Excessive Celebration: What's YOUR Take?!

[*Nately120*]

Seeing William Gay dance for what seemed like an eternity with teammates, get a penalty, and then proceed to dance with more people got me thinking about excessive celebrating in the NFL and wondering what others though about it.

Let me begin by stating that I am primarily of the mindset that if you don't want such things to happen you shouldn't give your opponents a chance to celebrate at all. Additionally, I find it a bit hypocritical when fans criticize players for celebrating when NFL fans tend to go ape, jump around, pelvic thrust the air, and do all manner of celebrating when their team gets a sack or TD despite the fact that we as fans didn't actually accomplish anything like said player did.

I also expect defensive players, or o-linemen etc. who rarely score to go overboard (Carson Palmer spiking the ball and ending up on the ground looking like he tore both ACL's after a rare rushing score was pretty embarrassing, for example). I also differentiate between celebrating and dancing. The Lambeau Leap, AJ Green kicking the ball into the stands, the dunk over the goalpost, the spike, doing some short little thing after getting a sack, and so on are different in my mind than busting into a choreographed dance routine. I don't mean to sound like I hate dancing (I'm not John Lithgow, or anything), but it is interesting that sitting through an NFL game involves a solid 10 minutes of dance routines and about as many dance numbers as a Macy's parade. Also, I'll admit I was a fan of the Ickey Shuffle (I was 7), but if he did it every time he had a good run, or if every player did it I can assume it would have gotten pretty old. The NFL probably wants to cut out the dance numbers so there is more time for commercials, anyways.

But on a related note, Antonio Brown is the only player I can think of off the top of my head who regularly goes out of his way to risk injury when he gets a clear shot into the endzone. Friends of mind who are Steelers fans would rather he didn't put himself at risk like that, but ehh, they know that's part of the mindset that makes him good. Perhaps if he joins Bill Gramatica in the celebration hall of shame he will scale it back, but the amount of praise and attention the ball-crusher move got makes me think he's going to have to up his game...maybe do a backflip and land on his head or something, before he is asked to scale it back.

Welp, that's my take. If this thread is a hit I will boogaloo like a madman.

[StLucieBengal]

If these celebrations weren't a production than it would be a different story. Just spike it or hand it over to the ref.

Elaborate dances, giving things to people in the stands... It's pointless. Just as the sack dances are as well. Celebrate with a fist pump or a high 5 with teammates.

[Emphasis]

Celebrating is fine and normal. It's too much when it goes overboard, and starts to actually feel awkward and stupid.

[CJD]

Football is a game taught to people and played by people from 7 or 8 years old and through to 30 or 40 years old.

The ones who are exceptionally good at it (Read: those who make it to the NFL) are treated like kings at their high schools, their colleges and in the town that they are drafted to play in the NFL for.

There have been multiple stories ranging over decades of players in college being given passing grades in classes that they've never attended, just so they can play on Saturday.

There have been just as many stories of football players doing terrible things once they make it to the NFL, including driving while drunk, killing people in various ways (or supposedly killing them) and beating their wives and girlfriends, then still being handed a multi million dollar contract within the same calendar year.

They have been taught from a young age that the best players are those that play with the most emotion. The guys who play "angry" or "mean."

They have been taught, through all of the above and more, that they live in a mostly consequence free environment where they are treated like royalty and given millions of dollars to play a sport most people just play in their spare time for free.

They are essentially children in adults' bodies.

And we are wondering why they celebrate like children?

I personally have no issue with excessive celebration because they are treating the game like what it is. A game.

Excessive celebration should not be a thing. Let them dance if they want to. I would dance too if I was being paid millions to do that 'job.'

[StoneTheCrow]

If you celebrate a big hit after giving up a twenty yard catch for a first down or if you have a cute little dance lined up for your too little too late garbage time td you should be kicked in the nuts. Most other celebrations I'm cool with. By the way, Gay's dance was exactly that...

[BmorePat87]

I thought it was beyond stupid. It's not worth the flag.

Then he crawled to the sidelines and that completely redeemed it. Well done.

[BengalsRocker]

[*Awful Llama*]

The aspect that I don't like is when a player makes a big play and as his teammates envelope him for the inevitable back slaps and such, and he either ignores them or outright forces them away so he can get enough open space to do his little routine.

[IsaacCurtis]

the nfl wants them to or it wouldnt actually happen.
it makes for great tv

[Benton]

Celebrate, but no dancing. Grown men shouldn't dance unless it's to put out something on fire. Like st. Louis's field.