Chad Johnson: A History of Legendary Touchdown Celebrations

Jun 03, 2025 0

Before the NFL began to crack down on excessive celebration, Chad Johnson, also known as Ochocinco, turned celebrating touchdowns into an art form. With the NFL announcing new rules surrounding touchdown celebrations, let's explore some of the most memorable celebratory moments, focusing on Chad Johnson's unique contributions.

Johnson/Ochocinco almost deserves a category of his own with how many memorable celebrations as he had. It’s hard to choose the best, but among #85's celebrations, I liked his putting the football with a pylon and subsequent Tiger Woods fist pump.

Here's a look at some of the most outrageous and entertaining celebrations in NFL history, with a special focus on the antics of Chad Johnson.

Johnson was the celebration king.

Ochocinco Grades CRAZY Touchdown Celebrations by Inventive Fans

Early Innovators of Touchdown Celebrations

Touchdown celebrations have been a part of the NFL for five decades, and they only seem to get more creative with each season.

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Elmo Wright: Believed to be the first football player to do an end zone dance on the record. He did it in college at the University of Houston in 1969.
Homer Jones: Credited as the first player to throw the ball into the field at his feet after scoring a touchdown.
Billy “White Shoes” Johnson: One of the innovators of the touchdown celebration in the NFL. He began showing the world his version of the “Funky Chicken” as a rookie in 1974.

The Evolution of Celebrations

Celebrations can be rallying points for teams. And as the NFL has somewhat loosened its rules on what can be done in the end zone, fans are seeing more choreographed group performances after touchdowns.

In 1969, Elmo Wright, a junior wide receiver for the University of Houston, began celebrating his touchdown receptions with a 'celebratory' end zone dance.

The 1980s Washington Redskins "The Fun Bunch": The 1983 Washington Redskins raised the bar on celebrations by performing a group high-five after scoring.

Notable Celebrations

Ickey Shuffle: Easily the Ickey Shuffle. It was a simple, yet effective touchdown celebration that accompanied a great team that did great things, including making a Super Bowl appearance. The Ickey Shuffle is probably one of the most famous NFL celebrations of all time.
Lambeau Leap: Safety LeRoy Butler took the first leap into the stands of Lambeau Field against the Los Angeles Raiders in 1993.
Mile High Salute: Rapper Master P is to thank for this one. Denver’s running backs referred to themselves as “No Limit Soldiers,” which is what Master P’s crew and fans were known as, and they’d salute each other.
Victor Cruz's Salsa: Victor Cruz wasted no time branding himself as an NFL dance legend. Following his first career TD, he whipped out what would become his patented salsa dance.
Deion Sanders’ High Step: You don’t get the nickname Prime Time without an iconic TD celebration. The High Step has been the most imitated move in NFL history, but no one has done it with more swag.

Chad Johnson's Most Memorable Celebrations

Chad Ochocinco turned celebrating touchdowns into an art-form. What at first seemed to be a friendly competition between Ocho and TO trying to one up the other, eventually Ochocinco's shenanigans became far more frequent and more creative than those of Owens.

Here are some of Chad Johnson's most memorable celebrations:

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The Proposal: Johnson caught a 68-yard touchdown, then ran over to a cheerleader on the sideline, removed his helmet, got down on one knee, and proposed.
Ode to Tiger: Chad caught a 54-yard touchdown pass, then used the orange pylon from the corner on the end zone as a putter to knock the ball into an imaginary hole.
Santa Chad: Playing on Christmas Eve, Johnson followed a 41-yard touchdown catch by pulling out a red Santa bag and tossing footballs into the stands as gifts to the fans.
Fine Sign: Johnson scored, then retrieved an orange sign from behind a snow bank that said, “Dear NFL, PLEASE don’t fine me AGAIN!!!!!”
Hall-of-Fame Jacket: After scoring a touchdown to put Cincinnati up 7-0, Johnson put on a yellow jacket. Large black letters on the back spelled out “Future H.O.F 20??”
Camera Man: Johnson broke a two-month touchdown drought in his signature style, commandeering a CBS television camera and panning across the field.
CPR: After a 14-yard score, Johnson got down on all fours and tried to resuscitate the ball.
River Dance: Johnson caught an 18-yard touchdown pass, then mocked Michael Flatley (and maybe Brian Urlacher) by breaking into a jig.
Sombrero: Ochocinco hauled in a 36-yard touchdown pass to put the Bengals up 14-7 in the second quarter. Back on the sideline, he played dress-up with a poncho and sombrero.
Cleveland Leap: After his second touchdown of the game, Johnson jumped into Cleveland’s infamously rowdy fan section, the Dawg Pound.

His outrageous celebrations have also included his infamous putt using the pylon complete with the Tiger Woods fist pump, a jump into the Dawg Pound in Cleveland, passing out gifts from a stocking, operating a television camera, and of course his proposal to a cheerleader after one of his many TD's.

Other Notable Celebrations

Joe Horn Makes a Phone Call: Long before the New Orleans Saints were the talk of the NFL, it was up to wide receiver Joe Horn to provide the entertainment. Stashing a cell phone in the padding of the goalpost before the game, Horn immediately pulled it out after scoring a TD and made a mock phone call.
Terrell Owens Gives His Best Impression of The Ray Lewis Dance: In a game against the Ravens back when T.O. was still with the Eagles, Owens put on quite a show after this touchdown.
Randy Moss Moons The Crowd at Lambeau During a 2004 Playoff Game: After scoring a touchdown against the Packers at the Frozen Tundra, Randy Moss got creative with this celebration.

Rules and Penalties

Taunting and celebration are both offenses in the National Football League (NFL); as a result, gaudy displays are often frowned upon. If the league views the act as highly offensive, large fines and even suspensions can be issued.

In 2006 the NFL, in an effort to cut down on celebrations, amended its rules to include an automatic 15-yard penalty against any player who left his feet or uses a prop, like a towel, the goal post or post base or more specifically the football.

College football, governed by the NCAA also penalizes excessive celebrations with a 15-yard penalty.

Examples of Penalties

Marshawn Lynch: On December 21, 2014, at State Farm Stadium in Arizona, Marshawn Lynch jumped and grabbed his crotch as he crossed the goal line.
Doug Baldwin: In Super Bowl XLIX, Doug Baldwin scored what turned out to be the Seattle Seahawks' last touchdown of the season as they failed to repeat as Super Bowl champions. Baldwin celebrated the touchdown with a vulgar pantomime which gained significant attention on social media as the "poopdown", and which earned a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Antonio Brown: On December 6, 2015, at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown charged into the goalpost pylon after returning a punt for 71 yards for a touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts.

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