35 Biggest Celebration Fails in Sports History

Celebrating. It is one of the greatest aspects of the sporting world. There are numerous players that are trademarked by a specific celebration. Jamal Anderson had the dirty bird, Tiger Woods had his legendary fist pump and Sammy Sosa had his home-run side step.

But perhaps the one thing that is better than a great celebration, is watching a great celebration gone wrong. Do I take pleasure at having a laugh at a professional athlete for a premature celebration? Of course. I think it makes us all feel a little better inside.

So lets reflect on the 35 biggest celebration fails in sports history. Kick back, and have yourself a laugh or two. We all know you deserve it.

Honorable Mention: Weightlifter Takes a Dive

Many things to watch here. First off, he decides not to have the normal deadlift grip, something that might cost him in the long run. Second off, he utilizes the bold strategy of using all back.

And finally, his scream was about as frightening as a box full of kittens.

Stick to your day job.

35. Patrick Kane Scores to Win the Stanley Cup... and Is the Only One That Knows

This is the moment every hockey player dreams of... scoring in overtime to win the most coveted prize in the game—however, the fact that no one else knew it went in made the celebration unbelievably awkward, and undeniably hysterical.

Had the puck not crossed the goal line, this would probably be number one.

34. Owen Schmitt Might Be Insane

This was more of a pump-up ritual than a celebration, but I couldn't leave this one off the list. As Seattle Seahawks Fullback Owen Schmitt took the field, he decided to once again remind us that football helmets are not soft.

33. Nobody Told Paul Pierce the Tebowing Trend Was Finished

Had Paul Pierce jumped in a time machine and done this six months ago, it might have been an acceptable thing to do. But Tebowing way after the trend has passed? Come on Paul, you are better than that.

The only acceptable time to Tebow is when you have just sacked him... like Steven Tullock did.

32. Glen Fisiiahi Does His Best Leon Lett Impression

Let's get some rugby in the mix. Glen Fisiiahi was all but gone. All he had to do was power through the last 15 or so yards at ANY rate faster than half speed, and it is an easy try.

To his credit, it was an unbelievable hustle by the defender.

31. Stevie Johnson Mocks Burress... Plax Gets Last Laugh

This is hard to really call a fail because in my opinion it was one of the funniest touchdown celebrations in the history of the game. Next thing you know, Johnson will be pretending to hold a dog fighting ring in the endzone if he scores against Philly.

The fail occurred when Burress would score a touchdown on the very next drive, and the Jets would win 28-24.

30. Cable and Company Thinks Sea-Bass Wins It

Back in 2010, the struggling Raiders were just a 32-yard field goal away from defeating the Arizona Cardinals. This seemed like a chip shot for Sebastian Janikowski, who had been over 90% successful from 30-39 yards in his career.

As soon as the kick goes up, Raiders Coach Tom Cable was positive it was good... as were half a dozen of his players. This is just good stuff.

29. Lastings Milledge Hits a Home Ru... Double

You can find the video here, but let me break this one down.

Lastings MIlledge wasn't the only one who thought he had hit a home run. The announcers thought he did, and even the guy that shoots off the home run fireworks did.

Just an all around moment of awkwardness.

It was still a two-run double... so worse things could have happened. Though I wonder if the fireworks guy lost his job.

28. FAR Rabat Khalid Askri Does Not Follow Up Save

Let this be a message to all the young goaltenders out there to never celebrate a penalty kick early.

The referee's reaction might be the best part of this whole video.

27. Jackie Smith and the Drop

This video doesn't really give justice to how much of a fail the celebration was. Not by Smith, but by the Cowboys sidelines. Every Cowboy erupted prematurely... just to watch Jackie Smith flailing after perhaps the most costly drop in Super Bowl History.

The play is at 2:50.

26. The Islanders Are a Tight Knit Bunch

I am all for brotherly love with the boys... but Travis Green and Ziggy Palffy might have taken it a little too far.

25. Rollerblader Celebrates Too Early... Like Way Too Early

I am glad this guy lost.

24. Paul Casey's Caddy Thinks He Has Won a Cadillac

Apparently Paul Casey had told his caddy that he would split the money with him if he hit an ace to win the car. Casey did hit the ace... but it wasn't on the right par-3.

His caddy thought otherwise, and for a solid amount of time thinks his paycheck just received a huge bonus.

23. MMA Fighter Forgets the "Flip" Part of the Back Flip

And boom goes the dynamite. If you cannot do a back flip, don't try to do one in the octagon.

22. Chris Coghlan Tears His Knee Pieing a Teammate

There are many, many ways to tear your left knee. But pieing a teammate? Now that is a new one.

21. Kendry Morales Injures Himself After Walk-off Home Run

As a professional baseball player, there can't be a much better feeling than a walk off grand slam.

But there cannot be a worse feeling than breaking your ankle while jumping onto home plate.

20. Kelly Malveaux CFL interception fail

After what looked like a jump ball in the endzone, Kelly Malveaux thought he had a game-changing interception. After finding his inner Terrell Owens, Malveaux signed the ball and gave it to a fan.

Upon review, however, the play was reversed and was ruled a touchdown.

19. The First Ever Face Plant Celebration

After failing this hard on a celebration... there just really isn't a way to look cool.

18. The Worst Fail in CFL History

This might actually be the worst celebration fail in football history. It is definitely the worst spike.

After running in for the touchdown, Toronto Argonauts QB Kerwin Bell spikes the ball directly into the one area no man ever wants to get hit. And then gets easily knocked over.

This is great stuff. 

17. Patrick Stefan Couldn't Hit Water If He Fell out of a Boat

The game is over. Patrick Stefan is staring at an empty cage and decides to try and fluff a back hand in on top of the crease. After a ridiculous bounce, the puck jumps over his stick and the Oilers go back down the ice to send the game into overtime.

In my opinion, this is one of the craziest things to ever happen at the end of a hockey game.

16. DeSean Jackson

I have honestly seen this play about fifty times, and I still can't figure out what was going on in DeSean Jackson's head.

Luckily for him, the Cowboys didn't recover the ball, and Brian Westbrook scored on the next play.

15. DeSean Jackson Again

He wasn't even close! The best part is how he still celebrated even though he had to know that he was a solid yard short of the pay dirt.

14. He Can't Ride His Bike with No Handlebars

The cyclist above reached viral video fame for his early celebration wipe out that caused him to lose the race.

I love how he tried to run the bike across—I don't even think that's legal.

13. Terrell Owens Disrespects the Cowboys

Terrell Owens has always been known for his sometimes over-the-top celebrations. But, back in 2000, he took his antics a little too far by celebrating on the Dallas Cowboys' midfield star after scoring a touchdown.

Emmitt Smith would score later in the game, and retaliate by spiking the ball on the star which ignited the crowd.

When Owens scored his second touchdown of the game, George Teague decided that he was not going to let T.O. disrespect their home field again.

12. Patrick Roy Gets Caught Show Boating

Patrick Roy, arguably the greatest NHL goaltender of all time, was known for his "Statue of Liberty" celebration where he would hold the puck up over his head after a big save.

But back in the 2002 playoffs, he didn't have complete control of the puck and allowed the Detroit Red Wings to score a huge goal.

At the time, the Avs were up 3-2 in the series, and this goal gave Detroit a 1-0 lead in the game. They would go on to win game six 2-0, and then win game seven 7-0.

A lot of people say that this goal was the turning point of the series, as the Red Wings went on to not only beat the Avalanche, but win the Stanley Cup.

11. Mark Martin Forgets About the Last Lap

During the 1994 Goody's 250 from Bristol, Mark Martin was in the lead as the race was finishing under caution.

Martin thought the race was over, and drove into victory lane one lap too soon thinking he had already won. This allowed David Green to pass him and take the checkered flag.

10. Leon Lett Slides His Way into Blunder History

All he had to do was not touch the ball and the game was over.

Pete Stoyanovich was lining up for a game winning field goal on Thanksgiving Day, 1993. After the field goal was blocked, everybody, including Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones, thought the game was over.

But then, Leon Lett slid in and touched the ball, allowing the Miami Dolphins to recover it and lineup for another chance at a game-winning field goal. This time, Stoyanovich would connect as time expired to give the Dolphins the W.

9. Derek Fisher Stuns the Spurs

In the 2004 playoffs, Derek Fisher would hit one of the most unbelievable shots in NBA history. As Tim Duncan drained the go-ahead jumper with .4 seconds remaining, the stadium erupted, and everyone but the Lakers bench thought it was over.

Fisher would pretty much redefine physics by not only getting a shot away, but draining it to give the Lakers the game 5 victory.

8. Gus Frerotte Finds out Concrete Doesn't Give

After scoring a touchdown, Washington Redskins Quarterback Gus Frerotte decided that headbutting a concrete wall was a solid idea.

Frerotte would end up with a sprained neck and a trip to the hospital. He missed the rest of the game, but returned the next week.

7. Henrik Andersen Finds out That Glass Does Give

I could watch this one-thousand times and still find it amusing. After scoring an unbelievable goal, Henrik Andersen decided to try and celebrate with the crowd by jumping into the glass.

I don't think he meant to get that close.

6. Sergio Ramos Must Have Just Ate Popcorn

Perhaps the greatest celebration fail in soccer history goes to Sergio Ramos, after he drops the trophy off a bus after Real Madrid won the Spanish Cup.

If that wasn't enough, the bus proceeded to run over the trophy.

5. This Is Why You Don't Rush the Court Early

This is just hilarious. During what I believe is a Serbian league basketball game, the team in white makes what appears to be the game winning three-pointer.

The court is pretty much rushed, but for some reason the game continues. The team in black inbounds the ball and throws up a 70-foot prayer.

As you've probably guessed, the shot drops for the win, much to the dismay of the hometown team.

4. The Bluegrass Miracle

Back in 2002, the University of Kentucky Wildcats were huge underdogs to the defending SEC Champion LSU Tigers.

In the fourth quarter, UK came back to take the lead with just :11 left in the ball game. After a deep kick-off, the Tigers were pinned on their own 9-yard-line. After a 17-yard pass, they were still 74 yards away from the endzone with just :02 remaining.

The fans were going crazy, the players were going crazy, and they even doused their coach from the cooler before the game was over.

Then the Bluegrass Miracle took place for the Tigers.

3. Bill Gramatica Tears ACL Celebrating First Quarter Field Goal

You knew it was coming. Perhaps the most ridiculous celebration fail leading to an injury of all-time is Bill Gramatica infamously tearing his ACL after making a 43-yard field goal back in 2001.

Fun fact—The ensuing kickoff was taken by one of my all-time heroes, Pat Tillman. RIP Pat.

2. Leon Lett Pulls the Ultimate "Come On, Man!"

Remember that this wasn't a regular season game. It was Super Bowl XXVII. Leon Lett has committed two of the biggest blunders in NFL history, but this one was on the biggest stage in football.

You have to admire the hustle and heart showed by Don Beebe on the play, who never gave up. To quote We Are Marshall, "Just playing 'til the whistle, Coach."

1. The Band Is out on the Field

This play will always baffle me. There is a reason why it is simply called "The Play."

The definition of a celebration fail is summed up perfectly in the seven words—"The bands are all on the field."

What do you guys think? Do you agree or disagree these blunders? What did I miss?