Ickey Shuffle

Last updated

The Ickey Shuffle was a touchdown celebration performed by National Football League (NFL) fullback Elbert "Ickey" Woods, who played for the Cincinnati Bengals. After scoring a touchdown, Woods would shuffle his feet to the right and hold the football out to the right, shuffle his feet to the left and hold the football out to the left, and finally finish by doing three hops to the right and spiking the football into the ground. Woods performed this polished official version of the dance for the first time during the 1988 Cincinnati Bengals season, after scoring against the New York Jets on October 10, 1988. [1] The move led to the NFL creating a rule designating it (and similar moves by other players) as "Excessive Celebration" and subject to penalty against the player's team. [2] The dance was in danger of being prohibited by NFL rules concerning planned celebrations, but after investigation, was not banned. [3]

Contents

Since Woods' playing days, the dance has made multiple appearances in mainstream media including a GEICO commercial, in which Woods himself performs the dance. [4] [5] In addition, the dance is featured in an episode of the television sitcom How I Met Your Mother . [6] Woods stated that most of the money he has earned as a product of the Ickey Shuffle's popularity, including his earnings from the GEICO commercial, has ultimately gone towards his foundation that is dedicated to raising money for asthma research, the Jovante Woods Foundation. [7] Darrell Waltrip performed the dance while celebrating his 1989 Daytona 500 win in victory lane. The "Ickey Shuffle" has also been adopted as the name for a common speed and agility drill that utilizes a similar kind of lateral rhythmic stepping, somewhat derivative of the famous dance itself. [8] [9] [10]

Arizona Cardinals Larry Foote does the Ickey Shuffle Arizona Cardinals LB Larry Foote Does the Ickey Shuffle.jpg
Arizona Cardinals Larry Foote does the Ickey Shuffle

Origin

In an interview performed on an episode of Inside the NFL Woods said that before he and the Cincinnati Bengals played the Cleveland Browns on September 25, 1988, he told his mother that if he happened to score during the game, he would do a dance. [11] After scoring, Woods did a modified, simpler version of the famous dance that included no steps. After receiving criticism on the quality of the dance from his teammate, Rick Dixon, Woods decided to add some steps to it.  After workshopping his celebration from the previous game, Woods came out against the New York Jets on October 10, 1988, and performed what is now known as the "Ickey Shuffle" for the first times following the two touchdowns he scored on that day. [1]

Media

GEICO Commercials

In 2014, GEICO ran a commercial centered around the dance. Initially, in the taping of the commercial, GEICO had Woods shoot 3 separate versions in 3 different contexts, with each one featuring Woods perform the Ickey Shuffle in a celebratory fashion. [7] In the version that GEICO chose to air, Woods performs the Ickey Shuffle within a supermarket, celebrating the meat slicer calling out his ticket number “44”. [4] In addition to this televised commercial, Geico also filmed more short clips of Woods performing the shuffle and exclaiming about a number of different scenarios, such as: “Awkward”, “Your new profile pic is totally casual”, “Game Over”, “It’s Humpday!” and many more. [5]

How I Met Your Mother

The Ickey Shuffle also makes an appearance on How I Met Your Mother in season 1 episode 4, “Return of the Shirt”. Barney Stinson, played by Neil Patrick Harris, performs the dance. [6]

Speed and agility drill

There is now a common agility drill, also referred to as the Ickey Shuffle, which utilizes footwork similar to that of the famous dance. This drill is most commonly performed with the aid of a speed ladder but can also be done with the use of cones. [8] [lower-alpha 1]  The purpose of the drill is to build foot speed and overall agility. [9] The drill is performed by weaving in and out of the squares on a speed ladder, shuffling one's feet back and forth from one side of the ladder back to the other. [10]

Notes

  1. ↑ These attached links contain video demonstrations with detailed instructions on how to do the Ickey Shuffle drill.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Super Bowl XXIII</span> 1989 Edition of the Super Bowl

Super Bowl XXIII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Cincinnati Bengals and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1988 season. The 49ers defeated the Bengals 20–16, winning their third Super Bowl. The game was played on January 22, 1989, at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami. This was the first Super Bowl hosted in the Miami area in 10 years, and the first in Miami not held at the Orange Bowl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boomer Esiason</span> American football player and commentator (born 1961)

Norman Julius "Boomer" Esiason is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, primarily with the Cincinnati Bengals. He played college football for the Maryland Terrapins and was selected in the second round of the 1984 NFL Draft by the Bengals, where he spent 10 non-consecutive seasons. Esiason was also a member of the New York Jets and Arizona Cardinals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ickey Woods</span> American football player (born 1966)

Elbert L. "Ickey" Woods is an American former football player who was a running back for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL) from 1988 through 1991. He played college football for the UNLV Rebels. He is best remembered for his "Ickey Shuffle" end zone dance, performed each time he scored a touchdown. After a rookie season in which he set numerous rookie franchise records, a series of injuries shortened his NFL career and he retired after four years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1988–89 NFL playoffs</span> National Football League playoffs

The National Football League playoffs for the 1988 season began on December 24, 1988. The postseason tournament concluded with the San Francisco 49ers defeating the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl XXIII, 20–16, on January 22, 1989, at Joe Robbie Stadium in Miami, Florida.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Super Bowl Shuffle</span> Song and music video performed by the 1985 Chicago Bears

"The Super Bowl Shuffle" is a song performed by the Chicago Bears football team in 1985. It was released in December 1985 on Chicago-based Red Label Records and distributed through Capitol Records seven weeks ahead of their win in Super Bowl XX. The song peaked at number 41 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and earned a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals in 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freezer Bowl</span> 1982 American football championship

In National Football League (NFL) lore, the Freezer Bowl was the 1981 AFC Championship Game between the San Diego Chargers and the Cincinnati Bengals. The game was played on January 10, 1982, at Cincinnati's Riverfront Stadium, and televised by NBC, with announcers Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen. The game, won by the Bengals, 27–7, was played in the coldest temperature in NFL history in terms of wind chill. Air temperature was −9 °F (−23 °C), but the wind chill, factoring in a sustained wind of 27 miles per hour (43 km/h), was reported as −59 °F (−51 °C) under the calculation method then in use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Brooks (American football)</span> American football player (born 1958)

James Robert Brooks is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football played for the Auburn Tigers. He played for four teams in the NFL, earning all four of his Pro Bowl selections with the Cincinnati Bengals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lambeau Leap</span> Touchdown celebration popularized by the Green Bay Packers

The Lambeau Leap is a touchdown celebration in American football in which a player leaps into the bleachers behind the end zone after scoring. The celebration was popularized after Green Bay Packers player LeRoy Butler jumped into the Lambeau Field bleachers after scoring a touchdown from a fumble recovery against the Los Angeles Raiders on December 26, 1993. The celebration has remained popular ever since, even as the National Football League tightened rules on touchdown celebrations in the early 2000s. Some safety concerns have been noted by players and staff, including inappropriate touching by fans and the possibility of an injury to the player leaping into the bleachers. Although uncommon, the celebration has been attempted by multiple players from opposing teams at Lambeau Field. The Lambeau Leap is an important component of the history and traditions of the Packers.

James D. Runnels is an American football coach and former fullback. He played college football at Oklahoma from 2002 to 2005. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for 4 seasons from 2006 to 2009, with his longest tenue as a player with the Chicago Bears.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Touchdown celebration</span> Celebrations in gridiron football

In gridiron football, touchdown celebrations are sometimes performed after the scoring of a touchdown. Individual celebrations have become increasingly complex over time, from simple "spiking" of the football in decades past to the elaborately choreographed displays of the current era.

Elmo Wright is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). While at the University of Houston, he became the first football player ever to perform an end zone dance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chad Johnson</span> American gridiron football player (born 1978)

Chad Ochocinco Johnson, known from 2008 to 2012 as Chad Ochocinco, is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver. He played college football for Santa Monica College and Oregon State University, and played 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Cincinnati Bengals and the New England Patriots. He was drafted by the Bengals in the second round of the 2001 NFL draft, and played for the Bengals for 10 seasons. Ochocinco, which means "eight five" in Spanish, was also his number. In 2011, Johnson was traded to the Patriots, for whom he played in Super Bowl XLVI.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Cincinnati Bengals</span>

The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football franchise in the National Football League. Since starting off as an expansion franchise in the American Football League in 1968, they have appeared in three Super Bowls, but lost all three times, twice to the San Francisco 49ers and once to the Los Angeles Rams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pete Johnson (American football)</span> American football player (born 1954)

Pete Johnson is an American former professional football player who was a running back for eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Cincinnati Bengals. He played college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes under head coach Woody Hayes.

The 1988 Cincinnati Bengals season was the team's 21st year in professional football and its 19th with the National Football League (NFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Develin</span> American football player (born 1988)

James Rittenhouse Develin, Jr. is an American former professional football player who was a fullback. He played college football for the Brown Bears as a defensive end. He was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz of the Arena Football League (AFL). He most prominently played for the New England Patriots for eight seasons with whom he won three Super Bowls and appeared in a Pro Bowl. Develin was on the Cincinnati Bengals practice squad for two seasons and played for the Florida Tuskers of the United Football League (UFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C. J. Uzomah</span> American football (NFL) player (born 1993)

Christopher James Uzomah is an American football tight end for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Auburn and was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Mixon</span> American football player (born 1996)

Joseph Tyler Mixon is an American football running back for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). Mixon played college football at Oklahoma, where he was a first-team All-Big 12, and was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round of the 2017 NFL draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andy Janovich</span> American football player (born 1993)

Andy Janovich is an American football fullback who is a free agent. He played college football at Nebraska, and was selected in the sixth round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos. He has also played for the Cleveland Browns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drew Sample</span> American football player (born 1996)

Drew Sample is an American football tight end for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Washington and was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft.

References

  1. 1 2 Brown, Larry (October 16, 2014). "Ickey Woods shares origins of the Ickey Shuffle". Larry Brown Sports. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  2. ↑ Brady, Jonann (February 4, 2006). "Will the Ickey Shuffle Rise Again? - ABC News". ESPN Sports. Retrieved April 8, 2009. The Ickey Shuffle reached iconic status in the late 1980s, when Cincinnati Bengals fullback Elbert 'Ickey' Woods started celebrating his touchdown receptions with a brief boogie
  3. ↑ "N.F.L. Will Allow the Ickey Shuffle". The New York Times . August 9, 1989. Retrieved April 8, 2009.
  4. 1 2 "Geico Ickey Woods Commercials - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on December 20, 2021. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  5. 1 2 "Watch Ickey Woods bring back the Ickey Shuffle in Geico ad". Los Angeles Times. September 5, 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  6. 1 2 "What is the Ickey Shuffle? How former Bengals fullback Ickey Woods changed NFL touchdown celebrations forever | Sporting News". February 7, 2022.
  7. 1 2 Kahler, Kalyn. "Q&A with Ickey Woods". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  8. 1 2 "Online Health and Fitness". Workoutaholic.net. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  9. 1 2 "How To Get Faster - Icky Shuffle Speed Ladder Drill". Online Soccer Academy. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  10. 1 2 "Speed & Agility Exercises - Ickey Shuffle Agility Ladder Drill". Workoutz.com. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Garber: An informal look at the history of the end zone celebration". ESPN.com. November 22, 2015. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.