So the NFL instituted a new rule: you cannot celebrate or taunt “at” players of the opposing team. Honestly the rule is very ambiguously worded, going to lead to a lot of crap fines and penalties, and was total BS to begin with. While I was totally behind the Runningback crown helmet rule change, this one is just stupid. It’s going to prevent the defensive players from celebrating a good tackle or sack, I can see it coming. If Jared Allen gets a flag for his hog-tie celebration, I will likely throw my beverage across the room, pick it up, then throw it again.
On one hand, the NFL wants extreme professionalism from it’s players. I kind of get that. This is a business, they are trying to represent the league with utmost credibility. They don’t want things to devolve into antics and jokers. On the other hand, completely stifling any sort of celebration or expression of emotion leads to an extremely boring product.
The NFL needs those inventive personalities. It makes it interesting. Seeing their creative celebrations and sack dances gives us people to connect to, to hate, to love. T.O. wouldn’t have been half as interesting without his celebrating. Deion Sanders would have been boring. Can you imagine Primetime stifled by today’s rules? I hated Deion Sanders when he was playing, but I loved to hate him because of how much he showboated and acted like a ponce. He was great for the NFL. Trying to stifle personality is stupid. Let the players do their thing. Let them celebrate (within reason of course, there are limits) It puts on a good show. Are we not entertained?
One more thing. Group celebrations should be allowed. Not only would that make for some cool stuff, but Football is a team game at heart. No play is ever made by a single person. None. A running back should be able to celebrate and dance with his lineman. A punt returner with his blockers. There is no good reason why only the scoring player can do anything.
WE WILL NOT BE POD PEOPLE GOODELL
Dat Packer ass
That’s that real sexy rexy
Roger Goodell, you are hereby cited for the following crimes:
* leeching all of the fun out of football
* far more seriously, KEEPING THE DAMN HARLEM SHAKE GOING.
Just put a time limit on it, and let them celebrate to their heart’s content. The play clock is a pretty good brake on excessive sack-dances (I can’t remember exactly when, but I’m pretty sure I once saw an offsides penalty resulting in the offense gaining yards after a sack).
Also, the length of time should be scaled by position based on likelihood of score. RBs, WRs, and QBs get 30 seconds, defensive backs and LBs get 40 seconds, offensive & defensive linemen get two full minutes and a fireworks display.
If only Goodell blew up…
Shipoopi! Shipoopi!
The girl that’s hard to get.
If this in any way hijacks Victor Cruz salsa dancing I swear I will come down on Goodelle like lightning.
jared allens dance has been illegal for several years frebreeze, you cant go to the ground(he would go to one knee) for any celebration. i have no idea why they targeted that shit but they did a few years back.
This is an absolutely terrible decision from Goodell. I’m a UK based fan and I love the sport because of how “big” it is. The whole scale of the sport is ramped up to almost OTT levels; the stadiums, the fans, the media coverage, everything is turned up to 11 on the dial and that includes the personalities of the players. If I wanted to watch players being polite to each other and celebrating a victory by shaking hands and saying “Jolly good game old chap” then I’d watch a game of cricket. THIS AIN’T CRICKET, ROGER!
Is that the guys from Cleveland in the background of frame 2, or is everyone topless?
I appreciate including Stevie Johnson in there.
But seriously, that’s a stupid rule and it’s poorly worded. I can already imagine the fury when a defender does a quick fist pump for stopping the offense on third down, only to get flagged and cause a new series of downs.
JJ Watt’s wheelchair dance is still my favorite of all time. That or Stevie’s “WHY SO SERIOUS”
Brady goes cleat first, 10k fine. Gore wears his socks too low, 10.5k fine. The NFL and its commissioner are so full of shit fines its disgusting.
Let them play ball.
Dear Mr. Goodell,
We the NFL fanbase really do appreciate the work you are doing trying to make the NFL safer for the players so that we are able to see them play for longer. But that’s part of the problem too. We like football, sure, but we love the players, the personalities that they have and exhibit.
The city of Seattle didn’t regain hope because of QB #3, they regained hope because an exceptional young man who was slighted by all the experts based on his height was able to thrive and with the help of a loudmouth cornerback named Richard, get to the playoffs and become superbowl contenders.
New York didn’t fall in love with WR #80, they fell in love with a man who lost his grandmother and does the salsa when he scores touchdowns because of his grandmother’s memory.
QB #10 in Washington, QB #12 in Indianapolis, LB #56 in Atlanta, they are not just numbers, they are Robert Griffin III, who brought the Redskins back to relevancy, Andrew Luck, who is the (second) chosen one in Lucas Oil Stadium, and Brian Banks, a falsely convicted man who has a second chance to make it in the NFL.
We like the game, but it’s the players that make us love the NFL. The fact that players have long careers is what separates the NFL from NCAA football, you don’t jus follow teams, though many do, you follow players that you have come to know, though you have never spoken, and trust, though you have never met.
These new rules detract from the individuality of the NFL, and that is what make the league truly great.
Going back to this one after the past few weeks; given the far more serious shenanigans in the League, it’s understandable that this has gone by the by, but it’s rearing its ugly mush again.
Devin Hester’s TD return that broke Neon Deion’s career record was a Can’t Miss Play on NFL.com – YET THE REFS FLAGGED HIM for pulling Deion’s high-step as he went in. (The Mike & Mike ads on ESPN Radio are still banging on about that.)
On top of that, in one of the whitest-collar celebrations I think I’ve ever seen, Brian Hartline commemorated his TD against Kansas City in Week 3 by… mimicking a golf putt. And he got a 15 YARD PENALTY for Unsportsmanlike Conduct. For basically looking down and moving his arms slightly to the right, then a similar amount to the left.
I put it to the League that celebrating a TD is an EXACT description of ‘sportsmanlike’. Don’t go daft, but have a bit of fun. I still remember the London Bridge is Falling Down routine the Monarchs had, and the gunslingers of the San Antonio Riders.
This non-rule needs scrapping pronto, or Goodell is going to preside over the actual implementation of the CyberBall coin-op from the early ‘90s. The ‘No Fun League’ was always a cliché – this does more than anything to make it a reality.