Day 165: End Zone Dancing: Why... Just Why?

I'm a football purist at heart. When a player scores a touchdown, I'm a fan of a good ol' fashioned spike. Rob Gronkowski knows how to spike that football—and some say he may make them go flat. What I can't handle are these ridiculous dances in the end zone. Some of them are so absurd that you have absolutely no idea what it means. I never understood Aaron Hernandez's thing where he would make it rain. He should've been jailed for that stupid celebration long before he was jailed for murder.

The original touchdown "spike" was first performed in 1965 by New York Giants' wide receiver Homer Jones—it is said to be the origin of end zone celebrations. But it's gone all down hill from there. In 1988, we were introduced to the Ickey Shuffle. The early 90's brought about Desmond Howard's Heisman Trophy pose which I alway found so pretentious. The Atlanta Falcons invented the Dirty Bird during their 1998 NFC championship season.

When a player has clearly planned out and choreographed his end zone dance, it loses some of its meaning. It's no longer a genuine spontaneous celebration and, most of the time, it appears contrived and just plain stupid. In the past the NFL has frowned upon "excessive celebrations" and anything considered offensive and has either fined or penalized players. In 2004, Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Randy Moss was fined $10,000 for pretending to moon Green Bay Packers fans at Lambeau Field. Terrell Owens pulled a Sharpie out of his sock and signed the game ball earning him a $20,000 fine by the NFL for defacing the ball.

It always amazes me that despite the fines and penalties, players continue to do stupid-ass things that often times have negative effects on their game. But you know what is funny and acceptable? When Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake make a video called the "Evolution of End Zone Dancing." Although I think they may have made up some of their own original dances!

This season, the NFL has but some very strict (but not new) rules into play with regards to end zone celebrations. NFL officials have been told to buckle down on unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, especially those who throw, spike or spin the ball after the whistle is blown. This is in addition to the usual foolish dances. Well... there goes the Gronk Spike. That makes me sad.

Source: Wikipedia (because Wikipedia is so smaht!)