Sundays are typically the day people use to relax. It is the perfect day to catch up on sleep, do some homework, and for some people, watch football. I was never really one to watch football until I came to college, where everyone is very competitive and gung ho for their home teams. Mondays are the day where everyone compares scores and good plays. So, I decided to watch a game so that maybe on Monday I could contribute, or at least relate, to their conversations. Because I was in Dallas I decided to watch the Cowboys vs. the Redskins. While the game was hard to follow, there was one thing about the game that was impossible to miss, the celebrations.
After a touchdown the players would point to the stands, make the sign of the cross, or even pound the ball at the ground. I can understand the adrenaline rush after completing a crucial pass or running half way down the field but, I couldn’t help but think that the post-play celebrations were a little over the top. So, I decided to look up some of the various celebrations that players had performed over the years and how the league, and fans, reacted to these oftentimes-profane actions.
To my surprise, the celebrations were worse in the past. I came across a news story from The Hilltop Online, Howard University’s newspaper about Randy Moss mooning the Green Bay fans after scoring a touchdown. (To read more go to http://media.www.thehilltoponline.com/media/storage/paper590/news/2005/01/18/Editorials/Nfl-Getting.Too.Tough.On.Player.Touchdown.Celebrations-834391.shtml) I was happy to see that the NFL was taking a stand against the professional athletes who weren’t acting professional. I think that the rules are necessary and fines should be issued to those players who don’t comply. Everything seems to becoming bigger and flashier than ever these days. Celebrities don’t drive cars; they drive Range Rovers and Bentleys. Athletes have more bling bling than anyone should be able to afford due to their large salaries. But, flashy doesn’t have to mean trashy. Why can’t athletes stick to the traditional “hand slap” or “chest bump” post-play celebrations?
3 comments:
I understand that you may think that the excessive celebrations may be distasteful, but the athletes do that for a reason. First of all the professional athletes who show-boat all the time do it because they crave attention. Secondly, controversial celebrations bring in more money. If people hear that Chad "Ocho-Cinco" Johnson is planning on doing his most obscene celebration yet, they are much more likely to watch the Bengals play, than if it was just a regular Bengals game. So while I agree with you that sometimes the celebrations are over the top, I think that it has become part of the game.
Good post. And an interesting response here. But I have to ask: Are craving attention and bringing in more money really good reasons for acting in a distasteful way? I'll agree that those are the reasons some athletes do these things, but are profanity and obscenity just part of professional sports these days? Does anybody else think athletes should show some class?
November 18, 2008 6:16 PM
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