Football season is here, and with it come a lot of touchdowns. After a score, many coaches will tell NFL players to “act like they’ve been there before” and simply hand the ball to the officials closest to them. But we’re not interested in that boring sportsmanship. We’re all about crazy, over-the-top celebrations like Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco used to do. We love it if a player pulls out a Sharpie, signs the ball, and hands it to a fan. We also love a classic spike. And, of course, any self-respecting player has to dance.
No matter the method, we love to see enthusiastic players go nuts after an important touchdown. They’re psyched, we’re stoked, everyone is happy. If you haven’t gotten your fill of football fun yet, here are some of our all-time favorite end zone antics in GIF form.
Photo: Jamie Squire (Getty Images)
NFL End Zone Celebrations
-
Goal Post Tackle
We’re not sure who the first player to try this was, but we know that Antonio Brown perfected it. Maybe he’ll actually play this year and we’ll all get to see it again.
-
High Stepping
No end zone celebration list would be complete without Deion Sanders. The Falcons’ corner was pretty much a walking celebration, but he really shined after a pick six. He high stepped into the end zone and right into our hearts.
-
Dirty Bird
There are few end zone celebrations more famous than the Atlanta Falcons’ “Dirty Bird.” Popularized by running back Jamal Anderson in the late ‘90s, you can’t possibly stop yourself from dancing along.
-
Ickey Shuffle
Honestly, we can’t really remember anything about Bengals’ running back Elbert "Ickey" Woods other than his outstanding end zone celebration. Watch it in all its glory and you’ll definitely agree.
-
Goal Post Cell Phone
Few players go to the lengths to celebrate a touchdown like Saints receiver Joe Horn. Before a game, he once hid a cell phone in the goal post so he could grab it and pretend to make a call during the game.
-
Pigeon Dance
San Francisco 49ers safety Merton Hanks was well known for one of the oddest end zone (and interception) celebrations. He would do the “pigeon dance” that Bert from Sesame Street would do to imitate the bird of the same name. It was really strange and we all looked forward to it.
-
Pylon Putter
During his career, Chad Ochocinco (aka Chad Johnson) seemed to enjoy end zone celebrations more than anyone else. One of his best was when he used an end zone pylon as a putter and pretended to golf.
-
Popcorn Face
Terrell Owens loved to score touchdowns. The only thing he liked more than crossing the goal line after catching a deep pass was celebrating once he got there. One of his most famous celebrations was when he grabbed a box of popcorn from a fan and dumped it into his face like he was going to eat all of it.
