Where Does Alex Morgan Sipping Tea Rank Among All-Time Celebrations?
Jul 4, 2019, 4:56 PM
(Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images)
LYON, France – Team USA is rolling through the FIFA World Cup and there has been some controversy along the way for how the women’s team has celebrated its goals while being on the world’s biggest stage for its sport.
It started with a 13-0 thrashing in the opening game against Thailand where there was some criticism for running up the score and celebrating every goal, which irked some people what Team USA did to Thailand.
The latest saga of celebration came in a much closer match which saw Team USA defeat England 2-1, and the issue was when Alex Morgan scored what would be the game-winning goal and then proceeded to pantomime sipping tea in celebration.
Drinking the tea pic.twitter.com/z7UP7ehceM
— Paid man gets bored (@cjzero) July 2, 2019
That really struck a nerve with former English national teamer Lianne Sanderson who is clearly not a fan of Morgan’s celebration.
☕ @liannesanderson calls Alex Morgan's tea sipping celebration "distasteful."
📺 Live now on HD11#beINWWC #beINSPIRED19 #ENGUSA #FIFAWWC pic.twitter.com/dwvowkcdK6
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) July 2, 2019
Team USA’s Megan Rapinoe could care less about how their celebration was perceived.
Megan Rapinoe on criticism of Alex Morgan's celebration: "Wah, wah, wah" pic.twitter.com/rgtw7KVN6R
— B/R Football (@brfootball) July 3, 2019
Other All-Time Great Celebrations
Let’s be real. Morgan scoring a goal in the World Cup and then pretending to sip tea was an epic celebration. However, that got KSL’s Unrivaled thinking about what was their favorite celebrations have been over the years.
Terrell Owens and the sharpie
The newly minted Hall of Famer had plenty of wild celebrations but having a marker in the pocket during Monday Night Football tops the list. Owens was a playmaker and a showman so what better way to put his confidence to the test by not only scoring a touchdown but having the gusto to sign the ball and toss it in the stands.
This highlight was KSL Sports’ Mitch Harper’s favorite outlandish highlight saying it was “very unique for the time.”
Let’s do the Ickey Shuffle
KSL-TV’s Jeremiah Jensen’s favorite celebration goes back to the vault by going with Ickey Woods who did the “Ickey Shuffle” back in the late 1980s and early 90s. He played just four years but his celebration is an all-time and even brought back for a Geico commercial.
Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson wears a makeshift Hall of Fame jacket
Ochocinco is in the same mold as Owens but just a step behind his on the field performance, but when comparing the two regarding celebrations it is a dead heat. Ochocinco had a great one when he donned a custom Hall of Fame jacket with the year “20??” on the back. That celebration irked plenty but also there were a few that enjoyed his showboating.
Brandi Chastain’s penalty kick to win the World Cup
To go full circle with soccer, one of the most recognizable highlights was at the Rose Bowl 20 years ago when Brandi Chastain made the game-winning penalty kick against China to give Team USA the win.
There are plenty of more that KSL’s Unrivaled discusses which include Stevenson Sylvester pulling out the bow and arrow against Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, Dikembe Mutombo with the ball clenched above his head upsetting No. 1 Seattle SuperSonics, John Beck being carried off the field after defeating Utah, and plenty more.
Tune into KSL’s Unrivaled every Monday through Friday, 7-9 p.m., or download the KSL NewsRadio app to subscribe to the podcast.