|
There was a time when athletes were humble and did not draw attention or show up the other team, but nowadays it seems every time an athlete does something relatively good, he excessively celebrates his greatness.
Now, I am neither old nor young, but my sports philosophy is strictly old school. I don’t like seeing boastful athletes, mainly because sports should be about the team, not the individual. So with that in mind, I would define excessive celebration as any athlete who draws too much attention to himself.
If an athlete is responsible for the winning run, I don’t see anything wrong with celebrating with one’s teammates. But it should not be longer than ten seconds. If an athlete delivers a clutch free-throw, hit or touchdown than it is ok to do the Kirk Gibson fist pump or something of equal merit. However anything else -- creative antics, screaming, finger pointing, strutting, dancing, touching oneself -- is not ok.
I don’t fully understand why some athletes behave like children. I believe any one who excessively celebrates is either insecure, trying to market himself at the expense of the team, brainwashed into believing his behavior is acceptable or completely oblivious to the fact.
I can’t turn on any sporting event without seeing the sickening sight of excessive celebration. Now, I love the Giants, but I can't stand their "jump shot" celebration. I’m no prude, but this type of behavior is nothing more than an act of buffoonery. And let’s be clear, it has nothing to do with being emotional. Bill Russell, Don Mattingly and Barry Sanders played with as much passion as any other athlete, yet they did not show off.
I understand that many athletes live in an alternative reality, but for crying out loud, I just wished they realized that the game is what’s important. Excessive celebration screams “look at me” and it illustrates that the performer has no class. Only gorillas should pound their chest. Athletes should always remain cool and act like they’ve been there before.
|
|
|
10 comments - join this discussion...
|
|
|
|
|
|
