Capitals fans, if you’re a fan of Coca-Cola products and hated having to drink Pepsi at Caps games, this news is huge for you.
Wednesday, it was announced that Coca-Cola is now the exclusive soft drink partner for Monumental Sports & Entertainment. That means only Coke products will be served at Caps or Wizards games inside of Capital One Arena this season.
🚨 New for all Capital One Arena events: @CocaCola is now the exclusive soft drink partner for Monumental Sports & Entertainment (@MSE). Enjoy a great Coke product the next time you are at a @Capitals or @WashWizards game, or at a concert/event! pic.twitter.com/UxwfObh34f
— Capital One Arena (@CapitalOneArena) October 5, 2022
Capital One Arena, known then as the Verizon Center, switched from Coke products to Pepsi products sometime in early 2013. Now, Coke is back.
Not only is this great news for fans of both the Caps and Coke but it’s also likely great news for Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin who has long promoted, drank, and been sponsored by Coca-Cola.
Here’s a sampling of Ovechkin-Coca-Cola RMNB headlines over the years.
- Alex Ovechkin got sent several pallets full of Coke products
- After the Nazem Kadri hit, Alex Ovechkin was chilling in the locker room drinking a Coke
- Nastya Ovechkina holds up Coke can reminding us Alex Ovechkin is the MVP
- Alex Ovechkin drinks three Cokes before games, Justin Timberlake once let team into locker room
Ovi is known to even keep a water bottle full of Coke on the bench during games as a quick sugar boost. Former Caps defenseman Matt Niskanen learned that the hard way after a long shift.
Talked to Niskanen today, asked him about playing with Ovechkin.
He told me once he came off the ice exhausted, reached for a drink on the bench, and it was full of Coca-Cola.
It was Ovi’s.
More on that coming soon on @NBCSPhilly
— Taryn Hatcher (@TarynNBCS) August 29, 2019
In December of 2021, ESPN’s Emily Kaplan sparked some intrigue when she reported on The Great Eight’s soda-drinking habits during games.
“Alex Ovechkin is pretty famous that he has the same pregame meal,” Kaplan reported. “It’s a heavy meal from Mamma Lucia’s. I’ve also heard a rumor that he has Coca-Cola during games. I got to the bottom of it. It’s in this water bottle. It’s not Coca-Cola. It’s actually Pepsi during games. I saw him sip it a little during the first period. In the first intermission, he actually likes Dr. Pepper.”
It could be that his habit changed to Pepsi due to sheer availability in the arena and now that could flip back to Coke with this exclusive deal.
Photo by Taras Chernus on Unsplash
