If I were head of officiating in the NFL, I would place an asterisked clause at the end of the celebration penalty section of the rulebook excusing what a player does if he catches a bonkers, potentially game-winning Hail Mary for a touchdown.
Short of maiming or otherwise harming someone, short of making some kind of truly offensive, horrifying gesture … if a player wants to eat his cleats? That’s fine. If he wants to traverse the end zone doing backflips like a college football cheerleader? Good for him. If he wants to grab a microphone, walk to midfield, commandeer the P.A. system and sing the first few bars of “America” from West Side Story? I’d allow it. Especially if he does the original choreography, too.
You certainly didn’t miss the basis for this take Sunday: D.J. Moore, of the plucky, refusing-to-tank Panthers, caught a stunning go ball near the end of regulation to tie the Falcons at 34. After the play was over, he got up, unbuckled his chinstrap and removed his helmet. He jumped into the stands and then proceeded to frolic around the end zone turf with his teammates for a moment before puffing out his chest and walking to the sideline.
