Remember when football players scored a touchdown, merely dropped the
ball in the end zone and returned to the sideline ready to do it again?

Remember all the fuss about the first player who crossed the goalline
and then in grande gesture wound up and slammed the ball to the ground
after scoring in a celebratory reaction to the accomplishment.

Or the first basketball player who backed down the court with arm and
finger extended after scoring from 3-point range?

Or on a more personal level, the football defender who rises from a
crushing tackle by stepping over the fallen foe instead of stepping
around him and struts chest expanded, arms outspread and staring down
the opposing sideline?

Has celebration (including what often becomes taunting) gone too far?
Or is it something we must live with because, according to a recent
study by scientists from the University of British Columbia and San
Francisco State University, that such action is more human nature than
merely learned.
Interest in this behavior seemingly has been awakened after watching
Michael Phelps and his teammates react to setting a world record en
route to winning the 400 freestyle relay Sunday in the Olympic Games.

Granted, their display of excitement and satisfaction of what had
just happened might be called excessive, but in this case, it seems
warranted due to the level of accomplishment.

Such behavior is acceptable if there is descretion as to when it’s
applied. And that shouldn’t include routine activity. In other words,
keep the accomplishment in proper perspective.