Touchdown celebration

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Touchdown Celebrations are unique, and often humorous acts that an American Football player may do after he scores a touchdown. Touchdown celebrations sometimes include the players on-field teammates, and even fans. Players may spend a very large amount of time planning an eye-catching dance, or just improvise on the spot. Generally excessive celebrations are only done by the more talented, "cocky" players whose hope is to taunt the opposing team. Taunting, and excessive celebration are both offenses in the NFL, as a result, gaudy displays are often frowned upon. If the league views the act as highly offensive, hefty fines and even suspensions can be handed out. In 2006 the NFL, in an effort to cut down on celebrations, amended rules to include an automatic 15 yard penalty to any player who leaves his feet or uses a prop.^[1]

1 Some Memorable Celebrations
2 CFL Dances
3 References
4 Videos of touchdown dances
5 External links

[edit] Some Memorable Celebrations

The 1980s Washington Redskins "The Fun Bunch" For years, player like Billy "White Shoes" Johnson demonstrated in the end zone after scoring a touchdown. The 1984 Washington Redskins raised the bar on celebrations by performing a group high-five after scoring. The NFL made some attempts to curb the celebrations but, after the 1984 Fun Bunch, they changed the rules and "excessive celebration" was disallowed. This is one of the few offensive squads that have managed to acquire a nickname.^[2]
In his rookie season of 1988, Bengals running back Ickey Woods gained a lot of media attention with a touchdown dance that became known as the "Ickey Shuffle". He had plenty of opportunities to do this, as he set a rookie record with 15 touchdowns in the regular season and added 3 more in the playoffs en route to Super Bowl XXIII.

Arguably the most famous NCAA celebration was Desmond Howard's end-zone celebration after returning a punt for touchdown against Ohio State in 1991. In his since-copied celebration, Howard made the formation of the Heisman Trophy. Coincidentally, Howard won that same honor later that year.

Since 1993, Green Bay Packers players have done the "Lambeau Leap", in which Packer players jump into the bleachers (and into the arms of Packer fans) at Lambeau Field after a score. Cornerback LeRoy Butler started the tradition after returning a fumble for a touchdown against the Los Angeles Raiders on December 26, 1993. Players from opposing teams have tried to do a Lambeau Leap of their own, but are pushed away by fans.

During the 1998 NFC championship season Jamal Anderson and other members of the Atlanta Falcons did the Dirty Bird dance after touchdowns. This dance consisted of gyrating like a chicken.

During their 2000 playoff run, the St. Louis Rams offense would circle up in the endzone and crouch down and weave from side to side after touchdowns in a performance eventually dubbed "The Bob and Weave". However after the dance became a more regular occurrence, the NFL declared it, and all celebrations involving multiple players, illegal and began to hand out fines for them.

Then Minnesota Vikings receiver Randy Moss was fined $10,000 after a short touchdown dance that ended with him pretending to pull down his pants and moon the Green Bay crowd in a 2004 playoff game. Moss claimed to do it to further frustrate a dejected Green Bay Packer defense.

Another NFL wide receiver, Joe Horn, had a highly publicized touchdown dance after he scored a touchdown against the New York Giants in the 2003 season. In this instance, Horn spiked the ball after scoring the touchdown, and then went to the upright, where he pulled a hidden cell phone out of the padding on it and then used it to call his mother. He was fined $30,000 for his actions.

While Terrell Owens was playing for the San Francisco 49ers, Owens twice ran out to midfield to celebrate touchdowns on the Dallas Cowboys star during the 2000 season. He was suspended one game by head coach Steve Mariucci for his actions. During the 2002 season, Owens had two memorable touchdown celebrations. In a Monday Night Football contest against the Seattle Seahawks, after a score, Owens pulled a sharpie out of his sock, signed the game ball which he gave to his financial adviser who was sitting in a seat close to the endzone. After scoring a touchdown in a December contest with the Green Bay Packers, Owens celebrated with a pair of Pom-Poms borrowed from a 49ers cheerleader. In 2004, playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, in a game against the Ravens, Owens mocked the dance of linebacker Ray Lewis. In 2006, playing for the Cowboys, he was penalized for sleeping at the end zone after the touchdown against the Washington Redskins.

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson had a number of original celebrations in the 2005 season. In a game early in the year against the Chicago Bears, after scoring a touchdown, he performed his version of the "riverdance". In one game against the Indianapolis Colts, after scoring a touchdown, Johnson knelt down on one knee and pretended to propose to a Bengals cheerleader, who accepted the mock gesture. Once, after he had been fined several weeks in a row for excessive celebrations, Johnson celebrated his next touchdown by holding up a sign that read "DEAR NFL, PLEASE DON'T FINE ME AGAIN!!!" (he was subsequently fined afterwards by the NFL). Other celebrations included performing CPR on the football and picking up a pylon in the endzone and using it to 'putt' the football into an imaginary golf hole and then pumping his fist in a loose imitation of Tiger Woods, for which he was fined $5,000. Johnson is also known for doing an Irish jig, and even went so far as to do the Chicken Dance in an '06 game.

DEAR NFL, PLEASE DON'T FINE ME AGAIN

Steve Smith of the Carolina Panthers was known, like Johnson, for his touchdown celebrations (coincidentally, Smith and Johnson were teammates in junior college). Some of his more memorable celebrations were treating the football like a baby on multiple occasions, going so far as to change the football's "diaper", wiping it down, and rocking it to sleep. He also posed like a supermodel in the end zone, made a "snow angel", and on one occasion against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, used the football as a sword and made swashbuckling motions, mocking the Bucs mascot.

Animals of all different sorts can lend their names to touchdown dances. Cincinnati Bengals Wide Receiver Kelley Washington is known for his distinctive touchdown celebration dubbed "The Squirrel." Former Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Johnnie Morton liked to celebrate with "The Worm." And during his tenure with the San Francisco 49ers, defensive back Merton Hanks became famous for his unique "Funky Chicken" dance after scoring on interception returns.

Sometimes touchdown celebrations borrow from other sports. Wide receiver Alvin Harper liked to slam dunk the football over the goalpost crossbar after scoring a touchdown. Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez has also adopted that as his trademark (probably because he played basketball in college). Running back Harvey Williams often celebrated his touchdowns by pretending to swing a baseball bat and hit a home run.

Chiefs KR Dante Hall, nicknamed "the X-Factor", makes an 'X' out of his forearms after a touchdown.

Chiefs running back Larry Johnson makes a diamond "dynasty" sign with his thumbs and pointer fingers, referencing his association with Roc-A-Fella. Ravens OLB Terrell Suggs mocked this gesture in a December 2006 game.

New Orleans Saints Running Back Reggie Bush in the 2007 NFC Championship game, after making a 85 yard touchdown, he did a 3 yard frontflip and did the Rosevelt in the endzone. This action resulted in a penalty.

[edit] CFL Dances

The CFL is much more lenient than the NFL when it comes to touchdown dances. It often has very small, if any, penalties handed out to players who excessively celebrate.

CFL endzone celebrations often include more than one player, often a whole wide receiving core of 4-6 players. The dances may not include much dancing at all, instead a quick comical sketch. Recent dances include five Calgary Stampeders receivers celebrating a touchdown against the rival Saskatchewan Roughriders by holding out their hands and each pretending the football was a champagne bottle. They popped the cork, poured drinks for all and then stumbled around like they were drunk. Their latest end-zone routine was a simulated bobsleigh run — receiver Jeremaine Copeland sat down and wrapped his legs around the goal-line pylon. The rest of the receiving corps tucked in behind him, and the players swayed together in a pretend trip down a bobsleigh track. A very creative sketch by the same team was the four person stationary bicycle, which all players played a role for the bicycle.

Edmonton Eskimos punt returner Henry "Gizmo" Williams had many punt return touchdowns over his CFL career. He celebrated each one by doing a backflip in the endzone.