A Sign In Late Spring

As I mentioned in an earlier post, there was a time when I actually regarded Coca-Cola as an energy drink.  I'm sure some cyclists still do.  In fact, some might regard it as a performance-enhancing drug.

Like nearly every cyclist in the developed world, I've seen innumerable Coke ads on billboards, storefronts and even painted on the sides of buildings.  But I've never seen one quite like this:

It's a still from Late Spring (Banshu), a 1949 film directed by Yasujiro Ozu.  Based on Kazuo Hirotsu's novel Father and Daughter (Chichi to musume), it belongs to a genre of Japanese film called shomingeki, which deals with the ordinary daily lives of modern working- and middle-class Japanese people.  This genre flourished during the immediate postwar period, in spite (or, some say, because) of the heavy censorship imposed by Allied occupying forces.  
Such films usually focused on families, featured simple plots and were shot with static cameras.  This genre might be compared, in some ways, to the Italian neo-realist films of the same period (such as Rome, Open City and The Bicycle Thief) and the French New Wave that brought us the likes of Le Quatre Cent Coups (The 400 Blows) a decade later.

There's a certain irony to seeing a Coca-Cola road sign in a film that's supposed to--at least on the surface--celebrate an idealized version of Japanese family life.  Then again, some have seen it as one of the ways Ozu subverted the censorship of the time. 

Hmm...Coca-Cola presented as a threat to traditional authority in order to subvert the censorship imposed by an occupier.  It's a bit much to wrap my head around.  Maybe it's easier to think of Coke as an energy drink--or even a performance-enhancing drug!

The Performance-Enhancing Drug Everybody Uses

Of course I'm not surprised to see that Coca-Cola is one of the main sponsors of the FIFA World Cup.  After all, Coke is one of the world's most recognized brands, in part because it' wholly or partially sponsors countless sporting events all over the world.  One of them, of course, is the Tour de France.

For all of the outcry about doping in cycling, football and just about every other sport you care to name, perhaps no single substance has been consumed in greater quantities by more athletes than "The Pause That Refreshes."

Some drink it just before events.  Others sip on it during their runs, rides or games.  And still others gulp it as a "recovery" drink.

Most of those athletes drink their Coke flat or de-fizzed.  Very few substances--even those from the world's most sophisticated labs--can deliver a quicker or more intense "boost"than Coke.  Even Starbuck's would be hard-pressed to concoct something with more sugar and more caffeine per serving than America's most recognized contribution to the world.

From what I've heard and read, Lance himself imbibed.  So did Frank Shorter in the 1972 Olympics.  In my racing days, I even saw racers who were the most resolute vegetarians--or who, at least, hadn't had a dish of ice cream since they were six years old--partake of John Pemberton's invention.

On those rare occasions when I drink soda these days, I drink Coke.  But I don't drink it during rides simply because the carbonation doesn't sit well with me and I don't want to take the time to wait for it to go flat.  But from those who drink it during rides, races, games, events or training, I'd be curious to know whether it has the same effect now that it, like nearly all soft drinks made in the US, uses high-fructose corn syrup rather than cane sugar.

I'd also like to know how many athletes drank it before 1903, when it was still made with fresh coca leaves.  I'd love to know how the anti-doping agencies would deal with it!