My prediction that the Chargers would win it all last month is not looking so bad after the clinic the Bolts put on the Broncos yesterday to clinch the division. Of course, the big news in the game is that Ladainian Tomlinson broke the all-time single season TD record. For those who didn’t see the game, there was something that LT did that caught my eye right after he scored his record-breaking TD. Immediately, LT motioned to his entire offensive line (and the rest of his teammates) to join him in the celebration, which they did, hoisting him up in the air in jubilation. Whatever one thinks about the modern day NFL where players can devote significant time to dreaming up post-TD celebrations but can’t stay awake in team meetings or throw teammates under the bus in the media, for my dime nothing beats LT’s traditional celebration of giving the ball to the official without fanfare (a la Barry Sanders), high-fiving a few teammates, going back to the sideline, and acting like he’s been there before. In any event, most of the highlight shows are not likely to show LT’s team-based celebration of this honor, but his post-game comments capture exactly why Tomlinson may be the best the NFL has to offer in more ways than one:
“Once I got over the pylon, my initial thought process was to bring every guy on the offensive unit over to share that moment. When we’re old and can’t play this game anymore, them are the moments we are going to remember, that we’ll be able to tell our kids, tell our grandchildren. We can talk about something special that we did. We made history today. There’s no better feeling than to share it with the group of guys that’s in that locker room.”
Refreshing.