Lambeau (il)Le(gal)ap?

[TheOneBigWill]

By now I'm sure anyone who's a Football fan has caught on to the fact that Endzone celebrations have become more or less "outlawed" by the N.F.L. You can no longer celebrate in a group, or as a team. You can no longer use props, including the pylon or the ball, or anything from the crowd. (people, food/drinks, cameras, etc.)

So, could someone explain to me why the "Lambeau Leap" isn't an illegal celebration when a Green Bay Packer scores, then runs and does it? I didn't exactly think about this and to be quite honest I'd rather they allowed celebrations to begin with, however this whole issue caught my eye during the Carolina/Green Bay game when Carolina was given a penalty for excessive taunting via celebrating a TD.. yet Green Bay's player was allowed to opening use the fricken crowd as a celebration prop.

Again, If I had to choose, I'd rather they just allowed ALL types of celebrations.. it's what made TD's even greater. However, if they're outlawing all of the rest, why isn't this being added with it?

This is an open discussion on this specific issue, and can also be tied into an open discussion on your views and opinions of the outlawing of TD celebrations. So.. discuss..

 

[agentmichaelscarn]

I really dont know why to be honest with you and Im in the same boat as you about the celebrations. I wish you could celebrate how you want especially if you're not directly taunting the other team. I remember back when the Rams were "The greatest show on turf" and they used to try doing fun loving celebrations all the time and the league outlawed it. I dont see what the big deal is they're not hurting anybody just having some fun. Same with Chad Johnson, yeah I find the guy annoying as hell but some of his end zone celebrations were awesome and creative and for the most part harmless. So why penalize somebody for celebrating when they did something good? I guess this is why the league is known as the "No Fun League"

 

[Slyfox696]

The reason the league outlaws it is for image reasons. A LARGE percentage of NFL fans are upper middle class older white folks, and they remember "the good ole days". "Why celebrate for doing your job", they say. So, in an effort to try and keep those fans from being turned off, endzone celebrations are denied. And, I can't really say it's hurting the NFL, considering they just get more and more popular every day.

Now, for the Lambeau Lep, the only thing I can think of is that the Leap actually occurs off of the field. As opposed to a team celebration in the endzone, the Leap requires the Packer play to leave the field of play and celebrate. So, I'm guessing that is the "out" for the rule.

 

[agentmichaelscarn]

That's true there are alot of old school people out there that would prefer the Barry Sanders or Marvin Harrison types that just hand the ball to ref and act like they been there before. And in a way Im kinda like that too but at the same time I do enjoy some of the celebrations especially if they are creative and harmless. If anybody tunes out the NFL for the celebrations then I think thats just stupid, if you're gonna stop watching the NFL it should be for reasons like some guy shooting himself in the leg, or a guy getting busted for drugs, or a guy getting arrested for domestic violence and whateve other criminal charges that these players seem to get on a weekly basis, not because a guy does the river dance or autographs a ball and throws it in the crowd like T.O. did.

 

[justinsayne]

the reason the Lambeau Leap is allowed is becasue there is a diffference between some of the classier end zone celebrations, such as The Lameau Leap, and The Mile High Salute, which include the paying fans, and some of these theatrical, gimmicky, self serving, circus stunts that a few of the league's prima dona's such as TO, Joe Horn, Chad Johnson, & Steve Smith insist on doing, the Lambeau Leap doesn't require use of props or is really thought out that much, they score then jump in the crowd for a few seconds it's not like they sit around for a week thinking "Ok what can I do this week when I score?, hmmm", personally I have no problem with the majority of them, some of them can be a bit annoying and go too long, but for the most part if the fans enjoy it then why not allow the celebrations, after all the fans are the ones paying to see the games, give them what they want

 

[RBH]

I think that all the celebrations are fine with me. I eblieve that the Lambeau leap is tradition and there is nothing wrong with that. The only guys who screwed up traditions and celebrations in the NFL are guys like Terrell Owens and Chad Johnson. Its because of those two guys that the NFL continually fines people for doing what they consider to be "outlandish" celebrations. The fact of the matter is that celebrations are for fun and should be treated as such and therefore I do not think there is anything wrong with them and they should be allowed.

 

[TheOneBigWill]

The reason the league outlaws it is for image reasons. A LARGE percentage of NFL fans are upper middle class older white folks, and they remember "the good ole days". "Why celebrate for doing your job", they say. So, in an effort to try and keep those fans from being turned off, endzone celebrations are denied. And, I can't really say it's hurting the NFL, considering they just get more and more popular every day.

The N.F.L. is going to be popular, regardless of what they do. I could honestly sit and argue the fact that if the "older" fans were true red-blooded Football fans, then they'd continue to watch regardless of what happened after a TD. However, at the same time I agree that for purpose sake it's better to make sure you attempt saving your old-school fans, then risking it.

Now, for the Lambeau Lep, the only thing I can think of is that the Leap actually occurs off of the field. As opposed to a team celebration in the endzone, the Leap requires the Packer play to leave the field of play and celebrate. So, I'm guessing that is the "out" for the rule.

This I will disagree with. Mainly because a lot of silly, circus-like celebrations happen OUT of the field of play. (T.O. and the pop-corn celebration, for example, was in the far end of the field, off the field of play.) But in connection with what Justin said, I believe the Leap along with the Mile-High Salute are being overlooked and forgiven because they've more or less been "Grandfather'd in" and aren't harming anyone or anything.. like a pop-corn celebration, riverdance or roat boat taunt might be.

None the less, going back to my original argue though.. I think outlawing celebrations is silly and mildly ******ed. I get what you're saying and did for the most part agree it's better to be safe than sorry.. but at the same time, if any number of older fans are going to quit watching because Steve Smith wants to "change the football's butt" or because Chad Johnson wants to "tryout with Dancing w/ the Stars" then they don't seem like Football fans to begin with.

If you love the game, you watch for the game.. which besides the QB's being overly protected, hasn't changed much. If endzone celebrations annoy you or disrespect you, just flip the channel after a score, or more importantly.. don't look. They happen for all in about 5-10 seconds.. then they're over.

 

[klunderbunker]

I think the main reason it's ok is that it doesn't draw the majority of the attention to the player, but to the fans. Think about it. The guy jumps into the fans, and they always go nuts. Something like the Sharpie, or anything else that TO does is about himself. Same with Chad Johnson etc. The Lambeau Leap has no props or anything like that and is just the players interacting with the fans. I can understand why the NFL would want to crack down on the other celebrations, but the Leap is something that's good and timeless. Whenever you can get the fans involved, it's a good thing.

 

[FromTheSouth]

Banned celebrations are ones that taunt or are planned ahead of time. Pulling a sharpie out of your sock or a phone out of the goal post (which was hilarious by the way). Also banned are celebrations which require props, meaning putting the ball with the pylon or getting ya popcorn ready.

The Leap is not banned because it's tradition and doesn't draw attention to the player in a way that might bring repercussion. Face it, the NFL is all about protecting investment, and when TO (on the 49ers) ran to the middle of the field in Dallas and dance on the star, he ran the risk of getting injured either by a Cowboy on the field, or on a revenge hit later in the game.

I personally enoy most end zone celebrations. I think for the most part they're funny. The NFL has more important things to worry about. For one, the QB is overprotected. If your hand grazes his helmet it's 15 yards. If you watch, you'll notice that most roughing the passer penalties occur on incidental contact. I am all for roughing the passer calls if the balls has been gone and someone comes flying into your knees. I do not like that you can't hit a quarterback with the ball like you can every other player. I hate it that pass rushers have to fly by their blocker with reckless abandon and then, in less than a second, turn down the intensity and two hand touch the quarterback.

I hate that there are so many penalties called for hitting receivers hard. If you don't hit a receiver hard over the middle, the other team will pick you apart. There needs to be punishment for going over the middle. Asking 11 guys to defend 4000+ square yards of area by titty tapping is stupid.

But yet, celebrations are the problem.