I know it sounds weird. The announcer said they had dill pickle jars on the sideline drinking the juice to keep hydrated. I will try to look it up. I do remember back in highschool my dad gave me salt tablets to get me hydrated again. They worked like magic.
I guess it was to combat cramps. I found this on the net.............
PURPOSE
The use of pickle juice as a defense against muscle cramps first attracted headlines when the Philadelphia Eagles credited pickle juice with their cramp-free win over the Dallas Cowboys in the over-one-hundred-degrees Texas heat. Rick Burkholder, the Eagles’ head trainer, called it his “secret weapon.” Pickle companies (such as Mt. Olive Pickle, Vlasic Foods and Golden Pickle) claim that pickle juice is similar to an isotonic beverage and can prevent muscle cramps caused from strenuous exercise. Mt. Olive Pickle asserts that “an athletic trainer from the University of Northern Iowa” uses pickle juice to avoid muscle cramps in athletes. (http://www.mtolivepickles.com/Picklemania/PickleJuicePower.html)
Golden Pickle has even created a sports drink, appropriately named “Pickle Juice Sport.” Golden Pickle claims that Pickle Juice Sport has “approximately 30 times more electrolytes than Powerade and 15 times more than Gatorade.” (http://www.goldenpicklejuice.com). It is even endorsed by Dallas Cowboy Jason Witten.
COUGARS LAP UP CRAMP-SAVING, PUCKER-INDUCING
PICKLE JUICE
For years BYU trainer George Curtis heard about pickle juice as a way to combat cramps, but he never had the courage to try it. Until this football season. Knowing the Cougars had several games in high humidity climates and hot weather, Curtis investigated the liquid, and players began imbibing.
"I've cramped up and needed an IV or a shot in the 40 games I have played in at BYU before this year," says fullback Kalani Sitake, a senior from Kirkwood, Mo. "Some people say it's a placebo effect, but it works for me, and I haven't had any problems this year." Of course, "It doesn't taste very good," says Sitake.
The low-down: BYU players guzzled one and a half gallons of pickle juice at Florida State and two and a half gallons at Virginia; Cougars drink three to four ounces of pickle juice one hour before the game and another two ounces at halftime; Sitake leads all Cougars by sipping pickle juice every half-hour during the game, consuming 10 to 12 ounces per game