The sport of football has for a long time been one of America's greatest pastimes. College football is always a great start to the fall, however, when the NFL (National Football League) season finally rolls around, the fun really begins.There's really no way to describe a fall weekend without including the word football.
Although this special time of the year is always celebrated, NFL players in recent years have not been able to join in. Roger Goodell, the commissioner of the league, put a "ban" on celebrations. Though these new rules were imposed, players continued to celebrate. Each time they did so, a flag would be thrown by the official, penalizing them. This trend continued to the point where fans decided to call it the "No Fun League."
Luckily, for fans all across the United States, these rules are changing.
Recently, the NFL cut back on celebration rules that limited how a player could celebrate. Before, upon reaching the end zone, players were barely allowed to spike the ball without receiving a dirty look from the official. But now, players are once again allowed to use the ball as a prop and celebrate in groups as well as on the ground. For the first time in a while, fans will be able to see players like Antonio Brown "getting down with it."
The return of celebrations was not only made possible by fans but also by NFL coaches as well. Much of this return can be credited to the Dallas Cowboy's head coach Jason Garrett and Baltimore Ravens' head coach John Harbaugh . The two believe that though celebrations can sometimes be over the top, their pros outnumber the cons.
For example, when Dallas was facing off against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last December. Rookie and star running back for the Cowboys, Ezekiel Elliott, celebrated his touchdown by jumping into a Salvation Army kettle. This celebratory act cost the team 15 yards but resulted in many fans donating to this great cause. Not only do they believe that celebrations can encourage acts like these, but they both feel that it helps the players express their personalities.
The NFL has made these recent changes through the help of fans and coaches, but it was also done for economic purposes. Viewership was decreasing as a result of unnecessary flags, though it will now likely return to its normal rate. Now that players have the ability to celebrate once again, there's no doubt that they're already planning their dancing moves for when they cross the goal line.
