This year, at the 94th annual Rose Bowl, No. 7 USC kicked the living crap out of No. 13 Illinois.
We were all prepared to see a blowout, and thus didn't expect too much excitement to transpire in tranquil Pasadena this New Year's Day.
But then, midway through the first quarter, my new favorite Trojan—tailback Desmond Reed—pulled out some gravity defying acrobatic skills and executed an elegant front flip over the goal line to score the second touchdown of the game.
I was so delighted by his tomfoolery that I gave out at least 15 high fives to celebrate the occasion.
Immediately afterwards, Reed was slapped with a 15-yard penalty. Pete Carroll, who's usually beaming from the sidelines (what with his gorgeous tan and those amazing pearly whites), was furious at Reed for his display of "excessive celebration."
But what Carroll calls "excessive," I call "inspiring."
Instead of penalizing multi-talented players for radical tricks, I for one think they we should be rewarded.
Now I’m not talking about passing out extra Gatorade to every darn player who finds it appropriate to execute a mediocre "worm" or "dirty bird" after scoring a TD. Only extra special tricks like front flips and/or walking on hands would warrant such praise.
We watch football to be entertained and have fun, so what’s the big flipping deal if the players want to kick it up a notch by tossing gymnastics into the mix? Hell, if every player started doing front flips and one handed back hand springs over the goal line, I’m quite sure that the ratings amongst 14-year-old girls would go through the roof.
If you’re still outraged by Reed and his blatant disregard for the rules, please consider the following. I'm quite sure after reading it you will quickly change your mind:
1. Football = Fun.
2. Front Flips = Fun.
3. Therefore, Front Flips + Football = Twice the fun, for everyone.
Convinced yet? No? Oh, you think that college football should be a dignified pastime? That it is has an old tradition in this country as a gentleman's sport, and that we should leave the crazy shenanigans to those uncivilized cavemen who play for the professional teams?
Well, my only reply to that, my dear friend, is boo flipping hoo!
If you want to be a mama's boy and only watch "civilized" games, you should change the channel to the BBC and watch a lovely game of cricket.
Football is a raw, rough, and flashy sport—and I for one am happy to embrace it in all of its showboating glory.
In closing, I would like to send out a message to the perpetrator of the flipping touchdown that cost the Trojans 15 yards:
Fight on Desmond!
And if you want to please this fan, start working on a back flip for next season.
14 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment
Mosang Miles about 1 year ago
Nice article Casey. I get sick of all the excessive celebration penalties that are called on players. After a touchdown you always see the refs rushing to the players to keep them in line. I say let them celebrate!
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Casey Clement about 1 year ago
Thanks man. I saw on your profile that you're from Vancouver. I just came back from a week in Whistler. Nice country you have up there. It's gorgeous and the peeps are awesome!
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Trey Bradley about 1 year ago
that mid-air picture is awesome
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Smith J. Howard about 1 year ago
Yeah, I've got to say, the acrobatics are fun to watch. But what happened to the old school dance stylings of the Icky Shuffle and Dirty Bird?
In all seriousness, I say let the kids flip if they want to flip. If they get hurt, let that injury hurt their team—not a 15 yard penalty. Save the unsportsmanlike conducts for UGA's 584 players in the endzone. Flipping into the endzone and "highstepping" (Aquib Talib in the Orange) don't deserve penalties, but that's just my opinion.
-R.H.
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Ben Gunby about 1 year ago
Why was what Georgia did worse than Reed's flip?
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Smith J. Howard about 1 year ago
Georgia's celebration has to get a penalty. The game needs to be kept under control, and you just can't have entire teams running onto the field, even if it's just to dance. If that action doesn't get a penalty, then it sends a message that it's okay to just have everyone run on the field anytime they like. I'm not okay with that.
Georgia's celebration came off purely as a taunting act. Desmon Reed's flip had some of that taunting nature to it too, but not as much. He wasn't in the Illinois' players face dancing like a 4 year old girl. He did his thing, then faced the crowd as if to bask in his glory. I still think coaches should take care of these selfish actions rather than referees, but the UGA one has to get a flag. That was all I was saying—if anything they have to be flagged to send a message that 60 players all running on the field is not okay. Just my thoughs.
-R.H.
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David Williams about 1 year ago
As a fan I enjoy all of that extra curricular business. Penalties don't really need to be assessed IMO but there's still a problem with me. Imagine yourself as a player on Illinois or VT. You probably wouldn't be singing the same tune about these celebrations. That same entertaining flip or highstep is also considered a sign of disrespect and classless when you're on that field. It's sort of a code of conduct that you follow. You can pummel the opponent into oblivion, but you show the other team respect in doing so.
Basically my point is, guys like Chad Johnson or T.O. or in this case Desmond Reed are hilarious and I love the acrobatics. They don't need to be fined or anything but they do need to realize that they cross a line when they pull these stunts. So next time Reed plays and he gets cheap shot or stepped on (like what happened to Ricky Williams), he'll know why.
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Sean Crowe about 1 year ago
100% agree with this. 100%.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
And, of course, last night in the Orange Bowl, Kansas's Aqib Talib was called for high-stepping into the end zone after an interception. Gee, you'd have thought these kids poked somebody in the eye -- oh, wait, that's not a penalty, I guess.
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Michael Whittenberg about 1 year ago
Great article, he almost lost his balance when the guy behind him ran into him. But I've never been a fan of all that flipping and dancing crap. Just play the game, and if you score it's good normal to be excited but the dancing is too much. I'm a old fashioned young guy, so that might be the reason I feel that way.
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Smith J. Howard about 1 year ago
I agree with Michael and David that these celebrations should show more respect to their opponents. But, as I mentioned earlier, I still dont think that they should be penalized by the refs. In my opinon, that's something the coaches should handle, whereas now, the coaches are only mad because it cost them 15 yards instead of them being classless celebrations. But that's all in a perfect world.
-R.H.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
Instead of penalizing multi-talented players for radical tricks, I for one think they we should be rewarded.
Now I’m not talking about passing out extra Gatorade to every darn player who finds it appropriate to execute a mediocre "worm" or "dirty bird" after scoring a TD. Only extra special tricks like front flips and/or walking on hands would warrant such praise.
We watch football to be entertained and have fun, so what’s the big flipping deal if the players want to kick it up a notch by tossing gymnastics into the mix? Hell, if every player started doing front flips and one handed back hand springs over the goal line, I’m quite sure that the ratings amongst 14-year-old girls would go through the roof.
If you’re still outraged by Reed and his blatant disregard for the rules, please consider the following. I'm quite sure after reading it you will quickly change your mind:
1. Football = Fun.
2. Front Flips = Fun.
3. Therefore, Front Flips + Football = Twice the fun, for everyone.
THIS SAYS IT ALL I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Jack de Lowe about 1 year ago
Desmond Reed's flip was not in the face of an Illinois player and although most people suspected USC was going to whip Illinois, this was only the second TD of the game and the outcome was still not clear.
One of the things I've always enjoyed about the college game (whether football or basketball) is the enthusiasm. Stopping such not-in-your-face celebrations only brings the game closer to the less enthusiastic NFL version of the game.
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Bryan Trafford about 1 year ago
excessive celebration is one of the best parts of sports!
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