College football is a game of passion, emotion, and energy. However, refs have taken it too far with penalizing every little celebration for excessive celebration. Many times, these calls have altered the outcome of the game which is totally ridiculous. Last week Georgia’s A.J. Green caught the seemingly game winning touchdown against LSU with under a minute the go in the 4th quarter. After snagging the pass and scoring, Green was justifiably excited and celebrated with his teammates in the endzone. As per usual, the fun police deemed the celebration excessive and penalized UGA on the ensuing kickoff. Kicking from deep in their own territory, UGA gave LSU good field position which the Tigers took advantage of. LSU proceeded to drive down the field, score, and win the game. Calm down LSU fans, yes, your team did drive and score, but they were aided by the good field position that the penalty gave them.
I’m fully aware of why the NCAA monitors celebrations, but for the most part, the calls are subjective and are hardly ever consistent. Emotions on the field run high, especially when you’re being cheered on by 90,000 screaming fans. This is football for crying out loud, not figure skating. As long as the players don’t taunt or go too overboard, the NCAA needs to let these kids just play and express their emotions.
