodies, Gatorade the brand and idea fuels people’s desire to achieve new things. Without great new athletes capable of things never seen before, sports would fail. Gatorade is a big part of driving the changes that keep sports relevant and gives humanity new examples of greatness and achievement.