 | Ed Marinaro
With All Due Respect |
 "How Many Times Do We Have To See That Guy Dance?" 
Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Jerome Pathon celebrates a touchdown, with chorus line. Photo by Tom Strattman (AP) |
A few weeks ago, I read an article in the L.A. Times by sportswriter Steve Springer, which said that the NFL should stand for the "No Fun League." The gist of the article was that the writer was taking the NFL to task for trying to put the clamp on excessive celebration after a touchdown. After last weekend's Terrell Owens / Emmitt Smith / George Teague debacle, Mr. Springer asked in his column, "What was going on in the head of Terrell Owens?" Well, according to you Mr. Springer, Owens was just having fun. Come on, make up your mind! Am I the only one who longs for the days of dignity and sportsmanship in the NFL? If you look up sportsmanship in the dictionary, you get the definition, "winning without gloating, losing without griping." As fans these days, it's almost as if we'd be catching a break if these grandstanding hotdogs reserved their gloating only for when they won a game. However, usually after the most routine of plays, we get one or two of the players involved showing us the newest dance. These players are celebrating moments, not a victory. I say that if you want to see people dance on TV, watch reruns of Lawrence Welk. When I sit down in my living room each night (as I always do at 11 o'clock), the highlights I see on SportsCenter usually begin with whoever provided the crowd with the most histrionics and ridiculous display that day...not who contributed most to the team's win. We see Deion dancing around waiting for a punt (which bounced off his facemask), Terrell Owens begging the crowd to hate him in Texas Stadium, and Keyshawn spending all week telling us how poor a player Wayne Chrebet is. Unlike Keyshawn, Chrebet kept his mouth shut, and let his play do the talking on the field and off... definitely a throwback to a more honorable era. Don't get me wrong - displays of emotion and excitement on the field are great to see and especially to be a part of (believe me, I remember), but showboating will do nothing but break your concentration and take you out of the game. Great example is Tiger Woods. Tiger is a very emotional player, and that is fun to watch, but he doesn't celebrate a win during a match even if he's up 20 strokes. He stays focused until the end, and then lets himself celebrate. He is a gentleman when he wins and when he loses, and that is sportsmanship. The horseplay of some of the players in today's NFL reminds me of professional wrestling. The jobs of these men are to entertain us, yes, but to do so as the professionals these guys are paid big bucks to be...not as the NFL court jesters many seem to have become. September 26, 2000 
edmarinaro@sportshollywood.com
Ed Marinaro | In his three seasons as Cornell's tailback, Ed Marinaro was the all-time leading rusher in Ivy League history. He established eight NCAA career records and was the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy. After turning pro he became a running back for the New York Jets, Minnesota Vikings and Seattle Seahawks. Then he turned to acting and played everyone from Joe Coffey on the classic TV show "Hill Street Blues" to Joey Buttafuoco in "Long Island Lolita." In his off-time he enjoys ranting in his column for SportsHollywood. | Stats and Credits |
