CFL edict aimed squarely at Williams gets loosened
Eskimos receiver pleased that end-zone fun may resume, just minus use of props
A wise man once said, “Getcha popcorn ready.”
OK, maybe more of a wise-cracking man who would go on to one day be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, right around the time he also made a brief appearance on the Edmonton Eskimos’ negotiation list. But Terrell Owens is another story.
This one is about an actual Eskimos receiver. One who is becoming known as much for his touchdown celebrations as he is for his Canadian Football League-leading 947 receiving yards 10 games into the season.
Up until Thursday, Duke Williams’s end-zone antics would cost his team 10-yard penalties for objectionable conduct under the league’s strict no-prop policy, which included using his towel as a bib while sitting down to eat an imaginary feast, or crawling through an A-frame advertising board with a train of teammates in tow.
“I didn’t know it was going to be that serious,” Williams said. “I got 10-yard penalties for that, which cost us points both times. So I had to take that out of my game, but they passed the rule so, hey, I can do what I want now.”
The fans spoke and the league listened, relaxing its iron grip on the celebratory fun as long as it doesn’t include things like Sharpie markers hidden in a uniform or cellphones attached to the goalpost padding, or slow down the game. Call it the Duke clause.
“I mean, I was the only receiver in the end zone getting penalties for it,” said Williams, referring to a celebration by Winnipeg Blue Bombers receiver Darvin Adams, who didn’t get penalized despite commandeering a TV camera for a recent celebration. “So, I guess I played a big part in it, but it’s good for the rest of the people who score touchdowns too now. They don’t have to worry about the refs being all strict.
“So I’m glad they passed that rule so now we can really have fun with it.”
He wasn’t alone in getting the rules changed, something he didn’t see happening so soon, admittedly.
“Not that quick, but the fans definitely were fighting, and I feel like they played a big part in that, too,” Williams said. “Big ups to our fans and fans around the league, as well, from every team.
“I thank those guys, too, because without their voice, we’d still be getting penalties.”
Williams wasted no time exercising his new-found freedom, either, scoring a 95-yard touchdown catch later that same day, before sitting down to celebrate with an impromptu game of hot potato with the football alongside teammates Vidal Hazelton and Kenny Stafford. Alas, the celebration didn’t last as the Eskimos blew a 14-point lead before losing 25-24 to the hometown Hamilton Tiger-Cats on a last-second field goal.
The Eskimos’ TD celebratory routine was the first example of the result of an executive council held earlier in the week involving all nine team presidents and league representatives.
“It became a real thing in the social-media realm,” said CFL commissioner Randy Ambrosie. “What are we trying to do here, and what’s important in the stadiums and on TV for our fans?
“They just watched these worldclass athletes play, and then let these world-class athletes have some fun and enjoy their successes.”
For a league looking to improve the fan experience in any way possible, redefining an archaic rule in the face of public outcry had to be a no-brainer.
“I’m hoping we see a lot of scoring and a lot of fun in the end zones,” Ambrosie said. “We’re putting some constraints around it, which you have to do. This can’t become a little three-act play in the end zone. I like our players, I want them to have fun, and I trust that for the most part they’ll get it right.
“But trust me, at some point, we’re probably going to see a flag for delay of game because it will turn into the Fourth Act: Scene 4 of Macbeth.”
While he doesn’t fancy himself the Shakespeare of touchdown celebrations, Williams has to get full points for ingenuity this year, hearkening back to the heyday of Owens spilling popcorn and Joe Horn’s “cell”-ebration before the NFL began cracking down on fun.
“If you aren’t having fun then you aren’t even playing football,” Williams said. “Practice and stuff, that’s done in the dark. But in the lights, that’s when you have fun. When you catch that ball, it’s just a good feeling. You hear the crowd hollering, your teammates backing you up, you don’t have a choice but to have fun.”
As for the celebrations, Williams said they had been entirely unscripted.
“That came out of nowhere,” he said. “Just having fun.
“We’ve got a lot of big plans now. Very exciting.”