Stevie Johnson: The Celebration, Drops and His Contract with the Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills fans are split on their opinion of wide receiver Stevie Johnson's controversial touchdown celebration, and quite frankly, they should be. 

Some fans grew up watching legal clothesline tackles and players handing the ball to the referee between plays in a time when cameras rarely panned the crowd in search of the most outrageously outfitted fan or most attractive female supporter. 

Football in its purest form.

There's also a faction in which I'd include myself, a 23-year-old fan, that grew up watching professional football evolve into more than just a game. 

The game itself didn't seem to be "enough" for my generation.

Sad, but true.

As the mass media grew, so did players' egos and their need to be noticed after they stepped off the field. 

NFLers started high-stepping to the end zone, creating their own touchdown and sack dances and starring in their own television reality shows.

Football in its diluted form.

Many would say that football and the NFL are, in the end, entertainment.

I would say that's not entirely true. 

The game is entertaining, yes, but not precisely entertainment—especially for people like me. 

This isn't going to a comedy club, watching Cirque du Soleil or heading to a WWE event.

Sports and football are real—the outcomes are unknown for everyone.

For me, the game is good enough. 

If there was never another taunt, "dougie" in the end zone or pregame war on Twitter, I'd be content. 

But, through my childhood and adolescence, I was essentially desensitized to the showboating and self-promotion.

I'd be stunned if a player didn't conjure up a creative way to celebrate a tackle or quarterback takedown that he could eventually call his own.

Because I'm somewhat of a football purist and became a fan during the dawn of swagger in the NFL, I'm stuck in the middle. 

Steve Johnson's celebration was certainly unnecessary, but really, what TD celebration isn't?

The dance and imitation were symbolic of today's NFL culture; the nonsensical high-jinx has become a part the gridiron spectacle.   

I don't see it going away, either. 

Do you?

We are simply going to have to deal with it. 

(I won't ever get why it was fine when the Lions mocked Tim Tebow by praying after sacking him, but Johnson was a classless fool when he impersonated Plaxico Burress bringing a loaded gun into a nightclub and shooting himself in the leg.)

Above all, the game is most important, and I'm much more concerned with Johnson's dropped pass that quite possibility could have won the game than the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty he took in the second quarter. 

His contract is set to expire at the end of the season, and his inability to make the huge play when it matters most begs the question—should Buffalo re-sign him?

Johnson's two solid games against the usually-dominating Darrelle Revis and his year and a half of production must not be ignored, but until he comes through in the clutch, he cannot be a No. 1 receiver on the Bills.

A No. 2?

Definitely.

He works well in Chan Gailey's system, is tremendous at beating press coverage and getting off the line and runs crisp routes—an above-average NFL starter.

However, with the game on the line, Johnson, one of the biggest names on Buffalo's roster, has come up small early in his career. 

If the Bills want to get where they haven't been since I was 11—the playoffs—they can't have an unreliable guy as their star wideout.

This is not to bash Johnson. I'm simply stating the facts.

I'm rooting for the guy; I really am. 

The last five games of the year will likely determine his future with the Bills, and because Johnson said he won't celebrate anymore, it will hopefully allow us focus on what really matters: the game itself.