Josh Freeman: NFL Quarterback, Soccer Dude
September 29th, 2011
Josh Freeman celebrates his first rushing touchdown with a soccer dance.
Naturally, Joe is a sports geek. Football, baseball, college basketball, hockey, if it’s playing, Joe’s watching (and drinking).
Notice one thing missing from the above? Soccer.
Joe doesn’t get it. Let Joe be clear: Joe has nothing against soccer. All the soccer people Joe has come across are wonderful people and clearly one has to have massive stamina to play soccer. Joe clearly respects this. And from a sportswriter’s perspective, nothing is better than a running clock.
Joe has never been bitten by the soccer bug. When Joe tries to watch soccer on TV, he is reminded of what Norman Chad once wrote about soccer, “Watching soccer on TV is akin to watching an Easter egg hunt.”
So it was slightly surprising to Joe to learn that Bucs quarterback Josh Freeman not only enjoys soccer video games, it was just this outlet that moved Freeman to emulate a soccer dance when he celebrated his first rushing touchdown Sunday, so he told Doug Gottlieb on BSPN Radio.
“It was a soccer celebration,” Freeman said of his dance. “We play FIFA [on video games] between practices and I always said I would dance like that if I ever scored a touchdown. It’s funny people thought I was doing the Dirty Bird. [His soccer dance was] nothing like the Dirty Bird.”
Joe thought it was initially cool that Freeman was mocking the Dixie Chicks with his touchdown celebration but the fact it is a soccer knockoff gives Joe pause.
It grates Joe when soccer people try to indoctrinate Joe into the sport saying “It’s the most popular sport in the world.” When Joe hears that, he also hears the words of Joe’s old man, a proud World War II veteran who says, “Yeah, and we are America. We are better than that. Our ancestors came here from lesser countries for a reason. We have football and baseball.”
September 29th, 2011 at 8:31 am
If he likes football and soccer, he should come and play rugby…best of both worlds!
September 29th, 2011 at 9:12 am
It has to be said:
TAMPA BAY RAYS – – – -ARE YOU KIDDING ME WITH LAST NIGHT!!?!?!?
Also needs to be said: Longoria is THE MAN
GO BUCS
September 29th, 2011 at 9:13 am
Okay…this quote is from another thread, but I only just read it. I wanted to make sure fans see this one:
I had to laugh at this, but it’s also sad that after two years of no sellouts, Tampa fans don’t even know how to act in the stadium, lol.
September 29th, 2011 at 9:14 am
Amen, Joe, amen! Soccer doesn’t even have cheerleaders, does it??
UkBuc, as a proud former member of the Polk County Pillagers, and the Eastern Rugby Union- I agree! Rugby rocks!
I can only get excited about soccer when my Daughter is playing, or the US women’s team. Ah, Brandy Chastain!
September 29th, 2011 at 9:16 am
PS…
Let’s do away with the “fairweather” and “bandwagon” comments for a week. At this point, I just wat a game to sellout.
And who is Freeman trying to kid? Division rival? It was the Dirty Bird, lol. And it made a statement.
I like our team becoming cocky.
September 29th, 2011 at 9:25 am
I think with a sell-out and an ass-whopping of the Colts on a national stage, you’re gonna see a lot more people at Bucs games. The win over the Falcons helped a lot. The casual fan thinks of the Colts and Peyton Manning as one and the same, so even without him playing by us whipping up on them is gonna bring more fans out to the games as in their minds we just beat Peyton Manning and the Colts, not Curtis Painter and the offensively and defensively decimated Colts, I do believe, I do believe (shout out to the DBTs) that we’ll see more fans and a rockin’ CITS for the rest of the season.
September 29th, 2011 at 10:11 am
Joe,
Take it from a life long soccer NUT – that was NOT and I repeat NOT a soccer celebration… Unless I completely missed it, I’ve NEVER seen anyone celebrate like that. (Does not mean it didn’t happen. I only watch about 3 hours of highlights a week, plus 3 bundesliga matches, champions league and uefa cup games. Have NOT watched a whole lot of EPL lately. so it MIGHT come from the brits. but doubtful).
My opinion is that he got in trouble for doing the dirty bird and he is just trying to cover.
If you can, do yourself a favor and watch Barcelona or Bayern Munich play in the Champions League. Amazing play!
Best way I can compare it is my father in Germany, who hates American Football cause its just a bunch of guys running into each other with a ball that’s not even a ball. It makes no sense at all to him. That’s how I felt 20+ years ago until a friend convinced me to sit down and watch a game with him. That year 1989, I picked a team called the Buccaneers as ‘my team’, due to me living in the area. Have moved on since then but been a loyal bucs fan from that day on. Soccernuts are like that… they pick a team and stick with it. No matter what!
September 29th, 2011 at 10:11 am
Joe, knowing that you are a Rays fan, that was some game last night! But on the MLB Channel where they were showing the Rays, Red Soxes, and Braves games sometimes at the same time on split screen, it was even better.
However, after going to the Bucs win on Sunday and all three of the teams I wanted to win won, it was a dream week.
September 29th, 2011 at 10:13 am
Yeah that was Jason Grella (sp?) working his magic. Are you really going to buy that load of BS that it wasn’t the dirty bird? C’mon man
September 29th, 2011 at 10:16 am
Soccer is da bomb. Any one who hates on it either can’t run or has no stamina.
September 29th, 2011 at 10:21 am
Make NO Mistake, that was the dirty bird, Josh is just covering his ass:)
September 29th, 2011 at 10:26 am
“nothing like the dirty bird?” come on Freeman that was a LOT like the dirty bird lol
and Joe, don’t hate on soccer. wasn’t a fan myself until a couple of years ago two of my friends, a German and a Brazilian, taught me the strategy and nuances of the game. Once you understand it, it becomes addictive. I think the reason it isn’t big in America is because people don’t take the time to understand it.
September 29th, 2011 at 10:37 am
I hope Free does the robot after his next touchdown:-)
September 29th, 2011 at 10:37 am
PLUH-EEZZEE!!!
This really gets Joe going. “You don’t understand.” What’s there to understand? The friggin’ ball is volleyballed back and forth at midfield constantly. It’s like trying to watch volleyball on qualudes Yawn.
Joe understands this game perfectly well. It’s boring. Sorry.
Only in soccer is the “You don’t understand” card pulled.
Hell, golfers — arrogant as they are — won’t even flash the “You don’t understand” line on people.
September 29th, 2011 at 10:39 am
OB:
The MLB Network is light years superior to BSPN.
September 29th, 2011 at 10:44 am
We dont need an entire article explaining why Joe doesn’t like soccer.
September 29th, 2011 at 10:47 am
lmao, speaking of arrogance. Only an arrogant person would get as defensive as you to that statement Joe. I didn’t mean to insult your intelligence. My point is, someone who casually watches football thinks they understand the game. Oh that guy with the ball has to bring it to the endzone, and the other side has to stop him. You and I both know there is a lot more to it than that, that is completely over simplified. As is your “the friggin’ ball is volleyballed back and forth at midfield” description. There’s a lot more to it than that, it IS a complex game of strategy and if you choose not to acknowledge that, it’s your loss.
September 29th, 2011 at 10:48 am
Joe, I’m not sure why you used this as an opportunity to slam soccer. This story is about a grown man playing video games, and you criticize the world’s most popular sport???
September 29th, 2011 at 11:28 am
you don’t see soccer games blacked out. their fans come out in droves.
September 29th, 2011 at 11:30 am
Wow soccer, the only sport to combine heading, dribbling, and kicking! That’s just crazy!
September 29th, 2011 at 11:32 am
“their fans come out in droves.”
But, leave in riots!
September 29th, 2011 at 11:40 am
Actually, to all the doubters, Free is telling the truth on this.
His celebration looked nothing like the Dirty Bird. That was more of a dance step that Anderson did, with some minor flapping (with arms bent more like the “chicken dance” than what Josh did).
Apparently, FIFA soccer has a celebration move called the “Bird Walk”.
I posted links to both, but my comment didn’t show (maybe spam-filter).
Google “Falcons Dirty Bird” and “FIFA Bird Walk” and you’ll see what I’m saying.
September 29th, 2011 at 11:53 am
scholty-
“Unless I completely missed it, I’ve NEVER seen anyone celebrate like that.”
He took the dance from the Soccer VIDEO Game. Do you play the VIDEO Game? Free has nothing to hide and besides: that is just not his style. He’s rich, 6’6′, 260lb and the face of the franchise. He’s telling the truth.
Soccer? GTFO with the commie crap. Out.
September 29th, 2011 at 12:50 pm
That was absolutely the FIFA Birdwalk. If you google it you’ll see. I thought it was out of character for Freeman to do the Dirty Bird and now that I see the FIFA Birdwalk I’m sure that’s what it was but he should have known that everyone on the planet who saw the game would think he was doing the dirty bird.
September 29th, 2011 at 12:53 pm
“The Dirty Bird” at least the examples on youtube, involve a jig-like dancing of the feet, with minimal arm flapping.
If Free was trying to mimic the Dirty Bird dance, he failed horribly.
September 29th, 2011 at 1:06 pm
You’re a good man for hating soccer, Joe.
Soccer, socialism, bspn, the global elite….it’s all one evil entity
whose purpose is to make you stupid and then take your stuff.
Joe is a great-and-defiant American!
September 29th, 2011 at 2:19 pm
Just saw the celebration that they added in the FIFA game. They are very close… Could have been it. I stand corrected.
This is what always get’s me about you soccer hating folks. Calling it a commie game…. Never got that. It’s a game that like American Football has its origins in Great Britain (Commie? Don’t think so). The most successful soccer nations are pretty much all free capitalistic societies. Talk about ignorance.
Go figure…
September 29th, 2011 at 2:34 pm
FUTBOL fans – – – – –
Get over it. We like FOOTBALL.
Soccer is fun to run around and kick a ball when you are 10. After that, it is useless.
I grew up in Europe for 4 years and went to a world cup match at Wembley.
I have tried to get into it……. it is BORING. I get it. I know the rules. it is not like hockey that once you know what is going on it is exciting as helll. It is not.
America came into existence and evolved economically and socially more than any other nation before it. We also evolved our sports.
September 29th, 2011 at 2:39 pm
yes FIFA bird walk celebration dance it is.
September 29th, 2011 at 4:02 pm
Hockey is not exciting as hell
September 29th, 2011 at 5:17 pm
Joe, you can talk about soccer all you want, but Fifa is a different story. Go out and get a copy and you will not leave your couch
September 29th, 2011 at 5:23 pm
What is this “soccer” you speak of ?
September 29th, 2011 at 6:06 pm
Anyone who says that was the Dirty Bird either is too old and their memory is gone, or they are too young and weren’t around for it. Not even close. Perhaps he was mocking Atlanta, but to say it resembled the dirty bird in any way is just plain wrong.
As for soccer, I’m sure it’s a great sport if you grow up around it. I didn’t, so when I watch it, I am bored to death. No, I don’t understand all the nuances to the game, nor do I care to. It is simply not a popular sport in America (at least once you get past middle school), so I don’t see the reason to learn it. Besides, I’m not a fan of any sport where the most common score is 1-0. I wouldn’t watch football if the most common score was 3-0. I’m not criticizing those who love soccer, but just telling you the way it is for me.
September 29th, 2011 at 6:28 pm
Much of the world eats rice instead of grits. Don’t make it right.
September 29th, 2011 at 7:45 pm
Baseball was once more popular than American Football too. They thought they were america’s pasttime.
Times change. Soccer is popular because the world needs to see American football more. Than we’ll see. There is more soccer here than there is american football over there. When both get the same exposure, we’ll see which wins out 😉
July 26th, 2012 at 3:44 pm
If soccer isn’t popular then how come when an international team comes they sell out football stadiums ? I’m better off talking to a wall ! This guy is your typical STUBBORN CLOSE MINDED AMERICAN ! BASEBALL is way to over hyped ! People are almost forced to like it because its “America’s past time” I give credit when credit is due ! but never when I can tell the person speaking is just completely arrogant ! I love how you talk and make fun of a sport you don’t understand or like. It’s almost as if you are scared. The biggest haters are the people that can’t play soccer! They’re to fat and over weight to run for 90 minutes ! They don’t have enough skill to play the game ! Its to hard and they suck, so naturally what do they do ? quit and complain like a baby and make fun of the sport that they cant play !!!! the best is when they say play a “real sport” like football. Real tough with all those pads on. Go play rugby and let me know how it goes.