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http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/r...ushed-for-touchdown-celebration-rules-change/
Harbaugh and Ochocinco pushed for touchdown celebration rules change
The Ravens may have featured one of the NFL's most anemic offenses a season ago but that didn't stop coach John Harbaugh from pushing to relax the stringent touchdown celebration rules. And thankfully, his hard work paid off; the league announced that group celebrations, using the ball as a prop after touchdowns, going to the ground and snow angels are all now legal ways to commemorate a score.
"Let's have some fun. Let's enjoy it," Harbaugh said Thursday, via ESPN.com's Jamison Hensley. "I really like it when our guys celebrate. I like it when our guys score touchdowns. I want to score a lot of touchdowns. I want to see a lot of celebrations. I want our guys to have fun, and I want our fans to have fun. ...
"Some of these decisions are really tough that the decision-makers in the NFL have to make, and they are close calls. This was not one of them. This was an easy one, and I think they did the right thing."
This seemed to be the consensus among pretty much everyone since the league started cracking down on celebrations in recent years -- save Harbaugh's AFC North counterpart, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, who said recently that he opposes giving players more freedom to celebrate.
"I'm not for that at all," Lewis, who is on the NFL Competition Committee, said of the change. "We had a good standard, and the whole standard has always been, you want to teach people how to play the game the correct way and go about it the correct way, and that's not a very good example for young people."
Ironically, it was Chad Johnson, Lewis' former player who was known for elaborate celebrations during his career, who helped convince commissioner Roger Goodell to reconsider the rules. And it sounds like even Goodell has more faith in the players than Lewis.
"Well, I've heard it from Marvin before. We've had these discussions over the last couple years," the commissioner said Tuesday. "And I think the players will prove him wrong on that. I think the players will do this in a way that will be responsible, show good sportsmanship, and do it in a way I think is entertaining but also respectful."
But don't expect an end-zone free-for-all; the league still frowns up miming weapons, sexually suggestive acts (think a twerkin' Antonio Brown), and prolonged celebrations.
On this, everyone -- from Lewis to Harbaugh -- can agree.
"It is a family game," Harbaugh said. "We are a PG league in terms of what the fans should see. You should be able to take your 8-year-old to the game or watch it on TV and feel really good about what you see."
Harbaugh and Ochocinco pushed for touchdown celebration rules change
The Ravens may have featured one of the NFL's most anemic offenses a season ago but that didn't stop coach John Harbaugh from pushing to relax the stringent touchdown celebration rules. And thankfully, his hard work paid off; the league announced that group celebrations, using the ball as a prop after touchdowns, going to the ground and snow angels are all now legal ways to commemorate a score.
"Let's have some fun. Let's enjoy it," Harbaugh said Thursday, via ESPN.com's Jamison Hensley. "I really like it when our guys celebrate. I like it when our guys score touchdowns. I want to score a lot of touchdowns. I want to see a lot of celebrations. I want our guys to have fun, and I want our fans to have fun. ...
"Some of these decisions are really tough that the decision-makers in the NFL have to make, and they are close calls. This was not one of them. This was an easy one, and I think they did the right thing."
This seemed to be the consensus among pretty much everyone since the league started cracking down on celebrations in recent years -- save Harbaugh's AFC North counterpart, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, who said recently that he opposes giving players more freedom to celebrate.
"I'm not for that at all," Lewis, who is on the NFL Competition Committee, said of the change. "We had a good standard, and the whole standard has always been, you want to teach people how to play the game the correct way and go about it the correct way, and that's not a very good example for young people."
Ironically, it was Chad Johnson, Lewis' former player who was known for elaborate celebrations during his career, who helped convince commissioner Roger Goodell to reconsider the rules. And it sounds like even Goodell has more faith in the players than Lewis.
"Well, I've heard it from Marvin before. We've had these discussions over the last couple years," the commissioner said Tuesday. "And I think the players will prove him wrong on that. I think the players will do this in a way that will be responsible, show good sportsmanship, and do it in a way I think is entertaining but also respectful."
But don't expect an end-zone free-for-all; the league still frowns up miming weapons, sexually suggestive acts (think a twerkin' Antonio Brown), and prolonged celebrations.
On this, everyone -- from Lewis to Harbaugh -- can agree.
"It is a family game," Harbaugh said. "We are a PG league in terms of what the fans should see. You should be able to take your 8-year-old to the game or watch it on TV and feel really good about what you see."
