The Rule of Taunting
With a sport as physical as football is, emotions often run hot in the heat of battle. We see it all the time, such as the “Crane” pose after a touchdown. We saw the Alabama Crimson Tide do it. When the Auburn men’s basketball team played Alabama, Bruce Pearl busted out the Crane pose.
Celebrating with your teammates or even showing emotion after a big play shouldn’t be penalized. Within reason, there should be penalties if a line is crossed but for the most part, taunting was called way too often across the landscape of college football.
The big one that grabs the headlines is “Horns Down” by opposing teams when they play the Texas Longhorns. Teams would incur a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty. If two of those penalties are called against one player, then they are ejected from the game.
Let the athletes show emotion, it makes the game that much better.