I realize this is frivolous, but... What is up with Landon's goal celebration, where he runs, pretends to grab something out of the air and stuffs it in an imaginary pocket. Is he grabbing the Golden Snitch? Snatching victory from the jaws of defeat? Is his sister blowing him kisses? Again, not a big deal (notice how I didn't post in N&A), but what the heck is he doing?
He's probably collecting kisses that his girlfriend is blowing to him from the stands after he scores a goal. Or It could be that he is catching imaginary million dollar bills that Phil Knight is throwing to him as he leads the US deep into WC 2006.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH good for him though, two goals.. McBride could work on his celebration a little also..
I disagree. McBride celebration is classy. KISS THE RING!!! I like the simplicity of it. Donovan needs work. He's young and needs to do better. Snort the line LD!! Make Fowler proud!
Snorting the line would be a classy celebration! As would simulating fellatio on a teammate à la the Primera Division.
Disagree, both players have very appropriate celebrations. Simple, composed, controlled. Done it, know how to do it, doing it again (and judging from their goal-scoring totals when playing for their country, they do it quite well).
I agree with you babytiger. McBride's an old dude. No need to go all crazy. You've do it before and will do it again. I compare it to Emmitt Smith when he was with the Cowboys. When he scored a touchdown he just flipped the ball to the ump and congratulated his teammates. Donovan's seems a little "childish" to me though. I hope he scores a lot more goals so we can analyze it more. I thought he was collecting the cheers of the fans. A little too, My Little Pony, for me. The fist pump I like though. Very Tiger Woods.
Great thread. I wanted to confirm my suspicion that Lanny-cakes was catching Bianca's kisses so I would know I was rolling my eyes at the right thing. I come here and find the right thread in the right forum with the right Golden Snitch joke. Well done. Although, the more I think about it the less of a problem I've got with it. Much as I don't care if Landon wants to come home and play USL-D2 ball as long as he produces for the national team, he can celebrate goals by lifting his jersey to reveal a New Kids on the Block t-shirt as long as he plays like he did yesterday.
Exactly the same analogy I was thinking about when I was typing my post -- except I was envisioning Walter Payton in my mind's eye. As for Landon's celebration, I don't think it's all that much of being a show-off at all. Much more controlled, compared to the days when he was allowed to take the shirt off after a goal. Maybe Landon's mellowing with experience.
I believe he meant to say “hey! if there is an opportunity to put the ball in the net easily like that, I’ll grab it”. Remember he did this after scoring the 2nd goal in which he was simply at the right place & at the right time.
I'll just go on record to say the snorting the line celebration is the all-time best goal scoring celebration that should be imitated whenever possible.
I think he was just showing the fans appreciation. It was a huge turnout; it was as though he was saving the memory for a rainy day. We seem to be scoring goal celebrations like figure skating programs.
Is McFragile married yet? Here is how spouse-related celebrations work in soccer: 1. Player gets married - kisses ring. 2. Player's wife has kids - does the Bebeto "Rocking the Cradle" celebration. 3. Player gets a divorce as latent homosexual tendencies emerge - pretends to fellate teammate after goal. Or something along those lines...
I adhere to the Scrooge School when it comes to goal celebrations (probably because I'm a defender). McBride's is a favorite: simple, sincere, brief. I also like the guys that just turn and point to whoever set them up for the shot (as do Dean Smith's Tarheels in college basketball). Donovan's celebration was a bit syrupy but otherwise okay. Anything elaborate has me fantasizing about studs-up tackles to the crotch. Bah humbug.
yeah, we need some new celebrations. I see highlight shows and the celebrations are unimaginative, selfish, and usually just cheesy. I swear I'm still laughing about the image of someone snorting the sideline after a goal. Maybe we'll leave that one for the amatuer adult leagues on Sunday. But still a great one. I like the pointing to the guy who set you up. I can't tell you how many times I see a guy dribble through 4 guys, make a crazy dish to an open guy in front of the net. The open guy taps it in and then runs off to the opposite side of the field like he did something incredible. All the while leaving the guy who just made the play of his life to claim body parts underneath a heap of defenders. Canstanzzz it. Anyhow. I'd like to hear some more ideas for celebrations.
Great thread. Emmitt used to always take off his helmet and pose for the cameras after he scored and then the NFL enstated what folks call the "Emmitt Smith rule" to make that illegal. After that, he just started flipping the ball to the ref, probably because he couldn't think of anything else as creative.
Best US goal celebration was Josh Wolff running in front of the Mexican fans and kissing the US badge on his shirt after scoring in a friendly in LA about 5 years ago (Donovan's first game with the US IIRC).