Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported the discovery of a secret Starbucks operating in NBC's section of the Olympic media center. In order to provide a bit of a morale booster for its 2,500 employees in Sochi, the television network ensured a private pop-up Starbucks would be in operation 24 hours a day throughout the Winter Olympics.
By having their Starbucks remain secluded within NBC's area, the plan narrowly avoided the wrath of McDonalds, the sole sponsor designated to serve branded coffee at the Games.
However, after the Journal's report, the secret was out. Demand among those covering the games increased, and Starbucks cups were everywhere. Secluded within an NBC facility was one thing, being open to the public, quite another.
And so, Starbucks drinkers were greeted with this sign shortly after the story broke:
Then, security guards located at the media center began blocking the exit of those carrying Starbucks cups. According to the Wall Street Journal, the crack down on verboten coffee didn't end there.
That new policy also ended a smuggling operation wherein some NBC employees had been serving as Starbucks mules for friends and acquaintances at the Games. Why not share the java, after all, since the drinks—served round the clock—cost "customers" nothing?
More recently, baristas at the secret Starbucks have been spending their time obstructing the green mermaid Starbucks logo with tape, so that NBC employees might more freely drink their coffees in Sochi.
These are the guys who actually put the tape over the Starbucks cups to appease the IOC #CBCOlympics pic.twitter.com/xnLgT0uR2R
— nick purdon (@nickpurdoncbc) February 22, 2014
The best part of all of this is when future generations come across the story in anthropological studies, and grow disgusted with the absurd vapidity of their forefathers. Can't wait for that.
