This is much more important than deflated footballs, people.
The threat of fines has not deterred Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch from grabbing his crotch after scoring touchdowns. But the threat of a 15-yard penalty might.
The NFL wants Lynch to know that officials will be on the lookout and ready to assess a 15-yard penalty if Lynch does it again. NFL V.P. of Officiating Dean Blandino told ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio that the Seahawks have been warned that if Lynch makes an obscene gesture at any time during Super Bowl XLIX, the Seahawks will be penalized 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Blandino told Paolantonio that if Lynch grabs his crotch after scoring a touchdown, “that means they will kick off from the 20 yard line.”
What would Vince Lombardi say?
Lombardi would complain that the link is dead.
My guess is all of these guys cheat. I say this even though I live just two hours north of Seattle and hope the Hawks win. But we’re talking about football players for Christ sake. I went to high school and college and remember what those guys were like. Not all of them but a significant percentage. Too much testosterone required to do it well and that messes with the brain. It’s a game that selects for aggressiveness.
That said, some are probably bigger cheaters than others. Pete Carroll left USC under a cloud of scandal so it’s hard to assess whether he or Belichick is worse. Tom Brady seems like the all-american boy but his press conference the other day was bullshit. No way the guy knew nothing about this. On the other hand, it’s possible the Seahawks players cheat just as much.
link is fixed.
Regarding grabbing his crotch in public, why is OK if Miley Cyrus does it and not Marshawn Lynch?
Maybe all touchdowns should be celebrated by extended twerking.
Miley Cyrus is self-employed, whereas Marshawn Lynch is an employee with an employment contract and a member of a union that has a contract with the NFL.
It’s s good thing that Michael Jackson didn’t play for the NFL.
Or Prince. (At his size, he’d definitely be a kicker…)
Taunting should not only be legalized but encouraged and celebrated.
when it comes to a rule that matters, like making sure the equipment is all identical so no one gets an advantage… they’ll enforce it later, maybe, if they decide they want to.
but when it comes to hassling the players for trivial shit – throw the flag!
re the footballs:
What would Lombardi say?
Just drop the ball or hand it to the ref. Act like you know the game isn’t over and that ten other guys helped you get in the end zone. Act like you’ve been there before but also know you will need to be back there many more times.
This shit is crap and has nothing to do with the game. That said I’d like to let the coaches deal with it rather that the league office but maybe creating a Sportcenter moment is more than a coach can compete with (even if several successful coaches have figured it out. E.g. Coughlin)
If I were an owner, I’d impose monetary fines for that kind of behaviour.
I love the “act like you’ve been there before” attitude of some players.
Perform well, score/prevent, get up, help up the other player, walk back to the line. That’s class.
You’re extremely privileged to be making tons of money playing a game that has no (negative, in a way) value to society. Be grateful and act like an adult.
Now that sounds like Lombardi. Football is a games, the skills aren’t sexual prowess or derogatory sexual mime.
The level of ridiculousness in the displays of NFL players is almost to the point of intolerance for me. I have loved the NFL since I was a boy. And to say that the personality of the game has changed would be the understatement of the century. I know it is supposed to be the epitome of testosterone laden machismo, but it is looking more and more foolish every year. What years ago was a team centered celebration at the accomplishment of scoring has become an over-the-top display of narcissism and silly egotistic posturing. I am not a social psychologist, so I am not even going to attempt to surmise the reasons for this change in the attitude of the players. It likely is just following the course our American culture as a whole, which I think has become one of the most self-centered societies in the world. The “Me Generation” is now the “Me Country”, so I guess I should not be at all surprised at what I see on my television every Sunday from September through February.
I watched the NFC championship game quite intently. I didn’t notice that Lynch had done a crotch grab, and neither did any of the television reporters- none. Marshawn did it quite quickly and mildly. Satire is the most effective way for us to respond to the buffoonery of the NFL and the moral scolds who support this childish frame-by-frame slow-motion exam of Lynch’s touchdown celebrations:
The much more prominent part of each and every one of Lynch’s recent touchdown celebrations is that he hands the ball gently to the referee and goes about locating each and every one of his teammates, his hand extended to give a very formal, old-fashioned handshake. This comes off a little ostentatious, but it reflects a player who is quite selfless. Yet this habit of Lynch’s is rarely taken notice of at all in the Seahawks games I have seen; Marshawn gets very little credit for it, that’s for sure.
I’m a 49’ers fan. I use the “act like you’ve scored a TD before” quote often; I read it attributed to Jerry Rice, but it’s been around for a while. I loved Rice’s low-key, ruthless assassin behavior. But I also came to love the humor and creativity Terrell Owens showed in his dozens of unique TD celebrations. Putting a Sharpie in your sock so you can yank it out, autograph your TD ball and hand it to a fan? That is funny as hell.
“What years ago was a team centered celebration at the accomplishment of scoring…”. This made me laugh out loud. My boyhood fandom of the NFL began in the 1970’s, and there were many NFL players who were well known for their elaborate on-field celebrations. Hell, those celebrations took up significant time on NFL’s Films’ official highlight reels!
Finally, the “these players should be thankful they’re being paid a lot of money to play a game” people are painfully deluded. The players in the NFL are participants in a quite clear meritocracy. They are the very best 1,696 professional football players in the world. The moment they get hurt and/or their performance level drops, they’re out or on their way out. The average player’s career ends between the age of 26 and 29, depending on whose stats you accept. And the percentage of league profits which goes to the players has shrunk in recent years.
Grabbing your crotch isn’t everything, it’s the only thing?
What would Lombardi say?
The degree of hysterical butthurt demonstrated over Die Flederball is quite something to behold. I never thought America would outdo itself after completely losing its mind over Richard Sherman’s comments last year. I can’t wait to see what next year brings.
As for Marshawn Lynch; this is the Up With People league. This is the league that banned most forms of end zone celebrations. This is the No Fun League, Booman, don’t you realize that?
Honestly, the real scandal about the NFL is an ongoing one that begins before Mike Webster and will end long after Junior Seau. And yet we still watch. Every year I tell myself I’m going to quit. I guess I know what smoking is like.
Yes, and the other ongoing scandal is the entire economic structure of the sport. Packers at least is publicly owned. I am always flabbergasted that people cannot apply their elemental liberal understanding of capitalism to organized sports.
Boy, can I relate, Brother. I remember telling my wife at the beginning of the season that between the League’s denial of their neurological damage problems and their clownish, uncaring mishandling of the Ray Rice issue, that I didn’t think I could watch their games anymore. I didn’t get there this year, that’s for sure.
The NFL wants to be the only flag-waving, bible-thumping, military-worshipping, all-American game in town.
Of course it’s a team effort boys. Just don’t start thinking you’re a star, even though you’re in showbiz.
Life imitates art: Hingle McCringleberry’s excessive touchdown celebrations.