8 December 2022
ESPN wrote about the criticism Brasil is getting for dancing after scoring and I find it to be ridiculous.
While there are indeed times where people can go overboard and be disrespectful, dancing with your team to celebrate an achievement on the biggest stage in the entire world of sports is not one of those instances.
It reminds me of a similar criticism people had when the US Women’s team trounced Thailand 13-0 in an opening round match in the 2019 World Cup. However, the Spanish and German men’s teams proved this year how important a big victory like that can actually be. Spain ended up advancing over Germany despite both teams having 4 points due to the fact Spain had the greater goal differential after beating Costa Rica 7-0 in their opening match. Is scoring extra goals when a game is in hand disrespectful? Even if those extra goals are critical, ultimately deciding if they advance or not, especially in a moment when you have no idea how things may shake out.
I hated the rule the NFL instituted back in the day when Chad Johnson would come up with creative celebrations after touchdowns. Some people don’t seem to understand there is a difference between celebrating and finding joy with your teammates after scoring versus mocking your opponents after scoring.
Sports are a form of entertainment. They are supposed to be fun. You can throw your unwritten rules in the garbage. When the ultimate competitors line up against each other, in any sport, there is a mutual respect and sometimes that comes out in trash talk and celebrations. When one team celebrates, the other team should be taking it as motivation because we all know they’d be dancing and celebrating just as much if it were the other way around. Just ask Cameroon and Vincent Aboubakar what it feels like to score against and defeat one of the best teams on the biggest stage. Sports are supposed be fun.