Sam Calvert
Saturday, two competitive Southeastern conference teams, No. 4 Louisiana State University and No. 18 University of Georgia, took the field in Athens, Ga. for what would later be remembered not for the struggling offense that performed all day, nor for the final score. No, on Sunday morning, everyone who saw any part of that game was instead talking about the referees.
Eleven penalties were called during the game, but there were two in particular that drew the attention of both media and fans alike. Both teams scored touchdowns in the last three minutes of the game, and both teams earned "excessive celebration" penalties.
With 2:47 left in the game, Georgia took possession, trailing LSU 12-7. In just one minute and 30 seconds, the team was able to drive 79 yards down the field and score a touchdown with a pass from senior quarterback Joe Cox to sophomore wide receiver A.J. Green to take the lead 13-12. At such a crucial point in the game, it is natural for players to get excited about a touchdown, and Green was no different, as seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-qccCuL4nQ.[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-qccCuL4nQ]
However, the referees did not think this was okay, and with the penalty, Georgia was forced to kick-off from its own 15 yard-line. This gave LSU a shorter field, an advantage with only 1:02 left on the clock. Certainly, had they been farther back, the team would have been forced to resort to a passing game instead of the running one that allowed it to score.
After LSU's senior running back Charles Scott rushed into the endzone to give the Tigers back the lead, the LSU players were just as excited as the Georgia players had been just 23 seconds earlier. I could not find a video of the LSU celebration, but it looked almost identical to the Georgia one. Players congratulating Scott, a little bit of jumping and then it was over and out came the yellow flag.
While this penalty did not end up changing the end of the game, it most certainly could have, just as the Georgia penalty had an effect.
These were not the only two excessive celebration penalties in the game, though. Earlier, UGA's freshman tight end Orson Charles caught a 22-yard pass to give the Bulldogs a first down at the LSU 14 yard-line. That's a big catch for the freshman, and naturally he got excited. He placed the ball down, no throwing or anything of that nature, and then pointed at the stands, thus eliciting the first excessive celebration penalty.
In the Atlanta Journal Constitution on Sunday, the SEC issued a statement about the A.J. Green penalty, but not either of the other two. It said that "following a brief team celebration, Green made a gesture to the crowd calling attention to himself." A gesture to the crowd caused the penalty. No taunting. No delay of game. That little gesture he makes at the end to pump up the fans gets the penalty.
This raises the question of when the "excessive celebration" call becomes... well... excessive.
Is it really that unsportsmanlike for players to congratulate one another after a good play, especially a game-changing play as the last two touchdowns were? Or what about for a player to interact with the crowd, wanting them to make noise? We see players gesture to the crowd all the time between plays or before kick offs, but not after a touchdown?
If a player taunts the other team, I completely understand the penalty. If a referee tries to break up the celebration to continue with the game, only to be ignored by that players, most definitely throw a flag. But should players really be penalized for getting excited about their sport, for having fun out there on the field?
If college football is really going to try and eliminate such excitement, then I'm not even sure I want to watch anymore.