THE “FINE LINE” OF CELEBRATION
by: Mario GoLuza
Recently an incident regarding Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers resurfaced the issue of how much celebrating is too much celebrating?
After Newton reached across the touchdown line against the Titans, he decided to showoff his dance moves. In most similar cases we would not be talking about this issue, however his “extended” dance display stirred up controversy with the Titans, especially their defense. Numerous Titan players including cornerback Perrish Cox cautioned Newton that his “show” likely put a target on his back not just with the Titans, but throughout the NFL. Although some players like Colts linebacker D’Qwell Jackson spoke out on Newton’s defense, others would consider this type of action a “diss” to their team and thus deem retaliatory measures appropriate. In such cases, is it worth displaying this type of risky behavior and risking your value to the team over a dance?
American Football isn’t the only football dealing with these issues. FA’s Reading FC was initially fined £100,000 by the FA Regulatory Commission under Rule E.20 for fans running on to the pitch and celebrating Reading’s first appearance in an FA Cup semi-final in 88 years. Reading argued they were unjustly fined citing numerous previous incidents involving English Football Clubs that only resulted in few major fines, mainly due to those teams being cautioned numerous times before punishment issuance. Subsequently, the FA Appeal Board reduced the fine to £40,000 and thus set a new precedent resulting in a more “lax” celebratory regulation.
The question remains: “How much celebration is too much celebration?”
Celebrations are undoubtedly a part of the game. No matter the sport, it’s a way for players to express their emotions while involving the fans in the festivities. However, there is a threshold that when surpassed, celebrations become taunts. This is where the fine line must be drawn. But, until that fine line is defined, these issues will continue to arise in all sporting arenas.
gollinesports 
(Dec 2, 2015) Andre A. said:
I was taught to carry myself with discipline when I played in high school. I often heard my coaches say, “act like you’ve been there.” Although not on the professional level, certain aspects of the sport should always be carried on no matter the level. Part of being a professional is carrying yourself with dignity; true no matter what industry professional you are. However, we at that level, nor most people in their work, weren’t catering to crowds of hundreds of people, who had come to watch us run around. I think, Mr. Goluza, that celebrating is part of any achievement but, maybe within limits. Jurisprudence contains rules and limits to those rules. Our own U.S. Constitution is about limiting. Maybe I went a little too far but I believe it to be a good example. Further, I do believe that a lot these “issues” come from the fact that younger athletes see this kind of behavior and mimic it. This “issue” could just be come from using professional athletes as examples.
If using professional athletes as examples is the case then, I say let them all celebrate ’til their heart’s content. Athletes are not and should not be used as examples; holding them responsible for such things takes away from the people really responsible… and I think we (society) should stray away from that.
“How much celebrating is too much celebration?” Maybe one way is to cut it out completely and not deal with the question at all. Maybe it should be left up to the teams to decide how they will limit it or, the leagues should set a time limit.
I will agree with you that, “Celebrations are…part of the game” whether on the sideline or end-zone. GO RAMS! COMING HOME TO LA!
LikeLike