An Ode to Cup-Raising

Cups have come a long way from tea parties and backyard socials. Watching the Davis Cup this morning made us think about how Cups fit into the sports landscape. They supersede goblets, cauldrons, vats, and every other sort of container, with the possible exception of bowls. The list includes the Ryder Cup, the Stanley Cup, the World Cup, the Grey Cup, the Spengler Cup, the Sudirman Cup, the FA Cup, and, for college hoops coaches, the Rupp Cup. European football even used to have the Cup-Winners Cup, honoring those who had won Cups with the opportunity to win another Cup. Oh, and if you won that Cup, you got to go play for yet a third Cup, the UEFA Super Cup.⁽¹⁾

Lord Stanley's Cup

Dwight Davis donated the trophy bearing his name,⁽²⁾ and while historically the term “Cup: has denoted the physical award one received (and perhaps drank from) when winning, over the years the term has come to be used interchangeably with the completion itself.

The America’s Cup lays claim to being the “oldest trophy in international sport, ” with a history dating to the mid-19^th century.⁽³⁾ Apparently, however, the original winners considered melting down the 100 Guinea Cup, as it was first known.⁽⁴⁾ Can you really call it a Cup competition if you don’t have a cup?

As a matter of fact, you don’t actually have to play for a Cup to have a Cup.

FIFA calls its competition the World Cup, but its prize goes by the name "FIFA World Cup Trophy." They make it from gold and malachite.⁽⁵⁾ Soccer also has an actual gold cup, the CONCACAF Gold Cup competition. They do have a cup that they call a Cup, although, in a bit of a bringdown, it’s not made from solid gold, but rather “gold-plated metal.”⁽⁶⁾

In the NHL, you get your name etched on the Stanley Cup if you win the title. Sports cups seem to have often gotten their names from people, as opposed to corporate sponsors. Lord Frederick may have donated the cup, but the company Henry founded probably sells extra tools every June thanks to some naming rights exposure they didn’t have to pay for.

Have Solo and Dixie missed sponsorship opportunities? Would some competition change their vessel from cup to glass in exchange for a sufficiently sizable Riedel corporate partnership? Some Cups have gone for the money, of course. The America’s Cup struck a nice history/lucre balance by getting some partnership dollars without having to compromise the brand : the sailing competition just added another Cup. Since 1983, the team that wins the right to challenge the defending champion has received the Louis Vuitton Cup.

 “Cup” may be a popular name for trophies, but not so much for participants. After looking at player names in a number of major sports, we found only offensive lineman Keith Cupp, of whom an announcer could have proclaimed “Cupp cups the Cup” as Keith proudly raised it up. Unfortunately, he played a sport that names its hardware the Lombardi Trophy. Mr. Cupp also played only three games in his career, as a Bengals replacement player during the 1987 player strike.⁽⁷⁾ We’d love to count Curley Culp here, because he has an awesome name and Hall-of-Fame résumé, but that one “L” is too much to overcome.

In the sport where you actually try to put the ball in the cup, golf’s FedEx Cup (not to be confused with women’s tennis’ Fed Cup) presents a couple of conundrums. It has a corporate name, which, as we’ve established, stands out. While it’s not quite as romantic as Lord Stanley donating a cup, we assume the shipping company at least moved this one around some. And they call the Tiffany & Co. creation the “FedEx Cup Trophy.”⁽⁸⁾ Did they need to add that extra word at the end? It is the Cup, it’s what you play for, the PGA’s Holy Grail, if you will, speaking of important cups.  Maybe let’s call it the FedEx Cup Cup.

A cup commemorating a Cup

We should note, by the way, that you don’t have to actually be able to drink from a trophy to call it a Cup, although FA Cup corporate sponsor Budweiser tried using technology to overcome its trophy’s imbiber-unfriendly structure. Their virtual can imprint made it appear to your smartphone that you were guzzling suds from the FA Cup.⁽⁹⁾

Cups play an important role in sports. We compete to win Cups, we spill our beer out out of them when reacting to a score, we cup our hands in an effort to amplify our vocal support of our teams. Oh, and we use them for protection. The only comment we’ll make about that kind of sports cup is that baseballer Adrián Beltré famously doesn’t wear one. He’s clearly made out of stuff a lot stronger than a red Solo. So raise your glass, or, you know, cup, to him.

Rush Olson has spent two decades directing creative efforts for sports teams and broadcasters. He currently creates ad campaigns and related creative projects for sports entities through his company, Rush Olson Creative & Sports.

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Footnotes

⁽¹⁾http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Cup_Winners'_Cup

⁽²⁾http://www.daviscup.com/en/history/davis-cup-history.aspx

⁽³⁾http://www.americascup.com/en/about/history

⁽⁴⁾http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/reform/jb_reform_boat_1.html

⁽⁵⁾http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_World_Cup_Trophy

⁽⁶⁾http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2013/05/14/concacaf-unveils-new-look-gold-cup-trophy-be-awarded-july-28-chicago

⁽⁷⁾http://bengalsjungle.com/replacement-players.html

⁽⁸⁾http://www.pgatour.com/fedexcup/what-to-know--the-fedexcup-trophy.html

⁽⁹⁾http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/117739-budweiser-aurasma-drink-beer-fa-cup