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With the NFL announcing new rules surrounding touchdown celebrations, the Cincy Jungle staff got together to share our favorite celebratory moments from Cincinnati Bengals history. Chad Johnson was known for his many unforgettable celebrations, but, he isn’t the only former Bengals player who busted out a memorable celebratory dance.
Here’s a look back at some of the best Bengals celebrations in the team’s 49 year history.
Chad Johnson putting the football - Anthony Cosenza
I feel like Johnson/Ochocinco almost deserves a category of his own with how many memorable celebrations as he had. Because of that, 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. He was fined $5,000 for the celebration.
Other honorable mentions are Kelley Washington's “squirrel” and Jeremy Hill's early “stay turnt” celebrations. I usually pride myself as being a pretty rad dancer, but those two bring me back down to a hard reality.
Kelley Washington’s squirrel dance - Braden Whited
Without a doubt, there is only one celebration that needs to be mentioned and it’s Kelley Washington’s squirrel dance. Kelly’s Bengals career wasn’t a very long one and even with that going against him, this dance has stood the test of time.
Plus, whoever set the dance to the tune of “Girls Just Wanna Have fun” was a genius, because it just makes the entire celebration 1,000 times better. And this was for a preseason game no less.
Chad Johnson’s Riverdance - Patrick Judis
Mine is easily Johnson’s Riverdance against the Bears. I remember watching it so many times afterward that I learned how to do it. It was Johnson and Steve Smith's celebrations that really got me into the NFL, so I'm excited to see more celebrations in some capacity.
The Ickey Shuffle - Rebecca Toback
The Ickey Shuffle is probably one of the most famous NFL celebrations of all time. So, that has to make the list, but, when Jeremy Hill copied it and renewed the celebration, that was pretty awesome, too! It was fun and honored a great former Bengals player at his position.
Chad Johnson’s camera steal - Connor Howe
Ochocinco getting up on the camera and looking around to get his family on TVs around the world was an all-timer. Same with when he putted the football with the end zone pylon.
Chad Johnson’s Sombrero - Alberto Luque
The gray poncho and black sombrero from Johnson, just one week after being fined for pretending to bribe an umpire with a dollar? That takes guts! Also, that was right in his “black Mexican” period and as some Americans believe Spain is in Mexico (and since I live in Spain), I've always felt some connection to this celebration.
The Ickey Shuffle - Scott Schulze
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. It didn't come across as me-centric or pre-planned as Ocho Cinco's post-touchdown celebrations. He didn't try to reinvent his moves every week, but found something that worked and stuck with it.
Even when the NFL tried to shut Woods down, he just moved it to the sidelines. It was a great dance in a great era of Bengals football with a team doing great things.
I'll easily take one Ickey Shuffle over Ochocinco wiping a football’s behind or prematurely donning a HOF jacket.
T. J. Houshmandzadeh’s Terrible Towel shoe cleaning - Kyle Phelps
It wasn't a touchdown celebration, but a celebration of a hard fought victory over the Steelers. Back in 2005, when the Bengals beat the Steelers in the regular season 38-31, the potentially division-winning victory was awesome enough as it was. Then, Houshmandzadeh made it better, celebrating by showing how we all feel about those little yellow towels. Unfortunately, we all know how that season ended. But, it was nice to see the Bengals finally fighting back against the disrespect endured from the Steelers for years. Johnson was the celebration king, but T.J. had the best one.
