Interbent

Everybody likes to celebrate a victory. Whether it’s a job promotion, buying a new car or winning a game, celebrations are called for everything. What’s wrong in a harmless, crazy celebration when you thoroughly deserve to enjoy an achievement or good news? In the field of sports, celebrations are the culminations of hard work, perseverance, talent, and more importantly, the prospects of money and future contract opportunities. American football—NFL in particular is where the mega-bucks and the bright spotlights are. Professional football is tough, and many a player’s career and even life hangs between a touchdown and a goof-up. With so much at stake for the players, crazy celebrations after a touchdown are normal things to do and nothing to be surprised about.

 

Oftentimes, celebrations can go over the wire. Happiness and joy for the victors, if left loose and uncontrolled, may end up being distasteful to the defeated, spectators and sometimes, even to the victors themselves. So, how far can celebrations go and what is the upper limit to celebrations to maintain a certain level of decorum and inoffensive behavior? The truth is…there is no legitimate and honest answer to that. Because, even though there are rules in professional football that stipulate certain conditions regarding celebrations, player celebratory behavior does cross boundaries of decency due to the effects of the kick of victory and the rush of the adrenaline pump that only victory brings. Elation of scoring a touchdown and the resultant optimism of a bright sports professional career make a heady mix, which some players can’t seem to rein-in and control.

How do we discriminate between good, harmless celebrations from the weird, whacky and crazy celebrations? Jumping in the air, pumping your fists up, hugging and falling in a heap with your teammates are okay, and even a little celebratory dance jig after a touchdown are okay because not only they within lines of decency, they also score marks on the entertainment front. Reggie Bush’s dance jig is okay and so is Terrell Owens’s imitation of a cameraman, but if you’re a chronic “celebrator” (if there’s anything like that in the English language) like Chad Johnson, then, you have the sport’s governing body coming down on you real hard. Chad’s celebrations have bordered on the funny, weird, crazy and the downright repulsive and the fines for his crossing the lines numerous times don’t deter him one bit. If ever there was an award for celebrations, it should go to Chad. Celebrating wins on “NFL lines” doesn’t evoke as much celebrations as “Celeb Chad” does on scoring a touchdown.

What’s funnier is the way some players make complete fools of themselves on or after a touchdown. In 2001, Bill Gramatica of the Arizona Cardinals ran towards the bench, after a 43 yard field goal against the New York Giants, jumped in the air pumping his fists, and when he landed…he landed real, real bad. The result—a ligament tear, and out of action for weeks! That’s just one example of celebrations gone bad for the victor; there are many, many more! The bottom-line: celebrations are fine, but not at the cost of the dignity of others, and most definitely, not the at the cost of yours!

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