NFL: 13 Touchdown Celebrations We Really Miss

It seems lately the NFL stands for the No Fun League as opposed to the National Football League.

For the past decade or so, it seems as if the league constantly passes new rules to outlaw almost any form of celebration.

I've never been one who was a big fan of showing up your opponent via taunting or anything like that, but most end-zone celebrations are pretty harmless and fun.

Heck, the player who scored that touchdown has been taking a beating all game—let him release some emotion, for goodness' sake.

If the league wants emotionless robots after a big play or a touchdown, they better start investing money in Honda's robot division because you'll never get that from a human.

In our last newsletter, you, the Bleacher Creatures, asked for this article, and we are obliging you.

Sit back and enjoy this stroll down memory lane.

No. 13: Barry Sanders/John Riggins Tosses the Ball to the Ref

I miss this because it doesn't happen too often in the NFL anymore.

I know this article is about celebration, and there isn't much celebration when it comes to just giving the referee the ball, but both Barry Sanders and John Riggins epitomized the saying, "Act like you've been there before."

Between the two, they scored 203 touchdowns; I'd say they've been there plenty.

No. 12: Daunte Culpepper's Rolling

I don't know why, but I've always liked Daunte Culpepper's Rolling celebration.

It was simple, it didn't show up his opponents and it was pretty unique.

When Culpepper would score a touchdown, he'd do his thing and then get congratulations from his teammates, the way a celebration should be.

No. 11: Gus Frerotte Head-Butts a Wall

Now this might be a case where my own bias comes into play, but I remember staying up to watch this abomination of a Monday Night Football game that ended in a 7-7 tie between the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins.

After tying the game late, Gus Frerotte wanted to celebrate with a head-butt; not finding any players close enough, he thought the wall would do.

Well, that head-butt gave him a stinger in his neck and got him out of the game.

I remember thinking, "What the hell was that?" as Gus walked away from the wall as if he had just taken a punch from George Foreman.

No. 10: Ken Norton Jr. Goalpost Punching Bag

This one was always a favorite of mine, probably because we didn't get to see it that often when it was invented.

Some folks know and some don't, but Ken Norton Jr.'s father Ken Norton was a boxer, and to honor his dad, the linebacker would beat the living crap out of the goalpost padding after he scored a touchdown.

It's been imitated greatly since Norton first introduced it, but none of the skinny receivers who do it now look as fierce as Norton did.

No. 9: T.O.'s Sharpie Touchdown and Star Pose in Dallas

This is the incident that really got the league to crack down on celebrations, as well as really introduced the rest of the league to the antics of Terrell Owens.

After scoring a touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks, Owens pulled a Sharpie marker from his sock and signed the touchdown ball.

It looked like he gave the ball to a fan, which at the time I thought was pretty cool of him, but then it was revealed by the announcers that it was in fact his agent who he gave the ball to; that's not as cool.

However, this did inspire a Sharpie commercial and a midseason rule change, so well done there, T.O.

Then we have T.O. celebrating on the center star in Dallas. This would have been okay had he been a Cowboy at the time, but he wasn't—he was a 49er. 

This was a classless move by T.O., but it sparked Emmitt Smith to do the same thing after his touchdown; then T.O. responded after scoring another touchdown, which led to him getting laid out by a Cowboy.

Nothing like actual bad blood in a football game.

No. 8: Warren Sapp Booty Shake

There is just something funny about a fat man shaking his booty after a touchdown.

Where this dance is perfectly innocent in Tampa Bay, Warren Sapp doing this in Oakland could set off a fault line or something.

*Bonus*

You get a little Beyonce in this video too.

No. 7: Terrell Davis Mile High Salute

Terrell Davis was the missing piece in John Elway's quest for a Super Bowl (well, that and a destructive offensive line).

Other than big-time postseason performances, Davis is probably remembered most for his Mile High Salute, a tribute he'd do after every touchdown in honor of his teammates and the fans.

The celebration was simple and unique; it's been imitated by Broncos who have followed in Davis' footsteps, but nothing beats the original.

It's so big in Denver that there is actually a Mile High Salute BBQ Sauce endorsed by Davis.

No. 6: Jamal Anderson and the Dirty Bird

Atlanta seems to be the home of inventive touchdown celebrations (more on that later in the countdown).

In 1999 Jamal Anderson and the surprising Atlanta Falcons danced all the way to the Super Bowl to clash with the defending champs, the Denver Broncos.

In an era where many TD scorers mimic dances created by rappers, Anderson created his own unique dance to celebrate getting into the end zone.

No. 5: Billy "White Shoes" Johnson's Funky Chicken

This might be the first touchdown celebration that involved dancing.

It was fun and funny to watch a man in the most violent of sports act a bit silly after scoring a touchdown.

I wonder if Billy knew he'd be starting a trend that the league would one day try to squash.

No. 4: Desmond Howard's Heisman Pose

As a kid in the early '90s, I can't even tell you how many times I saw someone score a touchdown in pickup football and then strike the Heisman pose like Desmond Howard did.

Though he didn't do this in the NFL, it was still one of those celebrations everyone loved to see. Howard was such a talented collegiate wide receiver that the pose was perfect for him, because we all knew he was going to win it.

No. 3: Prime Time

Speaking of pickup football games in the early '90s, before you got to the end zone to do your Heisman pose, you'd first have to do Deion Sander's Prime Time Shuffle into the end zone.

Sometimes you'd do the whole dance and then the Heisman pose, or other times just the shuffle and high leg kick with your hand on your head as you scored the touchdown.

This celebration made him a household name in a time where it didn't matter how good he was, as the fact that he was a Falcon wasn't going to get him noticed.

Between his dances and Jerry Glanville's mouth, the Falcons became the bad boys of the '90s—sorry Raiders fans.

No. 2: Ickey Shuffle

The Ickey Shuffle, though not the prettiest dance on this list, was a cultural phenomenon that 20 years later hasn't been forgotten.

Shoot, as seen in the video, it was even done by Neil Patrick Harris on CBS's highly popular How I Met Your Mother.

No. 1: The Fun Bunch High Five

The Washington Redskins Fun Bunch ekes out a win over the Ickey Shuffle for two reasons.

First, it was a team celebration; no matter who scored the touchdown, the Fun Bunch (the receiving corps) of the Redskins would gather in the end zone and high-five.

Secondly, it was started to honor a fallen teammate, Art Monk. In the 1982 season, Monk went down with a leg injury, and to honor him, the receivers said they were going to high-five when one of them scored a touchdown.

It was supposed to be a one-time thing but the fans in DC loved it so much that the Fun Bunch kept it around.

Also, the first two touchdowns they scored after deciding to do this tribute they actually forgot to do the high five.

Of course, now a choreographed celebration like this would get a 15-yard penalty called against you—no wonder it's the No Fun League.

Conclusion

Hope you enjoyed the list. I'm sure every single person who reads this will have a different opinion on what's on here and where they go, but that's the best thing about lists—the discussions get going.

Hop on the comment board and let me know what you think and what I left off that should be on here.