Matt's Fragmented Memories of SURGE
Some fans may just remember one or two things about SURGE. Matt, on the other hand, has a whole list!

My brother saw this site listed on Yahoo the other night, and after he told me about it, I had to check it out. I couldn't believe that anyone else out there still loved and missed Surge.

I remember the commotion in the parking lot. School was getting out and the normally crowded lot was total chaos. These crazy green vans pulled up with equally green cans and bottles of some new soft drink. FREE! I grabbed a can for myself and it was love at first gulp. They were having promotional games and giving out prizes, but I had to be to work so I was only able to stay for one drink. They installed a vending machine in the cafeteria and I'm not kidding when I say that the thing was almost always empty because so many of us were drinking it.

Among my friends, we always had plenty of Surge. We were all skateboarders of varying skill, and of course we were one of the targets of the whole "extreme" marketing hype. My mother used to buy it in large quantities, but one day she told us she couldn't find it anymore. I didn't think anything of it until I couldn't find it anywhere, even at the local gas station fountains. I chalked it up to another instance of a failed product that I just happened to love, and didn't think there was anyone else out there who felt the same as I did.

But wait, there's more! Although it was rolled out in 1997, I could have sworn those vans showed up in 1996. I live in western lower Michigan, which is often used as a test market area for various products. I might be wrong, but I do remember calling a friend who lived out of state and raving about Surge, which he'd never heard of. Unless he was living under a rock and missed the marketing blitz, perhaps I got to savor the Surge before many others. :)

There was also another Surge contest that happened in the area. Now, the exact details escape me at the moment, but I believe the idea was you had to jump into a very large container filled with ice water and flail around wildly with a bunch of other people looking for a can of Surge. The prize? A Checker cab, painted Surge green. The winner ended up being a friend of a friend, and I saw the Surge cab around town often, since we all went to the same local punk rock shows.

Wish I could remember more, but it isn't something I've thought about much until tonight. But after seeing other people who've stockpiled Surge, I wish I'd saved some for myself.

-Matt

Thanks Matt!