I enjoy the National Football League. I really do. There’s nothing like getting cozy on the couch with a pillow and a blanket and the Minnesota Vikings. I usually stay awake through the first quarter and then wake up in the fourth quarter, and I don’t really feel like I missed much in between, especially since the important plays are shown more times than I can count anyway.
There is no doubt that today’s NFL players are bigger, stronger and faster than they have ever been. We may all have theories as to why this is, but there is no denying it. There is also no denying the size of the players’ gargantuan egos.
Maybe the egos were always large. Maybe. But if any NFL player wants to know how to act, he should just review clips of Barry Sanders when he scored countless touchdowns and simply handed the ball over to the referee. No dancing. So singing. No spiking of the ball. No taunting. He simply acted in a way that said, “I’ve done this before, and I will do it again.”
Today’s players should also watch Walter Payton, one of the greatest running backs of all time, who also knew how to be humble — other than that truly awkward “Super Bowl Shuffle” thing.
I don't know if legendary Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton could have been cocky, even if he wanted to. It simply wasn’t part of who he, or many other NFL players of years gone by, were.
Listen, I understand the emotion of scoring a touchdown and wanting to celebrate, but the outreached arms of Joe Montana said all that needed to be said. What I don’t understand are the celebrations after seemingly every play. Does every tackle warrant a chest thump? Does every first down require a forward hand motion from the runner? Does every deflected pass have to be followed by comments to the defender or the sidelines or the fans? And I haven’t even mentioned the way today’s players treat the referees, and even their coaches. The egos are out of control and need to be put in check somehow, someway.
I realize the NFL has struggled with how to deal with this — how to determine what is excessive celebration, what is taunting, what is unsportsmanlike conduct. It seems to me that each of these things now happen after nearly every play. Unfortunately, when young people see this, they act in similar ways on the elementary playgrounds and the high school fields— and that behavior perpetuates.
Fans seem to like this behavior — and the ratings might prove it — but all this commotion can be quite disruptive not only to our general society but also to my Sunday afternoon nap.
Have a taunt-free Tuesday, and thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman
President and Publisher
Big Green Umbrella Media
shane@dmcityview.com | 
