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Sports are made great by the moments. The pinpoint strike from outside the box in soccer, a goal in hockey overtime, a running back running 60 yards and making the entire opposing team miss in football. Those are the moments that make sports fun, that make viewers jump to their feet whether they are watching at home or in person. The inevitable follow up to these moments is celebration by the succeeding team and can often be as entertaining as the play itself. Last week an article in the sports section implored athletes to “Act like you’ve been there before,” and celebrate with their team instead of individual celebrations.

Focusing on football celebrations, the article said that since football is a team game athletes should keep the focus on the team instead of highlighting themselves. I think this argument glosses over a couple things. For one, coordinated team celebrations are illegal in football so team celebrations can really only be hugs and high fives. Yes the camera usually focuses in on the touchdown scorer after a touchdown but nothing is stopping the rest of the team from doing individual celebrations as well. While football is a team game, it is enhanced by the star athletes that play it and they shouldn’t be chided for showing some individuality just because it goes against some vague definition of team. The idea that this celebrating will have a bad effect on children who view these athletes as idols misrepresents what professional athletes are. They are paid to play sports, not be mentors for children. If a child imitates poor sportsmanship they saw in a professional game it is on the adults sounding them to show them how to act, not an athlete who has no connection to them.

The article also mentions “showboating” in sports as a disturbing trend. At the amateur level I agree that sportsmanship is an important concept and players should be respectful of opponents. At the pro level, however, everyone is an adult and should be mature enough to handle someone doing a dance in the end zone. In addition, part of what makes sports fun is the rivalries. If every team was a mindless collection of identical players they would be no fun to watch. It sucks when your team is on the losing end of a celebration, but it is just as sweet to be on the winning end. Celebrations enhance sports, not diminish them. While many sports are more than games too many, we should be glad to see some athletes having some fun at their job