Endzone Celebrations

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Alright for those of you who didn't see last night's Giants-Saints game... you were most fortunate 'cause it was some horrific football, especially on the Giants side. But anyhoo... there was one moment in the game that will stick out... Joe Horn celebrating a touchdown by pulling out a strategicly placed cell phone and calling his family from the end zone. Earlier in the day, Chad Johnson of EP's beloved Bungles took out a sign reading "Dear NFL, PLEASE don't fine me AGAIN!!!!!"

Now the question i raise is this... have touchdown celebrations gone too far? When is it just celebrating, and when is it taunting? We all know what Terrell Owens did last year with the Sharpie and later with the pom-poms. Is it too much? Should it be stopped, and should heavier fines be issued in order to stop it?

My own personal opinion is this... if you're going to allow players to dance in the endzone, you might as well allow them to get even more elaborate in their celebrations... ala Owens, Horn & Johnson. As long as it's not directed at a player or coach on the opposing team, I see no problem with Horn's celebration. I take more offense at linemen who make a tackle or sack in the backfiled and start gyrating for about 30 yards on first in 10 on the opening drive of the game. I don't think that's taunting... i just think it's stupid. Celebrating in the endzone has become part of the game, and as long as it's not directly taunting an opponent, I don't see the problem. What's really the difference between ripping out a sharpie, sign or cell phone compared to, say, the Lambeau Leap? Both draw attention to the individual player, and both are done largely for the entertainment of the fans. If you allow one, you've got to allow the others. Just my .02... lemme know what ya think.

 

[Elvis Presley]

Love it, CJ is the man......

 

[Chizip]

i think they can be funny if done right, i thought the phone stunt was a bit forced and not really funny. it was a wannabe sharpie incident, which was classic. if you can think of something fun, original, and entertaining, then hey go for it, but if you can only think of something lame you're betteroff just giving the ball to the ref.

plus, there are certain times and places for these things. tj duckett scored a td yesterday when his team was losing by 31 and he did a dance. you're losing by 31 man, dont dance.

one last beef i have with the nfl is they dont allow team celebrations, because it is considered "taunting." but one jackass dancing around is the same taunting as a few a few jackasses, so thats just stupid. i miss the bob 'n weave

 

[Hewson]

I think placing props like a cell phone is going a bit too far. Haslett was quite pleased with Horn after that one.
TO's pom-pom routine last year was hilarious. I'm all for a little spontaneous, non-taunting celebration. But hiding electronic devices in anticpation of a score is taking the spirit out of it.
Side note: That cell phone has been hidden under the padding since week 3 waiting for Horn to score.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

i see where you're going with the "spontaneous" thing... but i seriously doubt any celebration TO does is truely spontaneous... he plans them all out in advance... including the pom-poms.

 

[U2Kitten]

I love end zone celebrations and feel they make the game more entertaining, fun, and memorable. Dating back to the days of the Redskins' Fun Bunch, through the Icky Shuffle and all the rest, I have enjoyed watching them.

I am very much against taunting, though. I especially hated Michaled Ervin, the way he used to hold the ball back behind him knowing the CB couldn't catch him as he arrogantly galloped across the finish line. I also hate to see the thumbing of the ball in the defensive player's face. BUT I don't see most end zone celebrations as taunting. To me there is a BIG difference between celebrating your own happiness and gloating in the misfortune of others. If I were a ref, I would penalize arrogant balls shoved in the face, and maybe even the guy slowing down to baby step over the goal line when he sees he has blown everyone else away. I would especially penalize verbal abuse and taunts from one player to another that could lead to a bench clearing fight. (those can be entertaining too, but are not good for the game.) But KEEP the dances, the spikes, the slam dunks, the cool, funny hand gestures, pointing to Heaven, praying on one knee, and the hugs and jumps. I really hate to hear the game referred to as a 'business' and the attitude the player should just hand the ball to the ref and walk away. How boring. If I wanted businessmen, I'd go stand outside an office building. Happy celebrations and fun are part of what sports is about, and I think it makes it better for the players, fans, and networks with higher ratings, so therefore the commercials will do better, and everyone's happy.

 

[U2ME3]

maybe horn's looking for a cell phone endorsement?

i

 

[Pinball Wizard]

Love it, CUJO is the man......

Oh yes. and a tool for doctoring as well.

I support these rituals. They give me reason to live in those vacant moments before commercials.

Faves:

The boudoir pose
The semi-automatic sprinkler posse gundown
throat slash followed by eyebrow raise and tap on chin
and of course, the good old fashioned spin of the pigskin.

 

[zoney!]

I like the slam dunk on the goal post...and sunday's fade away jumper.

Lambeau Leap is cool as heck too.

 

[Chizip]

i do have respect for the guys who just hand the ball to the ref though

they have the attitude that hey, its no big deal, ive done it before and im gonna do it again

not celebrating is almost more of a slap in the face to the other team than dancing around like a jackass. it's telling the other team, hey i expected to score, this is no big deal, i dont need to celebrate something that was so easy.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

i completely agree on that one chiz... where as i don't mind the elaborate endzone celebrations... the best taunt of all is simply not saying a word and letting the scoreboard do the talking

 

[Edgeman]

The endzone celebration is best used when you score a big touchdown in a game...not when you're beating up on a team.

But they're entertaining as hell in my opinion...which the NFL needs sometimes.

 

[Chizip]

one last point i want to make is when it is premeditated, it is much more about self promotion than just pure exuberance of making a great play. it's all about, hey look at me and how great i am. thats why i feel team celebrations are better, as its about the team being happy rather than one guy self promoting.

the truly great ones dont need gimmicks or silly dancing to get the attention. look at joe montana, dan marino, jerry rice, jim brown, barry sanders, even marshall faulk, they let their playing ability be their self promotion, not some of this other nonsense.

but i dont know if you can blame players for doing that kind of stuff, look at deion sanders who was a master of it. he created a whole new persona as "prime time" (much like macphisto) and in turn was one of the most talked about and highly regarded players. he made much more money because of the antics he pulled. sure you may lose some credibility, but isnt it all about the benjamins?

 

[zoney!]

my favorite quote from a coach before a game concerning touchdown celebrations: "pretend like you have been there before."

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

yea it's strange... i actually use the "act like you've done it before" line on my own high school basketball players, yet i don't have a problem with the nfl guys celebrating like idiots in the endzone go figure... i dunno... pro sports isn't "just a game," as many people like to say... it's entertainment and it's a business. so stuff that would annoy the crap out of me if a high school kid did it don't seem to bother me in the pro's

 

[Hewson]

One thing I find worse than any end zone celebration is when some idiot receiver makes a 6 yard catch for a first down and gets up and makes the first down signal. Just get back to the huddle dude. Unless that first down iced your team running out the clock, it isn't worthy of a celebration. And usually the guy who does it is on the team thats losing, making the display that much more egregious. (I needed to throw a big word in to sound really passionate about the issue).

 

[Chizip]

i dont know, if its 3rd or 4th down, you need a 1st down to keep a crucial drive alive, i like the first down signal, because it was a big play

if its like the first 1st down of the game, then yeah, i agree with you

thats probably because ricky proehl used to do it a lot and i really like that guy


did anybody see dan patricks interview of joe horn? joe horn apparently had an interview last year where he said he'd never do what terrel owens did (referring to the sharpie incident) and dp called him out on it, it was pretty funny

 

[Tabby]

I hate the 'move the chains' motions But I love the Lambeau leap and stuff like that. It gives the game flavor.

 

[WildHoneyAlways]

did anybody see dan patricks interview of joe horn? joe horn apparently had an interview last year where he said he'd never do what terrel owens did (referring to the sharpie incident) and dp called him out on it, it was pretty funny

Yeah, I saw it. It was pretty good. I wanted to choke the other guy at the desk with dp though. (Irvin?) That guy is kind of a jag. He just loved seeing himself doing endzone dances, which were sort of pathetic. He did a dance for being tackled a few yards out.

 

[U2Kitten]

I HATE Michael Irvin! Grrrr Yes, his dances were stupid, and he was terrible for taunting the defensive players and thumbing the ball in their faces. I also hated his exaggerated first down motions, and his arrogance was unbearable, especially considering he pushed off on almost every play and got away with it. They have tougher rules on that now, well there always were some rules on it, but in the 90's the Cowboys were immune from such things Once they started to suck, they got the penalties again. I honestly believe the league wanted them to win, and I also believe they wouldn' t have had so much success in the 90's without the calls. I had a friend who was an Eagles fan who swore the games were all rigged. Who knows.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

why all the hate towards the playmaker?

 

[U2Kitten]

I thought I already explained why, that's a lot of reasons. He was an arrogant ass, he 'made' plays by pushing off which anyone else would have been penalized for, he was obnixious, annoying, and he pissed me off. I have always hated Dallas in general, but especially him.

He also allegedly raped and videotaped underage girls at gunpoint.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

woah woah woah ... being a giants fan, i understand your hatred of all things related to "america's team"... but that last bit is a load of crap. the woman who accused irvin and erik williams of rape at gunpoint not only admited she made the entire story up, but she served time for making false accusations.

 

[U2Kitten]

Okay Headache, I don't want to false accuse anyone, I just remember hearing that. I don't like girls who make up stories on guys to get money and fame, and I think that Kobe girl might be doing that or at least twisting the truth.

But I do hate Irvin, he has to be the most hated player of all time for me. It made it worse he was a Cowboy. I have hated Dallas ever since I was a little kid when they had Drew Pearson and Staubach. I like the Giants too, and the Redskins, 49ers, Vikings, and Eagles in the NFC, so yeah, Dallas has been a bad guy to me. Nothing in the world of sports makes me happier than to see them get their butts kicked, and any team that does so is my hero. They are the only team I really hate and find it impossible to cheer for under any circumstances.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

i happen to think it would be pretty hard to get the girl's blood on the inside of kobe's shirt buuuuuuuuut i'll leave that for the courts and ultimately god to decide.

and i think this cowboys problem is something we need to discuss... you seem very angry, like you might lash out and club bill parcells in the knee with a crowbar or somethin'

i will say one thing about dem cowboys... they've been the only franchise to have the balls to step up to one of these guys who go overboard in the celebrations and taunt the entire team...

i will forever give george teague props for this one...

 

[U2Kitten]

1. I don't know about any blood on the shirt, but that still doesn't prove she didn't originally 'want it' or set him up to get money. But I won't comment since I don't really know.

2. I do hate Parcells now, after having been a Giant, he's a traitor for going over to their enemy. I have heard other people I know say this. It's just an unwritten rule you just don't break. But, I'm harldy going to go run off and stalk the guy. Hell, I have 3 little kids, 4 cats, a lazy, helpless husband, a mother with a broken leg, and a car that wouldn't make it 100 miles without breaking down. Oh, and no money.

3.As far as the pushing pic, I can't tell if that's Owens or not, but Teague is just pissed like a baby that he was beaten, and that it wasn't a Cowboy who got to do something arrogant and in your face. He wasn't making a statement against end zone celebrations, he was jealous and had a bad temper.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

bulldinky... the ultimate symbol of the dallas cowboys and their entire history is that star. TO, upon scoring a touchdown, ran to mid-field... MIDFIELD... and struck almost a Jesus pose right in the middle of the star. TO's sharpie thing wasn't showing anyone up... the pom-pom thing isn't showing anyone up... but running to the 50 yard line and glorifying yourself in someone else's stadium right where everyone can see IS showing up not only the opposing team but also their fans. Teague took offense to it and nailed TO. It was one of the greatest things I've ever seen on a sports field. See... the main reason I don't mind these touchdown celebrations is because it baisicly seems like the teams that get scored on don't mind. If someone on the Giants really had a problem with Horn's cell phone antics, they would have done something about it ON the field, not to a reporter in the locker room afterwords. That's why i like baseball... a guy takes an extra long time at homeplate after hitting a homerun, more likely than not he's gonna get plugged with a fastball his next time at bat. This is baisicly what Teague did... he felt Owens was showing him up... which he was doing... and he nailed him.

as for parcells... he showed his true colors after leaving new england for an inter-divisional rival who just happens to be a rival of the team he won super bowls with, the giants... anything he would do doesn't surprise me at this point. great coach, but loyalty to former teams is not something he's known for.

and the stalking thing... um... that was trying to be a little joke... was just trying to bring some levity to the situation... after all, this is a discussion about grown men using pom poms... there's no need or reason to get angry over it... woooo sa

 

[U2Kitten]

I can understand his rage, but being a huge 49er lover and Dallas hater, and a hater of that damn star, I loved it! But, it was very uncharacteristic arrogance for a 49er. They have been historical humble, even throughout their glory days. Many players, when speaking to the press, would say 'we' over a good play instead of 'I.' As great as Jerry Rice was, in his prime the best ever to play the game, he was never arrogant. Bill Walsh never allowed it ,and it became the team's personality, greatness with humility. That's why most people never hated them, even if they weren't fans, even at their greatest moments, and that is why so many people DO hate the Cowboys, the trash talking, arrogance and dissing of other players and teams. You know I don't even remember which SB it was, but one, after the win when the President called, he told the coach that no one begrudged them their success as they did other teams because they weren't asses about it. Eddie De Bartolo was a classy owner, and it's a shame how his sister stiffed him out of the team. They haven't been the same since. Owens is a bit too arrogant, but having been chased home from school and beaten up almost daily as a kid, he must be relishing his life in the spotlight.

 

[WildHoneyAlways]

Seeing TO on that Star still gives me much pleasure. I don't know why I hate the cowboys so much. I think it might be b/c a lot of the Cowboy fans I know are also Laker fans.

Anyway, I hate watching SportsCenter when Irvin is all wound up. He's ignorant and totally obnoxious. grrr.

As a Bears fan, we don't get to see to many endzone celebrations as of late. Hopefully with Rex Grossman we will get to see some.

 

[Clark W. Griswold Jr]

Obviously, the networks love these antics. Just watch the highlights on CBS or FOX at halftime. Every play is followed by its prefabricated "look at me" dance. It's sickening to think how many more great plays could be shown by not wasting time on that horseshit.

This is a big reason why I like the college game better. More excitement w/out the dancing.