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Celebration time A little spontaneity can be a good thing
One day last week I was sitting in a hotel room, killing time between interviews while working on a story (glamorous life of a travelling sportswriter). I was watching an ESPN/NFL Films anthology about the old Baltimore Colts. Great stuff. Two moments stood out. One, on a long running play, Colts quarterback Johnny Unitas ran 30 yards down the middle of the field after making a handoff and absolutely blew up a linebacker with a block. I had no idea quarterbacks used to do things like that. None whatsoever. Two, in a segment on Colts running back Lenny Moore, I saw Moore score about 20 touchdowns, and never once did I see him celebrate. He just kept handing the ball to the referee or dropping it on the ground in the end zone, almost as if he had no more use for it. I saw Colts defensive end Gino Marchetti make a handful of crushing tackles and quarterback sacks, and never once did I see him fire six-shooters or dance away from the play in celebration. Didn't see him help any vanquished opponents to their feet, either. He just kept getting up and walking back to the huddle. Then, on Monday night I saw Randy Moss sashay into the end zone from 15 yards out on a touchdown pass, a Deion -esque production number that has helped revive the debate on precisely what constitutes appropriate behavior on the football field. Obvious Point No. 1: Times change. Unitas, Moore and Marchetti -- all among the greatest players in NFL history, by the way -- played a long time ago. Their careers started in the 1950s. Television was black and white. Music was barely passing from big bands to Elvis. Long time ago. It's not an apples and oranges comparison. Professional football (college football, too) is far more violent now, played by much bigger and faster players. A quarterback would be out of his bloody mind to run downfield in search of a block. Less Obvious Point No. 1: The proliferation of football celebrations has far outstripped the changes in society. We've gone from handing the ball to the ref to 42nd Street, and that's just way too far. This is largely an NFL phenomenon, because college rules on taunting and celebration are much tighter: No spikes, no excessive celebration (there's even a penalty with the same name). However, college players are forever pushing the envelope. It was funny when these displays first started back in the '70s, with Elmo Wright of the Chiefs and Billy "White Shoes" Johnson of the Oilers. Even while their touchdown celebrations became rehearsed, they seemed to flow from genuine emotion. Further mutations became more and more practiced, designed not to celebrate but to call attention to the player himself. Now it's completely out of hand. Not just Moss. He's an easy target, because he's Randy Moss. He's also a great player who broke out of a slump Monday night. In general, over-the-top celebrations are all over the place. In the late '80s and early '90s, college football players were flashing gang signs in the end zone (this act lives on; lots of celebrations are for the guys back home, not the teammates or the crowd). Then there's the defensive celebration. Make a sack -- celebrate a little. Stuff an inside wideout screen for a loss -- celebrate a little. But a routine tackle on an isolation play? Does this call for a strut? I don't think so. And in the end zone? Look, it's pretty cool to score a touchdown. Any time, any place. A little footwork might just happen. Where do you draw the line? How about here: Anything that grows out of the moment is cool. If it's a production number, it's not cool. In college football, spikes should be allowed. So should flips, somersaults and dunks over the goalpost crossbar ... as long as they're spontaneous. Who can tell? Anybody can tell. Team celebrations are fine, too. The more, the merrier, but limited to the 11 guys on the field, unless it's the last play of the game. Referee's judgment on everything. Enforce much tighter restrictions on non-touchdown plays, like a one-yard loss on first down, which is never a big deal. Taunting is always out, which makes Moss' dance an easy call. (The Vikings got 15 yards on Monday night.) Entertainment is part of sports. It would be wrong and unrealistic to suggest that celebrations be outlawed. It's nice that Jim Brown always handed the ball to the official and that Lou Holtz once told his team, "When you get to the end zone, act like you've been there before," but these are extroverted times. Can't put that genie back in the bottle. I don't buy that TV ratings would dive if all celebrations were outlawed at all levels of football. But truth is, they're fun. Within reason. And when they're real. Sports Illustrated senior writer Tim Layden is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. Click here to send him a question or comment.
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