There's nothing "stupid" about mandating sportsmanship.

..it's friggin' football.. AMERICAN football. What's more american then braggin'?

hell, i don't even like sports that much..

It curbs showboating. And just as the commentors mention, it was the COACHES who wanted this change. You can hardly blame the referees for enforcing it.

>> ^GenjiKilpatrick:

..it's friggin' football.. AMERICAN football. What's more american then braggin'?

Heart-disease.

wait... a competitive sport where a bunch of strong men ram into each other doesn't permit showboating? WTF?

As if american "football" wasn't ridiculous enough.

Ignorance?

Just jokes. But seriously, that is the craziest rule I have ever seen. You can't celebrate prematurely? An audacious move like that deserves a bit of showboating. And what's with the "In Australia, you're allowed to do this, but in College Football, this year you're not" stuff?

You Americans are crazy.

>> ^GenjiKilpatrick:

..it's friggin' football.. AMERICAN football. What's more american then braggin'?
hell, i don't even like sports that much..

>> ^kymbos:

Ignorance?
Just jokes. But seriously, that is the craziest rule I have ever seen. You can't celebrate prematurely? An audacious move like that deserves a bit of showboating. And what's with the "In Australia, you're allowed to do this, but in College Football, this year you're not" stuff?
You Americans are crazy.
>> ^GenjiKilpatrick:
..it's friggin' football.. AMERICAN football. What's more american then braggin'?
hell, i don't even like sports that much..


that weirded me out when i heard it as well. the guy who 'showboated' is Brad Wing, an aussie.

it was a pretty harsh call for just lifting his hands on the way to a great TD. hardly much of a taunt.

Completely stupid rule that has nothing to do with actual gameplay. I agree with penalizing "excessive" celebration with yards, but not taking the TD back. This is football, not Mormon bible camp. I suspect one might feel a bit of exuberance after taking a fake punt 70 yards for a TD.

Not sure I get the point of this rule. If that was "celebrating" in an unsportsman like manner, that seems like a pretty vague definition that can be used to influence game outcomes quite easily.

>> ^kymbos:

Ignorance?
Just jokes. But seriously, that is the craziest rule I have ever seen. You can't celebrate prematurely? An audacious move like that deserves a bit of showboating. And what's with the "In Australia, you're allowed to do this, but in College Football, this year you're not" stuff?
You Americans are crazy.
>> ^GenjiKilpatrick:
..it's friggin' football.. AMERICAN football. What's more american then braggin'?
hell, i don't even like sports that much..



This is a rule that exists and that EVERYONE knows about. It's not a surprise so if you DON'T know about it you have only yourself to blame. You may think it's dumb but it's the coaches that vote on these rules and that's how they wanted it. It's not some magical foreign body but the people who coach the athletes.

What is showboating?
Go ahead define it.
That is the problem with a rule like that.
Yeah I'm sure there is a definition of it in the rules, but i am also sure that it is wide open to interpretation.

You can't ENFORCE sportsmanship it is truly up to the coach themselves. (i.e. You are benched)
Sure sportsmanship makes a better game overall but it is impossible to enforce due to everyone having a different interpretation.

It's like trying to enforce politeness at a traffic accident.
You were calm you exchanged information ... but you didn't ask if they were okay (they looked okay).
Thus they tell all their friends about the jerk who was impolite.

The coaches wanted the rule? Screw the coaches. The game is not played for them. Oh, I'm sorry you don't like the showboating. Tough S#^$. When did the touchy feely people take over football? Is this how its going to be from now on? Will the QB be doing plays based on which one will not hurt the other teams feeling? I would say there should of been a riot at that point but I'm sure it illegal to say that. Watch out Hockey your next.

I love it when people see a video and try to tell other people they're doing everything wrong. It's probably the most narcissistic viewpoint possible.

If the guy got down into the end-zone and did a dance I'd say that's show boating and I'd agree with the call. But what this guy did was clearly just a second of jubilation which I think he's entitled too.

Also...it looks to me like he starts it..realizes "oh shit" and stops a split second later. Chicken shit call...your team lost those points fair and square... nothing about a split second of pre-celebration had anything to do with it...your team BLEW IT!

>> ^Grimm:

Also...it looks to me like he starts it..realizes "oh shit" and stops a split second later. Chicken shit call...your team lost those points fair and square... nothing about a split second of pre-celebration had anything to do with it...your team BLEW IT!


It's not an incorrect call. You can criticize the rule but to criticize the referees for enforcing a rule that's on the books and they've been instructed to enforce is stupid. Point the finger at the coaches and the player for not understand the rule.

More narcissistic than deigning to berate someone on the internet, over an opinion about sport?>> ^Yogi:

I love it when people see a video and try to tell other people they're doing everything wrong. It's probably the most narcissistic viewpoint possible.

>> ^kymbos:

More narcissistic than deigning to berate someone on the internet, over an opinion about sport?>> ^Yogi:
I love it when people see a video and try to tell other people they're doing everything wrong. It's probably the most narcissistic viewpoint possible.



No. One is telling people that they're wrong to do what they're doing without knowing a goddamn thing about what they're doing. I spend my time on the internet...I spend a lot of my time here, so I understand it. I doubt you played, coached, or reffed in the NCAA. Sooo yeah I'm commenting about something I know about...being an asshole on the internet...while you are not. I've also reffed played and coached football.

So Fuck Off.

>> ^Yogi:

I spend my time on the internet...I spend a lot of my time here, so I understand it.

Really? I never would have guessed...

@Yogi Yeah? How is coaching girls football working out for you?

I'm sorry, but football is becoming a stupid joke. What a stupid fucking rule. Let him celebrate and talk shit. It is football FFS.

Are you afraid your little footieball players are going to get their feelings hurt by his outstretched arms?

OMG Yogi - you're right. I'm... I'm wrong.

I... need to go and rethink things.

I don't care how "pansy" You may think this makes "your sport" seem to you now, but the rule was made, and is being enforced, for very good reasons. Sportsmanship should not be an afterthought for any athelete, and a lack of should not be excused for making an amazing play or any athletic prowess.

If you don't think the lack of sportsmanship in highly publicized and idolized public sporting events has been a detrimental force in the USA for the past couple decades (especially!), then you have not talked to a teacher in a long time, or had to deal with the whining mass of sniveling, entitled children this country produces (play a popular competitive game on Xbox live or public queue on League of Legends on PC and observe the communications for an example). Mandating sportsmanship sets an example for the most impressionable in our society, and without requiring that of our "professionals", and setting *real* penalties for behaving this way, the message comes across to our youth and young adults in this country that it is not just acceptable to behave like this in a professional environment, but it is also to be looked up to.

This isn't a stupid rule, it's a stupid application of the rule. Only the punter knows what he was thinking. He could have been looking at his teammates and giving a gesture of "Look at me, I'm the punter and I'm about to score the first touchdown of my career." The referee can't know that he's taunting and to me it didn't look like he was. The rule should be amended to read thou shalt not make any gesture that might be interpreted as taunting or showboating.

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag.(show it anyway)

I support this rule. Absolutely hate showboating, it's just not cricket, old beans.

>> ^Hive13:

I'm sorry, but football is becoming a stupid joke. What a stupid fucking rule. Let him celebrate and talk shit. It is football FFS.
Are you afraid your little footieball players are going to get their feelings hurt by his outstretched arms?


Agreed. Hell I'll take it a step further. I'm no longer watching College football until this rule is eliminated. Fuck You NCAA!

What a bullshit rule. I do not watch or enjoy hand egg, but that rule truly is from the shittest of shit.

I can see the desire to punish twats who shine people on excessively but this was hardly in that league. Interesting that they feel this can be regulated. In the heat of the moment people are going to do whatever feels natural.

I'd say enforce a kick-off penalty if someone was really being a dick.

Well, after watching such a great play get sunk, you can be damn sure nobody else is going to blow it by breaking this rule... College football has always been a bit stricter about showboating, though, hasn't it?

"And regarding this taunting behavior that so many people find offensive, I don't see the problem. In fact, I don't think taunting goes nearly far enough. In my opinion (and I'm certainly no professional athlete) after a good hard tackle the defensive player should be allowed to pull down his pants and masturbate on the man he tackled. It seems like a simple thing, but it would change the whole tempo of the game. And if he can't ejaculate because 60,000 people are watching, you hit him with a fifteen yard penalty for delay of game."

-George Carlin

the reruns are brought to you by the home depot.. i had almost forgotten how overaturated with commercials and stuff american tv is. go to a live game, and the tv station can call a timeout to show commercials...

This is an incredibly stupid rule. Also think about it in this context: It's the punter. The punter is not used to doing anything other than punting the ball. Punters trips into the endzone are near non-existent. His "celebration" seemed more like a "holy crap, it work?!" And for somebody not used to crossing the goal line, I'd say it'd be normal to not be a little bit excited. I wouldn't say anything he did was "excessive" nor "taunting" nor "poor sportsmanship".

ahh good thing I dont waste my time watching these battle of the rule books.

At least it's better than soccer/football where you could get a penalty and the referee doesn't even have to give a reason.

>> ^rottenseed:

At least it's better than soccer/football where you could get a penalty and the referee doesn't even have to give a reason.

How would that be worse than punishing people for showing emotions, if it was true?

Good sportsmanship is great, and a good thing to encourage. However, this rule doesn't punish "bad" sportsmanship, unless your standards for "bad" sportsmanship are so ridiculously hair-triggered that you'd prefer to watch all sports being played by Robots versus Vulcans.

It is possible to be a gracious winner and yet remain visibly happy that you won. What does any any Olympic athlete do after winning a race, landing a tough jump, setting a new record, or having any other momentary success? They give themselves a little fist-pump, grin like idiots, puff out their chest and hold their head high -- and that is probably the bare minimum for even the most stoic competitor ever. Is that bad sportsmanship? No.

What happens at the end of every World Series, Superbowl, or Championship of any sport ever played? One team jumps up and down in a mass hug, acting like schoolgirls and completely unashamed of doing so, while the other team has their arms at their sides and stares blank-faced at the ground 3 feet in front of their feet. Is that bad sportsmanship by the winners? No.

I love the tradition in NHL hockey where at the end of any playoff series, the entire roster of both teams lines up and shakes hands with every member of the opposing team. This can happen after 7 games fueled by hatred and bad blood, bench clearing brawls, or whatever. They put that aside, line up, shake hands, and congratulate each other on a well-fought series. Is that good sportsmanship? Yes!

Encouraging good sportsmanship makes sense. Coming up with punishments that can potentially alter the outcome of games for some behavior that is arbitrarily decided is "bad" sportsmanship is crazy.

Football is really headed downhill. But you gotta admit, it's been heading downhill for a long, long time. Just compare it to rugby, and you'll see how it is being driven into the ground by safety precautions and rules against having fun.

That being said, I have no problem with rules against showboating. But a player has the right to celebrate a little! There's a big difference between raising your arms and doing a chicken dance.

If they REALLY wanted to show good-sportsmanship, They'd let everyone play.