Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
I am not a fan of Louisiana State University’s (LSU) collegiate athletic teams. Full stop. I am a fan of the University of Alabama’s Crimson Tide football team, a team that is often competing against LSU for the crown as champion of the Southeastern Conference. I want that to be very, very clear.
With that said, I also love entertainment, and while Alabama has been racking up college football championships (or being in the conversation) for years, LSU has been doing the same but also taking up space in the hearts and minds of the college football-watching public with their entertaining post-touchdown celebrations.
Apparently, the social media world agrees because LSU football celebrations (I guess we’ve taken to referring to them as “cellys”) have become a thing on TikTok. If you wade at all in the waters of TikTok, then you have probably come across videos of kids trippin’ out or doing a dance called the “trip out,” which is largely just gyrating rapidly; you can add various other steps depending on your own level of coordination and creativity.
Do you know who else is really good at this? Members of the LSU Tigers football team, who are often featured in videos AND being mimicked by other people demonstrating what it must be like to be on the LSU Tigers football team. And you know what? That looks quite joyous. I ain’t gon’ hold you, I’ve been walking around my house also pretending to be a member of LSU’s football team who has just caught a touchdown pass.
Lifestyle
Here’s the thing: This dance has gone viral not just because of LSU but because of all of the people who have hopped into the kitchen to cook up their own versions. For instance, the first time I ever saw somebody “trip out” was a hilarious video of now famous No. 48 who tripped that thing out in support of the homie. I had no idea I was watching a kid turn into a legend but here we are.
You know, it has to be said that so many people over the years — purists and haters, alike — have attempted to steal the joy from kids across the nation who feel compelled to do end zone celebrations. There have been penalties and the like for excessive celebrations, to the point where rules were put in place to limit certain behaviors; there was a time when a celebration deemed “too excessive” could result in a penalty at the discretion of the referee. That is insane to me; these kids are out there playing a game and that means when you do something amazing, the first response is usually one of celebration. I suppose the NCAA, the governing body for college athletics, has come to its senses and has allowed dancing and the like to occur as long as it isn’t overly mean to an opponent.
That bit of daylight has opened the door for youthful creativity to thrive and thus we get athletes on the field taking the dances that have taken over TikTok and other social media platforms and incorporating them into their touchdown celebrations. I think the world is a better place for it. So I hope these kids keep dancing and keep inspiring the social media world to share their moments of glory.
Even if, for now, LSU gets to be the face of it on social media. Like all good things that happen at LSU, I imagine it’s only a matter of time before Alabama steamrolls that joy.
Roll Tide.
Panama Jackson is a columnist at theGrio and host of the award-winning podcast, “Dear Culture” on theGrio Black Podcast Network. He writes very Black things, drinks very brown liquors, and is pretty fly for a light guy. His biggest accomplishment to date coincides with his Blackest accomplishment to date in that he received a phone call from Oprah Winfrey after she read one of his pieces (biggest) but he didn’t answer the phone because the caller ID said “Unknown” (Blackest).
