NEW YORK (AP) — Four quarters used to buy a can of AriZona Iced Tea. You'd crack it open and savor the artificially flavored, high-fructose-corn-syrup-sweetened drink between fits of giggling on the walk home from school.
For some, the can symbolized childhood autonomy. It was among the first solo purchases a kid made or a reward for satisfactorily completed chores.
With inflation, a 99-cent thirst-quencher is a matter of nostalgia for adults with matured beverage tastes. An AriZona “tallboy” — the printed price on the can serving as a measuring stick for the value of a dollar — remains especially affordable and instructive for American youth with allowance, disposable income from part-time wages or birthday money.
Founded in 1992, AriZona Beverage Company first launched drinks in Brooklyn, New York. The 99-cent cans launched in 1997. Popularity — and profitability — of the drink came soon after. But it was the price sticker that promoted a kind of utilitarianism — a warning to shop owners looking for a higher profit margin.
Countless American preteens and teenagers across class have paired AriZona drinks with their bagged snack of choice and candy — a trifecta downed before reaching the front door and discovering ... dinner. Allowance and childhood disposable income, however, have never been universal. Some could count on receiving a few dollars irregularly or not at all.
Still, when most other prices went up, the AriZona drink’s price permanence was something that didn’t necessitate debit cards or parental approval. Coins and dollar bills sweetened the experience of forging friendships on the journey home.
Just who gets the privilege of experiencing money as freedom makes the AriZona can more than just a bodega staple. It shows how much culture can be concealed in ordinary consumer transactions.
On Feb. 26, 2012, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin left the gated residential community in Sanford, Florida, where his father lived en route to a 7-Eleven. The hoodie-wearing Black teenager was filmed on surveillance purchasing a watermelon-flavored AriZona drink and a pack of Skittles. When he discovered he was being tailed by a neighborhood watch volunteer, Trayvon confronted him. The teen didn’t survive the encounter; George Zimmerman shot him in the chest.
The AriZona drink and Skittles became evidence in a homicide investigation, and soon after became one of the earliest protest symbols in the Black Lives Matter movement sparked by Zimmerman’s acquittal. More than 13 years later, some still associate these items with questions of who in the U.S. is truly free to move through public spaces without being regarded as suspicious.
Aaron Morrison is the race and ethnicity news editor at AP. This story is part of a recurring series, “ American Objects,” marking the 250th anniversary of the United States. For more stories on the anniversary, click here.
FILE - Kenneth Taylor holds a can of tea and a bag of Skittles at a rally demanding justice for Trayvon Martin in Freedom Plaza, March 24, 2012, in Washington. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari, File)
Three cans of Arizona Iced Tea are displayed in Phoenix, April 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)
Three cans of Arizona Iced Tea are displayed in Phoenix, Sept. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)
CLEVELAND (AP) — Stephen Vogt and Will Venable don't need to pore over extra scouting reports as the Cleveland Guardians get set to host the Chicago White Sox in Saturday's Game 1 of the AL Division Series.
The AL Central rivals last faced each other two weeks ago, when the Guardians took two of three and moved into the division lead. Cleveland ended up winning its third straight division title and 14th since 1995.
Chicago won the season series 7-6 after Cleveland took 11 of 13 in 2025.
It's the third straight year the Guardians will open the postseason against a division opponent. They faced Detroit in the 2024 Division Series and in the Wild Card Series last year.
“There’s a little bit of a rivalry there because all three years that’s who you’ve been racing with to get in. There’s emotion. There’s a lot of things that make this series really exciting,” said Vogt, Cleveland's manager. “I do think there’s no secrets. We know them. They know us. So it’s just go out and execute and let’s see who can win three games before the other team.”
Venable pointed out that only one run separated the teams this season. Chicago had a 58-57 edge.
“I mean, it really has been crazy kind of the back and forth that we’ve had all year. So we’re excited about the opportunity to play these guys, but we know full well how challenging it is to beat them,” the White Sox manager said.
Chicago comes in with momentum after its two-game Wild Card Series sweep at Houston. Nine players made their postseason debuts in that series, including second baseman Chase Meidroth and catcher Kyle Teel. Meidroth went 4 for 7 with a homer and four RBIs against the Astros, while Teel was 3 for 10. Teel also was successful on all five of his ABS challenges behind the plate.
Cleveland (85-77) has the third-youngest lineup in the American League and used 145 different batting orders this season. Depending on final roster decisions, the Guardians could have as many as seven players making their postseason debut, including Jo Adell, who was acquired from the Los Angeles Angels near the trade deadline.
Both teams will send rookies to the mound in Game 1 with Chicago’s Hagen Smith opposing Cleveland’s Parker Messick. According to Sportradar, it will be the 23rd postseason game in which both teams used a rookie starting pitcher.
Chicago will begin the series with a bullpen game. Smith will be the opener again after throwing three scoreless innings in Tuesday’s 6-3 victory at Houston in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series.
Smith (3-3, 1.29 ERA) made three appearances against Cleveland in the regular season, going 1-1 with a 3.18 ERA. The left-hander allowed the go-ahead run during the sixth inning of Cleveland’s 6-3 victory on Sept. 16 that moved the Guardians into the AL Central lead.
“I think he gives us a really good shot up front here. I do feel like we can lean on some of the bullpen arms to get us through some bulk here and Hagen is as good as any for us,” Venable said.
Messick (12-9, 2.56 ERA) will go against the White Sox for the fifth time this season. The left-hander is 2-1 with a 2.81 ERA and has won his last two starts against Chicago.
“Every lineup you’re going to face is pretty good. And I’ve got just as much information on them as they do on me, so I think it’s just best stuff on best stuff and whoever executes more pitches is going to win and whoever hits more mistakes is going to win,” Messick said.
The heartiest of White Sox fans, including Pope Leo XIV, could have envisioned their dramatic turnaround from three consecutive 100-loss seasons to winning their first postseason series in 21 years.
Vogt saw signs beginning last season that Chicago's rebuild would take root.
“I thought they had some really good players last year but records don’t always tell the full story of a team. You could tell at spring training (this year) this is going to be a different team. What they’ve done putting it together has been really cool,” Vogt said.
Cleveland is batting .255 since the Aug. 3 trade deadline, second-best in the American League. The Guardians were 14th with a .231 average before adding Adell and Nathaniel Lowe. Adell had a team-leading 32 RBIs since coming to the Guardians while Lowe drove in 27, including a big league-best eight sacrifice flies.
Steven Kwan's .353 batting average since the All-Star break was best in the majors.
While Cleveland was the only team in the majors without a batter who hit 20 home runs, Chicago had three with at least 30. Japanese rookie slugger Munetaka Murakami led the way with 35, followed by Miguel Vargas (33) and Colson Montgomery (31).
Vargas went 14 of 46 with three homers and 10 RBIs against the Guardians this season. Montgomery also had three homers but was 9 of 47, and Murakami went 3 of 19 while going deep twice.
See AP’s full MLB coverage here
Chicago White Sox manager Will Venable (1) reaches for the game ball from relief pitcher pitcher Sean Newcomb (15) to make a pitching change during the fifth inning in Game 1 of baseball's American League Wild Card Series against the Houston Astros, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Karen Warren)
Cleveland Guardians manager Stephen Vogt walks to the mound to make a pitching change during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
