Excessive Celebration Penalties

[Mandibleclaw]

They should rename this the "look at me" celebration rule, if that was the case then yesterday's penalty against Washington would not been. But is anyone watching this jackass Jeremy Shockey right now, everytime he catches a ball he gets up jacking his jaw and thrashing his head. He is such a punkass biatch he makes me want to turn the channel.

[CK Sooner]

Shockey is one of the most annoying players in the NFL right now.

Besides "Ocho Cinco" of course :D

[The Maestro]

Here's what I don't get. Everyone is acting like the refs cost Washington the game.

Uh...so they back it up to the 18 yard line. That is a 35 yard field goal. And it was blocked!! Don't you still have to block, even from the 3??? Also, who says Washington would have won in overtime?

Shady call at best, but it was the right call based on the rule. And Washington just had to hit a straight shot 35 yarder.

[Johnny Utah]

The only other NCAA game I really watched yesterday, besides OU, was the Miami - Florida game. It appeared that after almost every play a Florida player would be jacking his jaw and thrashing his head, etc. I thought this "thugishness" is what the NCAA was trying to curtail ... not a player tossing the ball up in the air after a TD.

[badger]

I don't think it's the refs fault, shock, awe, eek.... I mean, :eek:

They had a rule and they enforced it. It wasn't a judgment call like a certain replay booth, or a ref jawing "You wanna fight? You wanna fight?" before getting a season suspension. I know we all like to boo rules enforcement (like the Cinci dude tapping the ball from Out of Bounds to rule the ball dead), but really, who should we be booing here?

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k274/reav0779/BozVsNCAA.jpg

I agree, Boz. I agree. Boo the NCAA. :)

[soonergregmsw9802]

I'm glad Shockey went to Miami. I probably would have supported him in crimson and cream, but his antics annoy me.

[CK Sooner]

I don't think it's the refs fault, shock, awe, eek.... I mean, :eek:

They had a rule and they enforced it. It wasn't a judgment call like a certain replay booth, or a ref jawing "You wanna fight? You wanna fight?" before getting a season suspension. I know we all like to boo rules enforcement (like the Cinci dude tapping the ball from Out of Bounds to rule the ball dead), but really, who should we be booing here?

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k274/reav0779/BozVsNCAA.jpg

I agree, Boz. I agree. Boo the NCAA. :)

Spek for that picture. :D

[bluedogok]

I'm glad Shockey went to Miami. I probably would have supported him in crimson and cream, but his antics annoy me.
He may not have had the same level of freedom to "express himself" at OU like he had at Miami.

[BoulderSooner79]

I don't think it's the refs fault, shock, awe, eek.... I mean, :eek:

They had a rule and they enforced it. It wasn't a judgment call like a certain replay booth, or a ref jawing "You wanna fight? You wanna fight?" before getting a season suspension. I know we all like to boo rules enforcement (like the Cinci dude tapping the ball from Out of Bounds to rule the ball dead), but really, who should we be booing here?

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k274/reav0779/BozVsNCAA.jpg

I agree, Boz. I agree. Boo the NCAA. :)

The problem is not the particular refs, but that the interpretation varies. This was a classic legal case that would probably go the supreme court of football law if there was one :D This is a judgement call and not a technical call like the out of bounds touch thing. The out of bounds play was correct and completely covered by the rules book. The celebration things has lots of room for interpretation that could well depend on if the ref had a fight with his wife that morning. I've seen too much tolerance on plays that (to me) seem to be clearly showing up the opponent. And I've seen plays like yesterday where it's a spontaneous joy thing which in no way provokes the other team or their fans and is not a "look at me" demonstration. I think the refs clearly need a "spirit of the law" lesson. Football is a game of passion and emotion as much as X's and O's. It's also done for the entertainment of the fans - that's the thing for me that gets lots in all this. I want to see unbridled joy from people playing a *game*.

[KingBarry]

The problem is not the particular refs, but that the interpretation varies. This was a classic legal case that would probably go the supreme court of football law if there was one :D This is a judgement call and not a technical call like the out of bounds touch thing. The out of bounds play was correct and completely covered by the rules book. The celebration things has lots of room for interpretation that could well depend on if the ref had a fight with his wife that morning. I've seen too much tolerance on plays that (to me) seem to be clearly showing up the opponent. And I've seen plays like yesterday where it's a spontaneous joy thing which in no way provokes the other team or their fans and is not a "look at me" demonstration. I think the refs clearly need a "spirit of the law" lesson. Football is a game of passion and emotion as much as X's and O's. It's also done for the entertainment of the fans - that's the thing for me that gets lots in all this. I want to see unbridled joy from people playing a *game*.


Boulder, I completely agree with the spirit of what you are saying, but according to the press reports I have seen, the rule specifically says that after a play the player holding the ball must either lay it on the ground or hand it to an official, and also specifically says that the ball cannot be thrown in the air.

Locker didn't do the first thing, and did do the second, so I don't see any room for leeway on this. Bejeezus, I hate to be defending officials, especially Pac-10 ones, but I just don't see room for interpretation on this particular call.

[soonerspudman]

I gotta side with the refs on this one. Everyone is saying he should have used judgement. What judgement? The rule has no flexibility. When do you call it then? Is every touchdown not a reason to celebrate? And you can't use the '"keep the hanky in your pocket with the game on the line", should the refs ignore a blatant holding call on the game's last play (and Locker's toss was a blatent skyrocket).

If it's a bad rule take it off the books, but don't put refs in a lose-lose situation.

BTW you can thank the made-for-Disney Machine-TV Miami Hurricaines of the 1980's for all of this mess, college football had few sportsmanship problems until the media and the NCAA gave Miami a free pass in order to build them and their east-coast ratings up. And I definately agree with other posters that throwing a ball in the air is the least of college football's sportsmanship problems.

[Mandibleclaw]

BTW you can thank the made-for-Disney Machine-TV Miami Hurricaines of the 1980's for all of this mess, college football had few sportsmanship problems until the media and the NCAA gave Miami a free pass in order to build them and their east-coast ratings up. And I definately agree with other posters that throwing a ball in the air is the least of college football's sportsmanship problems.

Bingo!!

[BoulderSooner79]

I gotta side with the refs on this one. Everyone is saying he should have used judgement. What judgement? The rule has no flexibility. When do you call it then? Is every touchdown not a reason to celebrate? And you can't use the '"keep the hanky in your pocket with the game on the line", should the refs ignore a blatant holding call on the game's last play (and Locker's toss was a blatent skyrocket).

If it's a bad rule take it off the books, but don't put refs in a lose-lose situation.

BTW you can thank the made-for-Disney Machine-TV Miami Hurricaines of the 1980's for all of this mess, college football had few sportsmanship problems until the media and the NCAA gave Miami a free pass in order to build them and their east-coast ratings up. And I definately agree with other posters that throwing a ball in the air is the least of college football's sportsmanship problems.

I'm not pounding the refs on this one, due to the "ball in the air clause". I just think the rule needs some tweaking. But even in this case the rule states "throwing the ball *high* in the air" - or at least that's what ESPN reported. How high is high? I suspect the wording was included to catch the ball in the stands toss or deliberately launching skyward. Locker almost looked like he was trying to drop it over his shoulder and it slipped in the excitement. I doubt there would have been much news if the flags stayed in the pockets (or if the extra point was good). I was serious about the supreme court of football remark - I hope this incident forces the powers that be to revisit the rule for future season. The refs act like nervous fathers of teenage girls on the first date after every score. They go rushing to the player that scored with a hand on the flag just looking for the guy to do something wrong. It's more distracting than the player celebration.

I totally agree on the '80s Miami team observation. Did you see that bowl game between Miami and Texas back then ? I think it was the cotton bowl and Miami had the far superior team. They destroyed UT and taunted the UT players constantly - not just on scoring plays. The refs did throw alot of unsportmanlike flags, but Miami decided it was worth it as they had the game in hand. Yes, I was angry even though it was the horns !

[KingBarry]

Yes, I was angry even though it was the horns !

That's saying something.

[SbOrOiNaEnR]

This thread has gone from a west coast problem to an east coast problem. :texan:

Watch out, or it might turn into a full-fledged mid-90s rap war.

[longbeachjeff]

you guys remember when this absurd rule started? it was an overreaction to the 1992 Cotton Bowl between Texas and Miami... Miami's receivers ran all over texas and taunted them continuously, which i hate and believe should not be tolerated. As usual, the NCAA overreacted to the point where now you can't friggin smile after you score or you penalize your team. ridiculous.... there must be discretion afforded the refs to determine whether a player is taunting. is there a person alive who doesn't know whether husky qb was taunting or expressing pure joy last weekend? end this absurd rule and the "uncatchable" non-interference call and the world will be a better place.