******** or not? "Celebration" costs state title

[QuaoarsKing]

http://espn.go.com/boston/story/_/id/7327275/celebration-penalty-td-costs-cathedral-high-school-team-title

<div>
</div><div>Those refs should be fired forever. OF COURSE the guy's going to be excited to win a state championship. It's not like he taunted anyone.</div><div>
</div><div>ETA: How can the losing team accept rings and title for something they know they didn't legitimately win? I would never want to have a "championship" that was so obviously fake.</div>

 

[rem101]

he was stunned when she said if that's unsportsmanlike, then Tebow is a thug.

 

[mstatefan88]

But on his point to this being a response to the NFL, he is absolutely right. It started with the Owens and Ochocinco Johnsons of world doing the elaborate TD dances. Now every single 1st down in the NFL leads to a WR or a RBmaking the 1st down motion or doing a celebration or delaying the game in some way to celebrate. I understand being excited about TD's or even big 1st downs, but every 1st down doesn't deserve a celebration, and nowrules have gotten insane because of it.

LSU UGA a few years back, the LSU punter this year, the video you showed here, and countless other examples of how a refs subjective interpretation of the celebration rule screwed a team from points or even cost them the game. I understand it being enforced on stuff over the top and outlandish, but for penalizing people for fist pumping in the middle of a play that wins you the state championship game is ridiculous.

 

[Dawgish]

********. I can understand having the rule in college and pro but high school is different. Younger players getting excited is what the game is all about. I guess they want robots for athletes in massachusetts. The refs should be jungle punched

 

[patdog]

I said when the rule was adopted that at some point it was going to unfairly cost a team an important game. I just didn't realize the first time would be in high school. If they're going to have the rule at all, the refs should only call it when it's so blatant that no one could question it. What the LSU punter did before his TD earlier this year was questionable. What this kid did is not.

 

[idog]

one kid celebrates with the ball in his hands and EVERYONE on that teams loses. makes zero sense. dumbest call i've ever seen and a total misfortune for those kids bc an adult wearing stripes doesn't have the sense to keep things in perspective. it's a shame.

 

[bullysleftnut]

It's a crappy rule, but it is the rule and everyone on that team knew about it.

I hate it for him and his team. A lot of rules are so subjective and enforced randomly in any sport it can be frustrating. Kind of like the old halo rule on punts that we used to get burned on regularly. But Skip Bayless is right - in that situation, you score the TD, give the ball to the ref, leave the field and celebrate your *** off.

 

[Seinfeld]

He just argues any and every point that his coworkers ever make. If they were talking about the PSU horror, he'd probably argue that Sandusky was victimized.

On point, an unsportsmanlike conduct foul is one of the most subjective flags that there is in football. The ref was not forced to make that call in any way, and it's beyond my comprehension as to why he did that. He should never officiate again, and it's a shame that they're saying that there's basically no way that anyone can overturn the outcome.

 

[kimmer]

Officials should be ashamed of themselves.

 

[ckDOG]

First, celebration penalties are stupid. Use your damn judgement to penalize taunting and excessive celebration that crosses the grey line of unsportsmanlike conduct. If you can't do that, don't sign up to be a ref - your judgement sucks.

Second, even if celebrations are penalized in that league, raising your arm for a second and lowering it isn't remotely close to the type of behavior the rule had intended to outlaw.

However, I would be curious if that league routinely penalizes players for even small gestures like that. It wouldn't change my opinion of right versus wrong, but I would at least feel better about the competency and judgement of those refs. Either way, that team got screwed but stupid rules or a terrible application of the rule. I'd feel guilty accepting a trophy in a circumstance like that.

 

[Eureka Dog]

What if the kid had fallen down at the three yard line?

 

[DerHntr]

it does not make "zero sense" that everyone on a team is penalized for an infraction by an individual. Thoughts like that are against the entire idea of being a team.