Dirty dancing

Forget the Funky Chicken, the Dirty Bird is the word

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Posted: Friday January 29, 1999 12:55 AM

Anderson: . "I did it in a game nobody cared about. O.J. did it in a big game, and then he added all those sound effects." AP

MIAMI (AP) -- Jamal Anderson invented it. O.J. Santiago popularized it. Even ol' stick-in-the-mud Dan Reeves gave it a try.

Now, the "Dirty Bird" is the dance craze sweeping the NFL. Start flapping your arms, it's time to party like it's 1999.

"It's something that fans can identify with," Atlanta Falcons receiver Terance Mathis said. "Fans may not know a player on this team, but they know what the Dirty Bird is."

For those who haven't been able to visit Arthur Murray this season, here's a quick primer on the Dirty Bird:

• Raise your right hand in the air (also known as "raising the roof"), then bring the arm down across your chest to form a wing.

• Perform the same motion with your left arm.

• Flap both arms together as if trying to fly.

"From there, it's whatever you feel like," said Santiago, the Falcons' second-year tight end. "You can bounce with it, break it down, do whatever you want."

While Anderson claims to have invented the Dirty Bird -- stealing a few moves from his college chums at the University of Utah -- it was Santiago who clearly brought it to national attention in a Nov. 8 victory at New England.

After catching a touchdown pass, Santiago flapped his arms, strutted around in the end zone and squawked like a crow.

"I created the dance, but O.J. took in national," Anderson conceded. "I did it in a game nobody cared about (the previous week against St. Louis). O.J. did it in a big game, and then he added all those sound effects."

Even Reeves, the team's 55-year-old coach, was coaxed into performing the Dirty Bird after the Falcons made the Super Bowl. He performed it right in the middle of the Metrodome after the Falcons defeated the Vikings 30-27 for the NFC championship.

"You go around town in Miami, and all you can hear is people talking, 'Dirty Birds, Dirty Birds."' Mathis said. "I think we're the Atlanta Dirty Birds now instead of the Atlanta Falcons. It's been ... very, very catchy."

The Broncos, who play the Falcons on Sunday, have their own end-zone celebration, "The Mile High Salute."

"You really have to practice on doing the Dirty Bird," Mathis said. "I think the Dirty Bird is tougher to learn than the Mile High Salute. I'll take the Dirty Bird any day."

 

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