I've been kicking around ways to keep content Fresh, Current, and to offer another viewpoint that would contrast those held by the current staff. In an effort to please, I put out an open request for guest writers, and the following article was the first I received.
MAMQB Fans, enjoy this piece by Sati, a sharp Chicago kid with diverse sports knowledge, and the first Guest Writer here at The Monday AM QB.
Reggie Bush’s Eating Crow Dance: When Celebration in Sports Goes Overboard
Mea Culpa. Forgive me Pappa Bear Halas for I have sinned. I went against my heart, the city that raised me, and the team that I have always supported. There I said it.
Who woulda thunk it: the Bears roll over the divinely-appointed Saints to make the Super Bowl for the first time in 21 years. Most experts, and this humble writer, predicted that the Saints' high-powered offense would overwhelm the erratic Bears.
In fairness none of us predicted that star rookie running back Reggie Bush would have a figurative "Leon Lett Moment" that would awaken the hibernating beast that is the Chicago Bears Defense. On the first possession of the second half, Saints QB Drew Brees hit Bush for what looked like a routine short yardage pass. The former USC Trojan accelerated into a triangle of collapsing Bears defenders then, with a quick jiggle of the shoulders, left all three standing and burst diagonally for an 88 yard statement TD. The "statement" should've been the run itself: the virtuousity, the vision, the freakish agility. More important, the score drew the Saints within 2 points of the Bears. Yet, by fingerpointing at a bevy of pursuing defenders and showing them the ball Bush chose to make it a statement for his own poor judgement. After that bitchslap, the Bears sideline looked like a swarm of agitated bees. The defense, led by a fired up line, subsequently put Brees and company on lockdown for the rest of the game. The offense also responded with 23 unanswered points. Final score: Bears 39, Saints 14.
Sometime in the midst of that beatdown Bush reportedly told his coach "I shouldn't have done that."
Son, no you shouldn't have.
In larger context, let me state my opinion on "celebrating" in sports as I increasingly hear a litany of complaints from commentators and fans against player celebrations. My position is largely historical. Ever since Muhammad Ali's crazed weigh-in against Sonny Liston in 1963, demonstrative self-aggrandizement has had a storied place in professional sports. Think about such notable hype artists as Joe Namath, Julius Erving, Richard Petty, Sugar Ray Leonard, Ricky Henderson, Deion Sanders, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley, Dikembe Mutumbo, and Tiger Woods. Nowadays no one says "I'm too pretty" or "I'm gonna win in eight to show I'm great." The vernacular of "Ali Rap" has morphed into the instantly accessible non-verbal statement: the chest-pounding, the end-zone dance, the sack dance, the post home-run walk, and yes the pointing to the sky (as if God has chosen me).
And let us not forget that the Bears are no stranger to celebratory taunting. Anyone remember a little thing called "The Super Bowl Shuffle"? Don't get me wrong, it was an endearing piece of "bad ass" propaganda and I loved it; but given the fact that it was filmed in November, it basically told the NFL—which makes its coin on competitiveness and indeterminacy—to go fuck itself. This, was of course apparent after they did, in fact, coast to a Super Bowl championship.
However, just because celebration has a fixed position in modern sports doesn't mean it should always be condoned. Certain types of taunting like trampling on an opponent's logo, as Terrell Owens did in Dallas a few years back, or more recently the Patriots to the Chargers, should be prohibited. And excessively violent gestures such as throat slashing and gravedigging should yield stiff penalties, as they do currently.
Furthermore, I would like to see an emphasis on "context" regarding sports celebrations. Do we really need to see a sack dance by a player whose team is down by thirty points? Or do we need to see chestpounding after a "garbage time" basket in the NBA? Celebrations should provide meaning. In other words they should be frames for action; communicative moments that appropriately define the tone of a battle. Watching a game with hundreds of these types of gestures is like watching a soap opera with Jaws music.
Sports are meaning-making structures in modern societies. As a large part of the marketing arm in sports, celebrations are symbols of what makes us tick. ESPN highlights routinely reveal that Americans are individualistic, demonstrative, and results-oriented. Reggie Bush's ill-fated celebration conformed to the first two norms, but not the last.
That's why history will see it as a "Super Bowl Scuttle."
Written by Sati
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Welcome aboard, Sati.
Reggie Bush epitomizes what I don't like about NFL athletes. They get paid millions of dollars to do their job, and then celebrate after having done what they're paid to do anyway.
If I get done with what I'm supposed to do at work, I'm not gonna spike the coffee carafe into the berber carpet in my office and Rhino shuffle through the building.
That behavior reminds me of a Chris Rock standup routine. Unfortunately, Mr. Rock limits this particular comedic rant to the behavior of certain African-Americans, but we can be certain that the issue of excessive egotism in the NFL has absolutely nothing to do with skin color. Let me tweak Rock's message to remove the word he originally uses with "NFL players," then add a few of their job assignments to the mix and you'll see what I mean:
"You know the worst thing about NFL players? NFL players always want credit for some sh*t they supposed to do. NFL players'll brag about some sh*t most other football players just do. NFL players'll dance and point and sing some sh*t like 'I scored a touchdown.' You supposed to score a touchdown you dumb mother f*cker! What kind of ignorant sh*t is that! 'I ain't never missed a blocking assignment.' What do you want, a cookie?! You're not supposed to miss a blocking assignment you low-expectation-having mother f*cker!"
It'd certainly be nice to see more NFL players hand the ball to the referee after a long touchdown run instead of flipping it so...well...flippantly at their feet.
Who knows...perhaps the behavior of the NFL players in the "I love to celebrate" crowd is so esoteric that I'll never be able to understand it.
Then again, maybe it's as simple as pulling a Sharpee from my Argyles and randomly signing media agendas at my next board meeting.
That's why I love players like Marvin Harrison and Larry Fitzgerald. They score hand the ball to the ref, and let their play do all the talking for them.
Good to be aboard Rhino. Your point is well taken. I think we've reached a tipping point with all the dancing and prancing in sports. It was cool when it first really started in the 80s and it can be cool today. But you gotta go above and beyond to deserve it--if at all. Chris Rock had it right.
Post a Comment