Why Does Gatorade Hate the Detroit Tigers?

While watching the college football bowl season, did you notice that Gatorade commercial with Derek Jeter apparently hitting a home run off Todd Jones at Yankee Stadium?  I'd been meaning to post something about this before, but was reminded to after seeing the ad again (maybe for one last time?) about midway through the fourth quarter of last night's LSU-Ohio State championship game.

(Can't Stop the Bleeding wrote a post on it a couple of weeks ago, and included an image from the commercial.)

To steal a line from the brilliant (though underappreciated, because it was never actually performed) stand-up routine I composed 15 years ago, "What's up with that?"  Was someone working on the ad campaign a Yankees fan?  Did he or she grow up with a hatred of the Tigers?  Was an autograph request dissed by Jones?  Did Jonesy steal a cab from someone in the Bronx?

No other team - and more particularly, no other athlete - is shown being vanquished during the commercial.  (Peyton Manning appears to have thrown a touchdown pass against the Chicago Bears, but Marvin Harrison didn't catch a pass over, say, Charles Tillman in the end zone.)  Yet there's Jonesy looking forlorn on the mound (with Carlos Guillen turning away in disappointment or disgust) while Jeter celebrates his game-winning feat of majesty and O Fortuna booms triumphantly on the soundtrack.

Check out the commercial for yourself.

I think it's only fair that Gatorade releases a sequel in which Jones either strikes out Jeter or sends a fastball right between his shoulder blades.  Or maybe Gary Sheffield can take Jeter out with a hard slide at second base.  That could play during the All-Star break.  You just created a Powerade drinker, Gatorade!