Thursday, October 27, 2011

Time to change the celebration rule




Watching the ref watching the player after a touchdown to make sure he doesn't celebrate too much is funny-Adventures in Officiating: Scoring on a pick-six against Oakland, Brandon Flowers of Kansas City briefly put his foot on the ball and flexed his muscles. He was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for "using the football as a prop." Celebration penalties have become ridiculous. Taunting should be penalized, but what's wrong with celebrating? The game is, at heart, entertainment. There is no reason players should not entertain the audience by dancing after a score. Plus, the rule is enforced inconsistently. In the Rams at Dallas contest, Dez Bryant used the ball as a prop to celebrate a touchdown, and there was no yellow. The only way to make enforcement of the celebration rule consistent would be to penalize any show of emotion following a touchdown. That, of course, would be silly. If consistent enforcement of a rule would be silly, the rule is silly.

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