Green Bay Packers: Nick Collins' Super Bowl Celebration Well Worth the Penalty

The Green Bay Packers were plastered on every piece of sports news from the smallest newspaper to Sports Illustrated and ESPN in the days following the Super Bowl.

Of course Super Bowl MVP, Aaron Rodgers, appeared in the majority of photos that accompanied articles covering the biggest sporting event in the United States—often with Clay Matthews gifting him with a championship belt in the background.

However, superstar safety Nick Collins provided Packers fans with another lasting image from their fourth Super Bowl victory.

He had just intercepted Big Ben, dodged pathetic tackle attempts by Pittsburgh's offense, ran for 36 yards, and dove into the Packers end zone to complete the pick six. Collins dropped to his knees in excited celebration and threw his hands in the air.

The interception return for a touchdown, which gave the Packers a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, may have been just enough to keep the Pack afloat in the second half.

However, the refs followed the rule book and penalized Collins, claiming that his  celebration was in fact excessive because he went to the ground.

The penalty gave the Steelers 15 yards on the kickoff, but their following drive produced only a field goal. It was the Packers only penalty in the first half. Looking back, whether you think it's a stupid rule or not, Nick Collins' infraction was well worth the celebration.

His simple celebratory action created one of the most popular images from the Super Bowl and now Packers fans can look back and remember the excitement of that amazing moment.

For Titletown's team and cheeseheads across America, it was a "Spec-Pack-ular" night as the headline of my local newspaper read.

And below the cheesy headline of this Pennsylvania paper, was Nick Collins on his knees after the biggest play of his NFL career.