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The Touchdown Celebration

By EDDIE DANIELS

edaniels@tampatrib.com

Published: January 29, 2009

TAMPA - Be honest. Ever catch yourself in a fit of excitement, pumping your fist or swaying back and forth to the music in your head after a major accomplishment?

Got that assignment in on time, surprising your boss? Finished that home-improvement project? Maybe even helped your kid with homework in a subject you hadn't studied in decades?

Now, picture yourself eluding at least a half-dozen, 250-plus-pound men. Angry men. Muscular specimens, each operating on a single, agreed-upon credo: knock your head off and, if they're lucky, take away the ball in your hands.

After navigating that quagmire and finding the end zone, what's next?

You celebrate.

You celebrate putting your team ahead or inching your team closer. You celebrate arriving in one piece. You just flat-out celebrate.

From Elmo Wright to Deion Sanders to Chad Johnson - er, Ocho Cinco - the celebratory climax to a touchdown has witnessed an evolution. The trend has morphed from a simple spike to a Celtic Riverdance.

In The Beginning: The Spike

The genesis of the touchdown celebration is said to be the 1965 "spike" by New York Giants receiver Homer Jones. After being drafted by the Houston Oilers in 1963 from Texas Southern, Jones suffered a knee injury during training camp. The Oilers released him before camp ended and he was snapped up by the Giants with an offer of a bus ticket and knee surgery on their dime.

As Jones rehabbed the knee, he watched Giants legend Frank Gifford toss a ball into the stands following a score. Jones vowed to celebrate his first touchdown by emulating Gifford. That was nixed when he learned of a fine levied against Gifford, sending Jones to the drawing board.

"I'm supposed to be the granddaddy of the spike. I had always said when I made my first touchdown, I was gonna do like Frank Gifford and Alex Webster and throw the ball in the stands," Jones said in the 2004 book, "Tales from the Browns Sideline" by Tony Grossi. "But in 1964, Pete Rozelle changed the rule. So I had my mind on throwing it into the stands; then when I crossed the goal line, I thought of the fine of $500. So I threw it to the ground. It got to be like a trademark."

And with that, the touchdown celebration was born.

Legislating The Fun

Not everyone is a fan.

In 1984, the league adopted the unsportsmanlike conduct rule for premeditated or excessive celebrations by players. Team celebrations by the Washington Redskins' Fun Bunch and New York Jets defensive lineman Mark Gastineau, who danced to the tune of his own sacks, helped push the rule through.

During the months before the 2006 season, NFL owners voted 29-3 for teams to be penalized 15 yards on the ensuing kickoff for excessive celebrations anywhere on the field.

Now, players are prohibited from using foreign objects or the football while celebrating. They also must stay on their feet. Said celebration will be deemed excessive if a player continues after being warned by an official.

"These guys are very creative, and we were laughing while we watched the tapes," Rich McKay, co-chairman of the competition committee and general manager of the Atlanta Falcons, said at the time. "But there has to be some lines drawn. A lot of the things we saw that we're not big fans of were acts on the ground."

The Celebration Debate

As strong as the opposition is against the end zone celebration, so is the pushback from those who regularly participate.

"Basketball players flex and growl after dunking, but it ain't but two points. Touchdowns are a big deal," Terrell Owens told Dan LeBatard in an ESPN the Magazine story. "Even the best get only a few a year. I'm not a bad example. Hockey lets fights go on, blood all over the place. That's a bad example for kids ... not me having some fun after helping my team."

TOP CELEBRATIONS

This is not a ranking, merely a random listing of not-so-random acts of joy.

THE SHARPIE

Starring: Terrell Owens

Review: Owens, then with the San Francisco 49ers, put a point at the end of a touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks on "Monday Night Football." After scoring the winning touchdown that October 2002 night in Seattle, Owens pulled a Sharpie marker from his right sock, autographed the ball and handed it to his financial adviser sitting in the Qwest Field stands.

THE ICKEY SHUFFLE

Starring: Ickey Woods

Review: Woods, a rookie running back with the Cincinnati Bengals in 1988, celebrated each of his end zone trips with a dance dubbed the Ickey Shuffle. He did it 15 times in the regular season and three more times on the way to Super Bowl XXIII. It started with two hops to the left, two more to the right, a spike of the football, and a finger twirl in the air. Don't forget to yell, "Woo!"

THE FUNKY CHICKEN

Starring: Billy "White Shoes" Johnson

Review: Johnson's show began in college as a sophomore at Widener. He was dared to dance if he scored against Drexel. Well, he scored and he danced - his version of singer Rufus Thomas' "Funky Chicken." Johnson played 14 seasons in the NFL with the Oilers, Falcons and Redskins, catching 337 passes for 4,311 yards and 25 TDs. He also returned eight kicks for TDs.

ROW YOUR BOAT

Starring: Steve Smith

Review: Carolina's star receiver torched the Minnesota Vikings' defense for 201 yards on 11 catches and a score in a game in 2005. After that touchdown, Smith sat on the field and feigned rowing motions to his left and right sides. According to some, it was a mocking of the troubles the Vikings endured after their infamous Lake Minnetonka excursion.

THE DIRTY BIRD

Starring: Jamal Anderson

Review: The Atlanta Falcons running back began celebrating his touchdowns with a combination of funky chicken and elbow throwing. What makes this 1998 move a classic is the fact former Falcons coach Dan Reeves was caught on camera attempting the dance after the Falcons beat the Vikings in the NFC Championship Game to reach Super Bowl XXXIII.

THE LAMBEAU LEAP

Starring: LeRoy Butler

Review: In December 1993, Green Bay Packers DE Reggie White scooped up a Raiders fumble and threw a lateral to Butler. Butler scored and launched himself into the end zone stands. That win clinched Green Bay's first playoff appearance since 1982. Butler later told the Florida Times-Union: "It was just a way to thank the fans that were stuck in the cheap seats. I wasn't trying to show anybody up. I just wanted to show my appreciation to fans sitting in that cold weather. It grew from there."

THE FUN BUNCH

Starring: Washington Redskins

Review: The group was made up of receivers Charlie Brown, Gary Clark, Alvin Garrett, Art Monk and Virgil Seay, and tight ends Rick Walker and Don Warren. When anyone in that group reached the end zone, members of the Fun Bunch gathered there to perform a group high-five.

ELECTRIC SLIDE

Starring: Ernest Givins

Review: No, it's not the wedding reception favorite. Givins, the former Houston Oilers receiver and a St. Petersburg native, would slide his foot across the field and wiggle as if he were being electrocuted. Sounds painful, but it worked just fine.

HIGH STEP

Starring: Deion Sanders

Review: It was a dreaded sight for opponents when Sanders was in full stride up the field with one hand behind his head and his legs kicking out. It was a sure sign he was making his way into the end zone on an interception, kickoff, punt or fumble return.