The National (US) Football League adopted a 15-yard penalty for pre-planned celebrations, such as last year’s “phone call from the end zone” or 2002’s “autographed football“. Apparently, the existing monetary fines weren’t having much of an effect on players with multi-million-dollar contracts. (Surprised?) So now the league is going to hit them where it hurts: On the field. I found it odd that the players weren’t penalized under existing rules for having unauthorized equipment on the field. So does this mean that teams will be penalized for keeping champagne on ice in anticipation of winning a championship? That certainly counts as a pre-planned celebration, doesn’t it?

Perhaps teams which win a championship game now must “spontaneously” send somebody out to the local liquor store to buy a few cases of bubbly once the game ends.