When professional athletes win the big game, crazy things tend to happen. There’s a great sense of relief and sometimes, players, coaches and fans get emotional or act in an outlandish manner. Let’s take a look at 3 of the craziest sports celebrations in history.
The 2001 Los Angeles Lakers
When the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA Championship in five games over the Philadelphia 76ers, something really memorable happened. The team’s highly popular role player, Mark Madsen, took to the stage during the team’s parade and celebrated the team’s second straight NBA championship in his own unique way. Fans of the team will never forget the sight and sound of his on stage rap performance.
He flailed his arms around and gyrated his hips while reeling off some rhymes that weren’t exactly musically pleasing. Madsen actually performed his own version of the city’s popular crip walk and the team’s play-by-play announcer, Chick Hearn, yelled to Madsen that he should “Get back in his cage!”. That’s fitting because Madsen was known as the “Mad Dog” during his playing career. The audio of this famous sports celebration is often replayed on the Jim Rome radio show.
The 2009 Pittsburgh Steelers
After the Steelers won the Super Bowl over the Cardinals, the team had quite the rowdy celebration during its downtown parade. Troy Polamalu, the team’s popular strong safety, is noted for his famously long and wild hair but fans who attended the team’s victory parade will remember him for another reason. Polamalu stood atop a parade vehicle, put up 6 fingers, one for each of the team’s Lombardi trophies and jumped right into the crowd. Steeler fans lost their minds as they supported the crowd surfing Polamalu with their upturned palms.
The 2013 Chicago Blackhawks
After the Chicago Blackhawks sealed their victory in the final minutes of third period in the 2013 Stanley Cup finals things in Chicago immediately began to get rowdy. Crowds gathered at the intersection of Addison and Southport, were met with riot police after they started throwing glass bottles at polices vehicles. Police were able to disperse the crowd quickly but not before two people were injured, 21 citations were issued, and 23 people were arrested.