Cheerwatch Investigative Reporting

Down in the South

2007-07-27T17:19:00.000-04:00

Hey fans, Brian Bishop speaking. One thing you learn quickly when distributing the delicious life-juice of Cheerwine is that if anything is better than ice cold Cheerwine ... well there really isn't anything better than cold Cheerwine. Down here in Charleston, SC we can't hand out enough Cheerwine to you cherry thirsty folks. While sampling Cheerwine in Downtown Charleston we noticed that holding a Cheerwine complimented many shopper's fashion-savvy outfits. On the other hand, even the hard dirty workers look like a million bucks with Cheerwine in their hands. Checks these pics out.

Check back with us tommorrow as we will be roaming the sandy white beaches trying to calm your sometimes vicious thirst for what we like to call, "Liquid Heaven".

And We're Back, With a New Face

2007-07-26T18:41:00.001-04:00

Hey everyone, I just wanted to welcome everyone to our blog. Sam and Matt (our buddies) were actually kidnapped by Northerners. Now Brian and I are on the hunt to find Matt and Sam and hand out Ice COLD Cheerwine (check out our updated profiles).

For the past week we've hit some hot spots and handed out plenty of drinks to thirsty fans. We tackled the Reef-Sweetwater Surf Competition, off of Wrightsville Beach, and the whole UNCW and Wilmington area. I hope you got a cold Cheerwine. Here are some pictures of avid fans, sipping the nectar of the South.

Here are some more shots of us running into PRO surfers dominating the east coast waves.

More highlights from the last weekend of Brian and I include the Raleigh Downtown festival, what a blast. Brian and I posted up in the middle of downtown Raleigh with our sweet CheerTracker Van and handed out over 3000 samples to avid Cheerwine Lovers. At one point Brian was sampling from the roof our our van because fans were all around. Check these pics out.

Well now we are off to the deep South, Charleston, SC, we are goin to hang out and have a good time while giving thirsty fans some cold Cheerwine. Find us, we will be in the downtown area and we will have plenty of Cheerwine, see you then. P.S. (here are some photos of Brian and I, the new R.A.O.S. sampling team.)

Catchin' up

2007-07-03T22:55:00.000-04:00

Hey folks! The Cheer-watch Team has been super busy for the past week and we haven't updated yall on how our efforts are going out there. Sorry about that, but there's alot to tell.

When we were in Warrenton, VA we gave out more Cheerwine than we typically do down here in the Carolinas. Way to go Virginia! They know that for a sweet, cherry soft drink they need not venture to another brand that Cheerwine. As we said in our last post, we gave out samples at the Jimmy Buffett concert near Warrenton on June 28. It was awesome. The Parrotheads were as enthusiastic about Cheerwine as they were to wave their fins for Mr. Buffett. Here's some shots of the day (Yes, day. The tailgaters for the show began cramming in at about NOON!)

Make sure to check out the people filling up their own portable pool as well as our awesome Cheerwine Hawaiian shirts.

Earlier this week we landed at Myrtle Beach again to celebrate the 4th of July. We can barely keep the Cheerwine cold! Honestly we ice the stuff down in our Cheer-tracker and then before it even has time to cool we have people mobbing us for a taste of that stuff we lovingly refer to as "the sweetness."

Fear not loyal fans. Not even the thirsty patriots here at Myrtle can deplete the stock of Cheerwine in the area, they just might deplete ours though! Tomorrow should be an awesome day of giving and celebrating. See you there.

Reporting from the only shade in Myrtle,

Sam

Testing the Waters

2007-06-26T21:19:00.000-04:00

Today we set out for Warrenton, VA to see the reaction from people outside the Carolinas to the ridiculous red refreshment we know as Cheerwine. We're gearing up the area for a huge sampling experiment that will take place at the Jimmy Buffett concert at Nissan Pavillion Thursday. We hit up gas stations around the town seeing who, if anyone, was brave enough to be cherry different. The results were promising.

The folks at a Dairy Queen used Cheerwine to make a "really really really tasty" milkshake. Take our word for it.

Here is one of our successful test runs with the Virginians for your viewing pleasure.

From close to the Mason-Dixon,

Sam

Charleston Day 3

2007-06-17T03:32:00.000-04:00

In honor of today being drastically more successful than the rainy day we persevered through yesterday, Sam and I thought we would just post some much-requested photos of the amazing Cheerwine fans we came across today. We converted a lot of out-of-towners, and bolstered the spirits of proud native Cheerwine drinkers. These photos are for all of you who made today a record-setting success.

Here's Sam posting one of our new flyers. If you find the lost can of Cheerwine, please let us know at Cheerwine.com

Some Cheerwine shotgunning on Folly Beach.

Once again, we'd like to thank all the easy-going Cheerwine-loving friends we made today. We're working hard to protect your right to drink Cheerwine, and it's a great feeling to see such appreciation.

From the ever-enjoyable trenches,
Matt

Charleston...Chuckston to his friends

2007-06-16T01:10:00.000-04:00

The Cheerwatch Investigative Reporting Team is in Charleston, South Carolina, for the weekend. Upon arriving Thursday afternoon, Sam and I wasted no time loading our coolers and hitting the downtown streets in search of more proud Cheerwine fans who would join in the fight to protect your right to drink it. After a few rounds of recruiting on Charleston's main strip, King Street, we thought everything was in place for a weekend of relaxed Cheerwine enjoyment. We were wrong, though. Nothing could have prepared us for the monsoon that was Friday.

As you can see here, this was not the day to find Cheerwine drinkers out on Folly Beach. It is the belief of this investigative reporter that the Yankee Cheerwine hoarders are behind this unsuspected turn of "nature."

Sam and I improvised, however. We made our way to the Tanger Outlet Center just outside of Charleston and continued our search for Cheerwine supporters. After fighting off some feisty northerners, we made promising contact with a kind mid-westerner named Jeff.

"We don't have this stuff out in Indiana," Jeff said.
Upon tasting the drink for the first time, Jeff told us that he was going to buy a few cases before returning back home. However, he promised to share with local friends as opposed to keeping it all to himself. We believed him, due in large part to his obvious respect for Cheerwine. Just check out the color of his shirt as proof.

Well, Sam and I have two more busy days ahead of us. Be on the lookout for us tomorrow at Folly Beach. And who knows? If it's another rainy one, we just might be coming to find you.

From the trenches,
Matt

North Myrtle and Southport

2007-06-10T22:06:00.000-04:00

The team moved north after two days in Myrtle Beach to a town with a similar name and similar desire for Cheerwine. On the drive up we began to wonder. Does Cheerwine get watered down? Only an official experiment by the investigative unit in North Myrtle Beach would due for us to find out.

We lined up some cans of Cheerwine and asked passersby to attempt to water them down with some standard issue Cheer-watch Water Pistols. After the cans sustained the impact from the pressured streams, we opened them and tried the sweet goodness inside.

The verdict: Although the cans were in fact "downed" by using water, the drink did not become "watered down." If they could take such a beating as that, it must be true that Cheerwine can never become watered down in taste--ever.

Today was spent at North Myrtle and Southport, N.C. attempting to discover the effect Cheerwine has on our animal friends.

In Southport we came across some fishermen who weren't having the best of luck. We gave them some cans of cold Cheerwine to hopefully lure the gilled guys (or gals) towards the Southport City Pier. I'm not sure if did the trick because the fishermen seemed to enjoy drinking the stuff themselves rather than using it as bait.

On the ferry from Southport to Wilmington we spotted some gulls circling the back of the boat. As the pictures shows, they weren't looking for ANYTHING other than Cheerwine. Promise.

From the trenches,

Sam

Myrtle Beach Day 2

2007-06-09T00:23:00.000-04:00

The team turned up some dirt during our second day in South Carolina.

We have identified two ways of spotting a potential Cheerwine hoarder from the north. Both concern lifestyle.

As we first set out protecting people's right to drink, we came across a man who did not go by a conventional first, or last, name.

"Just call me the Red Rider," said Red Rider.

You'll notice the red sticker on the front of Rider's helmet, an addition by the investigative team which he gladly accepted.

Rider lives in Myrtle Beach and confessed to using his iron steed to speed Cheerwine wherever he pleases, and then immediately consume it. He did not seem to pose a threat as a hoarder due to his choice of digs on the Carolina coast, but since Rider is a biker it could be logical to assume that all bikers enjoy the refreshing taste of cold red can. This would undoubtedly apply to bikers from the north. Motorcycles could in fact be the perfect getaway vehicle for one twelve pack... OR EVERN TWO!

The other group which we found to be the most fanatic about snagging some soda were construction workers. The Cheertracker 1 news vehicle was stormed as we pulled to a stop outside a site along the water. With our coolers empty, we retreated to a gas station to restock on ice. Luckily a hidden compartment in the van protected our waning supply of drink.

From the trenches,

Sam

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NEWSFLASH

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In our investigations today a can of Cheerwine was misplaced. It was not enjoyed by some lucky southerner, nor hoarded by a greedy northerner. It's LOST! If you or anyone you know has any information that could lead us to the location of this lost can, please notify the team at once.

Myrtle Beach, Day 1

2007-06-08T00:43:00.000-04:00

Reporting on location from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, the Cheer-Watch Investigative Reporting Unit has made several new allies in the effort to protect your right to drink Cheerwine.

After the long, arduous journey to the South Carolinian paradise, the Cheertracker 1 News Van was in need of some serious scrubb-a-dubbing. When stopped at a local car-wash, Sam and I made a friend with the manager named Aaron who, in exchange for a case of the good stuff, let us use free water in our cleaning struggle. Aaron, who sees a lot of license plates every day, agreed that the Yankee penetration into Cheerwine territory is worsening as the summer progresses.

Later in the day, we met a Cheerwine crusading couple from Nashville, Nathan and Carla James. The James couple reportedly had sold Cheerwine at an ice-cream store they owned in Franklin, North Carolina, before their move west.

"Cheerwine is making big strides in Tennessee. I see it moving westward at a strong steady rate," James said.

It wasn't all fun in the sun, however. Sam caught two ladies from Cincinatti breaking into the Cheertracker, trying to steal cases of the Cherry Different Soda. Thanks to some quick picture-taking, these ladies won't be escaping from the law for too long.

All in all, it was a good day for the Investigative Reporting Team. We made some strong new friends who are already fighting the good fight. We can only hope the rest of the weekend goes so well.
Reporting dutifully from the trenches, this is Matt signing off.

Wrightsville Beach

2007-05-30T01:42:00.000-04:00

Sam and I here at the Cheerwatch Investigative Reporting Team wrapped up our first weekend in Wilmington with a two-day study conducted at sunny Wrightsville Beach on the southerness of Cheerwine. After conducting some extensive interrogations up and down the beach, startling news that had previously been only a rumor was finally confirmed: greedy Yankees are in fact hoarding our Cheerwine.

As you can see here, these rough guys from Boston have sunken their clam chowder-loving teeth into some of our tasty Cheerwine, and they don't look to be giving it up all too easily. Just look at the intimidating look on the tall bodyguard's face in the background.

Luckily, our research led us to a published expert on both Cheerwine and the threat posed by Yankee hoarders. Kathleen, the cherry guru seen analyzing the Cherry Different Soda with me on the beach below, has conducted her own studies into the southern uniqueness of Cheerwine at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Referencing previous data collected by the Cheerwine sampling team of last summer, Kathleen stated, "The threat of Cheerwine depletion due to the greediness of northerners is very real and very scary."

At this point, no viable solution seems to be in sight. Sam and I are strapping in and holding on for the battle, though, so keep tuning in for the latest news.

Reporting bravely from the trenches, this is Matt Clements with the Cheerwatch News Team.

Kure Beach

2007-05-27T21:14:00.000-04:00

A study performed by the Cheerwatch Investigative Reporting unit determined that beachgoers at Kure Beach, NC are in fact "avid Cheerwine drinkers."

A van stocked with cases of the ice cold drink was no match for the thirst of the the masses that flocked to the shore for Memorial Day weekend.

"The diet tastes just like the regular," said Tim Ihavealotofthirst of Wilmington.

Without being prompted, many beachgoers approched the Cheertracker 1 news vehicle asking for beverages. The news team obligued. Conducting the study took a lot of effort, a fact that can easily be seen in the photo below.

Photos

2007-05-27T21:03:00.001-04:00

Pictures of the Hoosiers and Bike Race

NewsFlash!

2007-05-26T10:55:00.000-04:00

After some investigative reporting, it has been determined that midwesterners love Cheerwine and they also love Tyler Hansbrough.
The Cheerwatch News Team's investigative reporting unit, headed by Matt and myself, came across some folks from Marion, Indiana Friday and they all approached us with similar questions.
"Do you know Tyler Hansbrough?" asked a few of the wide-eyed Hoosiers.
"Is it true that Tyler Hansbrough drank five cases of Cheerwine without burping?" asked others.
One thing is for sure, midwesterners have a love for their fellow midwestern brother. Another thing, when given some free Cheerwine, immediate suspicion was rasied that these basketball fans might be tempted to steal and consequently hoard Cheerwine on their way back to Indiana. They loved the stuff.

Cheerwine also defeated the Yankee competition in cycling this week. The Cheerwine Pro Women's Cycling Team won the Raleigh Downtown Criterium Friday in front of a rowdy crowd. Had the mayor of Raleigh decided to do so, he could have declared it city-wide Cheerwine day and then said:
"May 25 from this day forward will be recognized as Cheerwine Day in Raleigh."
Of course this didn't actually happen but the news team determined that such an act would have, in fact, been awesome.

Technical difficulties resulted and pictures are now unavailable. Check back later for some shots of investigative reporting that will make your mouth water.

gearin' up

2006-12-10T06:51:00.000-05:00

Hey guys,

Sorry we haven't been keeping you posted on the most regular basis. Right about now I'm sure Zach is knee-deep in exams because I know Steve and I are right now here in Barca. When I get home I'll try and put up some more pics from our travels and get ya some updates on the RAOS team. We're already gearin' up for this summer so go ahead and start checking back from time to time. Hope everyone has a great holiday season.

Sam

P.S. This picture is a Catalan Christmas tradition here in Barcelona. Children beat this log with sticks in order to get presents.

Bon Dia

2006-09-11T09:04:00.000-04:00

What's up everyone. Bon dia is how we say hello in Barcelona, it's Catalan which is a mixture of French and Spanish. I haven't had too much time to drink Cheerwine in a while because they don't sell it in Spain..... yet. I've been here for about two weeks and will be studying here until December. I'll try and keep ya posted on how its going. To get an idea here are a few pics from my first two weeks.

P.S. Steve is here too!

Farewell For Now, but Before We Leave You

2006-07-24T19:19:00.000-04:00

Fans, family, and friends, For the summer this is our last blog, I know depressing, however don't worry we'll be in touch, Sam, Steven, and Myself. Before we go I want to let you all know that this blog would not have continued if we didn't have the support and encouragement of our fans. This blog had alot more to offer than talk about Cheerwine, each person that visited got a taste of what each of us are like, what adventures we ran into and what type of awesome people we met. So before we leave heres what we will be doing in the "off-season".

For myself, Zach, I will be heading back up to Boone-town aka Boone. I've gotta start up my sophmore year and I can't wait. I will be studying finance and skiing, as I have one class that is nothing but skiing. Boone its a great place. I'll be checking up on this site and will make a few posts and respond to question and what not, if anyone is ever in the boone area don't hesitate to let me know. Take care, thanks for a great summer.

Hello everyone, its me, Steve, it's been a while since i've blogged but it looks like nothing has changed. Seems like Zach and Sam had alot of fun and well I know they did because Sam told me. Next year I am going to be studying in Barcelona, Spain. I know, awesome. I know some spanish so it should be fun living in an over-seas country. Everyone have a good rest of the summer and don't hesitate to contact me.

Everyone Hello, it is me SAM. I am excited to be here talking to everyone because you all really did make my summer great, and well traveling to different beaches helped too. Next year my plans are the same, I will be rooming with Steve in Barcelona Spain. I can't wait, i'll be back here to provide pictures of Spain and see if I can't give some spanish a cold drink. Thanks again, and check back.

2006-07-12T10:45:00.000-04:00

Sunday and Monday we had a good time discovering Charleston. We ran across a huge group of students in a group called SPECTRA who took classes at C of C during the summer. We had perfect timing in the heat.

We stopped in a really packed bar on King St. to watch the World Cup Final. Everyone in there was going nuts.

On Sunday we also made a stop by the U.S.S. Yorktown to make it two weekends in a row near a battleship (or aircraft carrier in this case).

On Monday we decided to pay a visit to another localized beverage company like ourselves. We took a case of Cheerwine with us to see if we could get a tour of the Palmetto Brewery in Charleston. Not only did they let us take a look around the place, but we scored some free t-shirts as well. Awesome.

Before we left the area we went back to Folley Beach and then paid a visit to one of our bottlers that has helped us out along the way. Here's Charles King and CJ outside of Quality Beverage in Ladson.

Tomorrow I'm drivin down to meet Zach and pick him up from a vacation in HH (hmm?) to do some R.A.O.S.-ing around there. Be on the look out!

Sam

Shotgun

2006-07-08T21:03:00.000-04:00

Today was a great day for the beach, so we went. We asked some College of Charleston kids we met last night where to go and they said Folley Beach was the place. There were tons of people out there and it seemed like a huge party.

Without us even asking the first thing these next folks said was "want us to shotgun them?" Shotgunning is when you poke a hole in the bottom of the can and then open the pop top so that the Cheerwine flows constantly in your mouth. It's basically a more efficient way to chug it.

Tomorrow we're gonna be hittin' the streets so look out for us. Here's some more t-shirt winners just for kicks.

yours truly and back in action,

Sam

On the Road Again

2006-07-08T10:05:00.000-04:00

Me and Sam hit the road again today, and the guess of Charleston, SC was right on. We got down in the late afternoon and headed to one of the nicest areas, King Street. We found plenty of shoppers and thirsty people. We also roamed around the College of Charleston and found a few students. All in all we only got a taste of what Charleston has to offer and tomorrow we'll be at a popular beach.

-Zach

Happy Birthday America

2006-07-05T20:24:00.000-04:00

What's goin on everyone, today was the fourth and everyone was at the beaches. It was such a chill day, everyone was having fun and relaxing. We started off the day at one of the places that we had a lot of fun at, Wrightsville Beach. The only problem we ran into was the parking, it was non-existent. So we just illegally parked up front by the pier and sampled from "Red". No problems came, officers even came by just to get a free Cheerwine. Here are some thirsty fans. Thanks for following us and look for us in a familiar spot this weekend. Think first shots of Civil War??? Later.

-Zach

Cheerwine meets Oscar Meyer

2006-07-03T17:05:00.000-04:00

Today we headed over to the breathtaking town of South Port. In celebration of the upcoming Fourth of July holiday; the streets were slammed with hundreds of hot and thirsty visitors. "Red" came to the rescue with a van loaded down with ice-cold Cheerwine. Music and contest added to the festivities. Zack decided to include Cheerwine by participating in a hot dog eating contest. Needless to say he didn't top the winner who gobbled down an amazing 13!

After watching Zack I decided to enter Cheerwine in The Oscar Meyer wiener commercial singing contest. "Ole' I wish I was an Oscar Meyer wiener..." Was concluded with "drink Cheerwine." That's a nice combination don't you think?

Picture at left: Tabitha at the wiener Mobile

After a few hours we headed to the campus of UNC Wilmington where we were bombarded with several thirsty students.

After a fun day in the sun we can't wait for the Big Fourth of July events awaiting us tomorrow. -Tabitha

Big Tires and Hidden Treasures

2006-07-03T16:28:00.000-04:00

It started as another flamming hot day; so we set our sights on the water. Our first stop was on the north end of Carolina Beach. If you've never been there you have to take a four-wheel drive to get across. For that reason we had to give ole' "Red" a break. We jumped in the back of the truck and made our getaway down the stretch which was jam-packed with hundreds of people from all across the states.

Picture above:Now that's a four-wheel drive!

After checking out the beach we hit the streets in downtown Wilmington. While the streets were packed with people; out of the corner of our eyes we spotted a man with a metal detector. While searching for Civil War artifacts he found the best treasure yet... Guess what that was?

"On another note we would like to say hello to Quinn. Quinn is one of the most dedicated fans, and we hope that she gets better soon. We wanted to let her know that we're thinking about her and she needs to visit all of us "R.A.O.S" people as soon as she can. GET WELL."

Mob City

2006-07-01T16:49:00.000-04:00

Today was nuts, I've never been to Wrightsville beach but the place was crazy. I have to say that it was more packed than Myrtle and anyone who's been to Myrtle knows thats hard to do.

On our arrival to Wrightsville we quickly learned that parking by the pier was about near impossible, so after driving around we found a spot and only had to pay 2 bucks for the whole day's worth of parking because the guy incharge was a cheerwine fan.

After working out parking we hit the beach, there were floods of people from all over, alot of UNCW guys, families, and locals. Everyone was having a good time.

There beach was so packed we could hardly walk 50 ft. before having to return to restock our coolers. It was like a gaint party, people played horse shoes, volleyball, and wiffle ball. Tomorrow, I have no doubts, will be another fun day. Also it'd be one day closer to July 4th, a personal favorite holiday of mine.

Tomorrow we might be checking out a boat....a very large, powerful, dangerous boat.

FIND US.

-ZACH

HOT

2006-06-30T18:06:00.000-04:00

Today we trecked down to Wilmington, NC. It was a perfect day out, nice, sunny, hot and the town kinda had this vibe since it's forth of July weekend and all. It didn't take long before we were reconized and flaged down by people wanting a Cheerwine. We ran into all sorts of people today.

ABOVE: A thirsty bus driver awaits for the kids to return from the beach

We could hardly make it to the beach to hand out cheerwine before we were mobbed by people wanting a drink. We had a good short day and can't wait to treck out tomorrow, maybe we'll cya at the "flight" beach. Till then, take care.

-ZACH

Rain....

2006-06-26T16:24:00.000-04:00

Todays hope of another crazy day on the beach were quickly diminished after the monsoon that struck Myrtle. However, we still managed to find everyone and insure that cold Cheerwine was in everyones hands.

We started the day by hitting up the local mall, given that it was raining we had no problems finding people that loved Cheerwine.

We then made a quick dash between showers to find people at Broadway at the beach, Broadway at the Beach is an amazing place if you've never been there. There is always something goin on and people to see.

Like this Pepsi guy, see even the Pepsi guy is a Cheerwine Drinker, we didn't even have to ask him twice.

Next weekened we'll be in the N.Carolina Coast area....home town to a Bird.