BYU NewsNet - Celebrations Gone Wrong

The world of sports has always been full of rivalries. With such competition, there is no room for errors. But sometimes, even after a big play, egos get in the way and the would-be celebration goes wrong.

Such is the case with Philadelphia Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson, who cost his team a touchdown this season when he flicked the ball backward in celebration one yard shy of the end zone.

Initially the play was ruled a touchdown, but the call was reversed after a Cowboys challenge. Dallas went on to win the game 41-37.

This is not Jackson's first blunder in the realm of premature celebration. In a high school all-star game in 2005, Jackson attempted a front flip into the end zone from the 5-yard line but landed a yard short and fumbled the football like a greased watermelon in the process.

Sports celebrations going in awkward directions happens more than one might think:

* Real Salt Lake forward Fabian Espindola celebrated a goal on Sept. 6 by doing a round-off back flip and inadvertently sprained his ankle. To add insult to injury, an offside call reversed the goal by Espindola, who is out for four to eight weeks.

* Jamaican Olympic runner, Usain Bolt, is infamous for his early celebrating during a 100-meter final. Bolt started slowing down somewhere between the 85- and 90-meter marks, throwing his arms out and beating his chest. He was able to beat the world record in 9.69 seconds, but his coach Glen Mills said he could have run a 9.52 in perfect conditions.

* In a 1997 game against New York, Redskins quarterback Gus Frerotte head-butted the padded wall around the field after a one-yard touchdown, giving himself a concussion and a sprained neck.

* Moments after the final round of the Canadian Open golf tournament on July 27, Jim Weathers, a physical therapist for clients that include Phil Mickelson, was attempting to spray a bottle of champagne on rookie winner and client Chez Reavie, who had just won, when he was wrestled to the ground by a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Weathers began spitting blood from the violent chokehold and may now need surgery.

* After nailing a 42-yard field goal in 2001 against the Giants, Cardinal kicker Bill Gramatica jumped up and down in celebration, tearing his ACL. Gramatica missed the rest of the season because of his injury.

* In a 2002 game against Seattle, San Francisco wide receiver Terrell Owens pulled out a Sharpie marker from his sock after catching a touchdown pass. He then proceeded to autograph the ball and hand it to his financial adviser sitting in an end zone luxury suite rented by Shawn Springs, the cornerback he had just beaten on the play. Owens was fined thousands of dollars.

* Recently, Washington's Jake Locker was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for throwing the ball over his head after scoring in the last minute against BYU. The touchdown was counted, but the Huskies were given a 15-yard penalty. The ensuing extra-point attempt, which would have tied the game with two seconds left, was blocked and BYU won by one point.

* In Super Bowl XXVII, Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Leon Lett famously slowed down to celebrate his almost touchdown during a return of a fumble recovery. Buffalo's Don Beebe knocked the ball away at the last moment, less than five yards from the end zone, stealing the sure touchdown opportunity from Lett.

* During overtime in a 2003 game, Alabama defenders were flagged for excessive celebration after an interception by Crimson Tide safety Charles Jones. Alabama was given a 15-yard penalty and subsequently missed a 38-yard field-goal attempt that would have won the game. Instead, Arkansas kicked the winning field goal in the second overtime.

* A 1982 game between the University of California and Stanford is infamously known as "The Play." After Stanford had taken a 20-19 lead on a field goal with four seconds left in the game, members of the Stanford Band prematurely rushed the field midway through the return by the Golden Bears. Cal used five lateral passes on the ensuing kickoff return to score the winning touchdown and earn a 25-20 victory despite Stanford's confusion.

While the blunders many athletes make are hilarious and sometimes unimaginable, the consequences aren't always as funny.