On Sunday, the Minnesota Twins accomplished what no one thought was possible.
Much has been said of the team that had their backs to the wall, and I don’t just mean because the team was down, 2-1, against a much favored Oakland A’s team, but also because one year ago they were on the verge of extinction. Because of this amazing feat that no one, and I mean not one single person in the world predicted, the Twinkies had reason to celebrate a little. The celebration, however, was bittersweet. I’ll explain.
The game ended as the Twins closer, who has been so automatic through his career that he has been given the nickname of “Everyday” Eddie Guardado, closed out the game and the series. After a nail-biting bottom of the ninth, in which Oakland scored three runs and closed the four-run gap to just one, utility man Denny Hocking made the final out in foul territory along the first base line.
WOO-HOO! The team that no one ever gave a shot is now one step away from the World Freakin’ Series. What would you do in this situation? Naturally, the Twins jumped on each other, centering on Mr. Hocking, the second baseman during game five, who had hit two-for-four in the most important game of the season for the Twins.
When he left the pile, his season was over. An errant cleat had landed on Hocking’s finger and split open his nail. The Twins announced the next day that Hocking was done at least until the World Series.
Hocking’s injury was especially unfortunate given the Twins’ situation and how much he will be missed as they make their run toward the World Series, but he got me thinking about other celebrations gone awry.
There is an art to the celebration. The obnoxious ones have been well documented (players are often criticized for pointing to the heavens after a touchdown or for mocking the opposing team) but Hocking’s fiasco is in a category to itself. These celebrations are the kind better suited for “America’s Funniest Home Videos” than “SportsCenter.”
The one that tops my list is undoubtedly that of Bill Gramatica, the field goal kicker for the Arizona Cardinals. In a meaningless game in New York in December last year, the jubilant kicker leapt into the air after nailing a 42-yard field goal with eight minutes to go in the first quarter and nearly ended his career by awkwardly landing on his leg.
Put this in perspective. Hocking was celebrating what may have been his greatest moment in a baseball uniform; Gramatica tore his anterior cruciate ligament just before he went home to watch the playoffs from his living room.
A similarly embarrassing moment occurred on American sports’ largest stage in 1994 during Super Bowl XXVIII. I am speaking of Leon Lett’s fumble. In case you don’t remember, the Dallas Cowboys lineman was returning a fumble during a blowout over the Buffalo Bills. Lett decided to start dancing with his arms spread out wide as he closed in on the goal line when all of a sudden Don Beebe came from behind and stripped the portly Lett of his possession. This didn’t result in an injury and the game was still won by Lett’s supporting cast, but it is without a doubt one of the more embarrassing celebrations in sports history.
Now that we know of a few blunders that have occurred during celebrations in recent memory, we should also investigate an ideal celebration.
I thought back to one of my favorite celebrations in 1988 when Kirk Gibson of the Los Angeles Dodgers hit the memorable bottom-of-the-ninth home run in the World Series to beat, coincidentally, the Oakland A’s. Gibson, adding to the drama of the moment, was playing with a hurt leg and wasn’t even able to run the bases.
He said after the game that he didn’t know what he was going to do if he had hit the ball in play because he wouldn’t be able to make it to first. Because of the injury, the Dodgers didn’t jump on their heroic teammate; they simply smiled, slapped him high-five and patted him on the helmet.
It was not just a great moment in the history of celebrations, but also in the history of baseball.
It’s now time to review what we have learned about how to celebrate a sports victory.
One, always be aware of where your teammates are, because you never know — someone might not like you and step on your finger and ruin the greatest moment of your career.
Two, don’t ever over-celebrate. Make sure you know what the situation is. There is never an instance in the first quarter of a football game that warrants enough celebration as risking an injury.
Three, at least wait until the play is over and the whistle has blown before the dancing begins because you might be dancing alone.
Finally, the best way you can be assured no embarrassment is to be injured before the play even starts; no one in their right mind would step on the finger of an injured man.