Celebration penalties take joy out of game

Published Oct. 6, 2009 4:51 p.m. ET

Peter Schrager

One of the all-around best played and most thrilling college football games of the 2009 season was marred by a flurry of foolish yellow flags on Saturday. I'd rant and rave about it with physical gestures if I could, but I'm scared of being penalized for it. I'm better off just writing this column, keeping my head down and not showing one bit of emotion.

After all, that'd be perfectly in line with the NCAA's apparent ideal student-athlete — stoic, workmanlike and devoid of personality. A cog in the system. How fun!

Yes, LSU's 20-13, come-from-behind victory on the road in Athens — a game packed with future NFL stars stepping up in the clutch, outstanding team efforts on offense and defense and a bevy of action in the final minutes — was tainted by a pair of inexcusable and inexplicable excessive celebration flags thrown by officials down the stretch.