Joe Burrow scored a rushing touchdown early in the Cincinnati Bengals‘ win over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 9. Because the game was in Madrid, he did a celebration to honor a soccer legend, Neymar.
“Just felt like it in the moment. Just happened.” Joe Burrow said after the game.
Burrow scored his touchdown and put both thumbs up against his helmet. He then flapped his hands back and forth. Many in America did not get the reference, but the stadium in Spain blew up with excitement when Burrow did it.
Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow Explains TD Celebration After Win in Madrid
Neymar is a Brazilian soccer player, but he played for FC Barcelona from 2013 through 2017. This was his famous celebration throughout his career, and the fans of the football club enjoyed seeing Burrow pay tribute to their favorite player from that time.
It was a smart move by Burrow, and the team was fully invested in making the game fun for the foreign fans.
The reference also helped bridge the local fans to the crowd. Burrow was not the only Bengals player to give the Spanish fans a celebration that they could reference, either.
Bengals WRs Join in Cultural Celebration
Star wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase scored a 43-yard touchdown to start the scoring in the game. His teammate Tee Higgins rushed to the end zone to join him. Chase pretended to be a Spanish matador, and he would wave his towel in front of Higgins. Higgins took on the role of the raging bull, who charged at Chase. This also caused a loud reaction from the crowd.
Chase admitted after the game that the two decided to do it in the hopes of getting that type of reaction.
“A friend of mine told me what was going on,” said Chase about the reason for the celebration. “Especially around this time of the month, you know, it’s really big right now, so he was telling me the crowd would go ‘Ole ‘ if I was to do it. So I think that was the biggest part of me trying to get the crowd involved.”
The Bengals wanted to win but also give the fans a fun experience to spread the game of football. It helps that the team won in a dominating fashion.
While the win was fun for the Bengals, all eyes are on what is at stake next week. The Bengals host the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 10 in a game that could decide the fate of the AFC North.
Bengals’ QB Joe Burrow Explains TD Celebration in Week 9 Win