I haven’t watched a lot of NFL football in the last few years, but it seems to me that the networks try to limit the amount of screen time such celebrations now get. You know the kind I’m referring to: the shimmies, the shakes, the ridiculous dances. Just now a SF 49er (Peterson, I think) made a tackle, the kind that is expected of him, an ever-day run-of-the-mill play, and he just went into the Hanz/Franz “let us pump you up” pose, and immediately the camera cut away to a crowd shot for a few seconds. Then they cut back to Peterson, but he wasn’t through yet, so they went back to the crowd shot. Is this example typical, or merely a lucky coincidence? Do you enjoy the celebrations? I don’t, even if they are made by a player for the teams I support.
I hate all the celebrations and show-boating. I think it illustrates the “me, me, me” attitude that’s become so prevalent in sports. I mean, really, act like you’ve been there before, guys.
Example: Antonio Bryant of the Dallas Cowboys made a slightly above-average catch in the endzone a few games ago, and spiked the ball over the goalpost. Great…except his team was already behind by about 30 points, it was the fourth quarter, and that was the first points they’d put on the board.
What happened to humility?
I don’t have a problem with celebrating big plays. I think the celebration penalty in pro and college sports should be abolished unless you directly taunt an opponent. My beef is with the guys who celebrate everything. Save it for something really spectacular.
That said, my friends and I spent a good deal of time during the Fiesta Bowl trying to learn how to do that “launch the football into the ground from chest height and make it spin like a top” thing.