The editorial staff at MLSsoccer.com is looking back over the year with our Best of 2011 awards, running Dec. 19 through Jan. 2. Each day we'll hand out an award in a variety of categories culled from the storylines of MLS and US international players, including MLS Broadcaster Call of the Year, Gaffe of the Year and, via fan vote, the Moment of the Year.
In this installment content producer Shawn Francis joins in on the Celebration of the Year, givento Seattle striker Roger Levesque for the splash he made with one particular goal celebration.
We’ve all seen players go overboard with goal celebrations.
What was the Celebration of the Year?
Heck, Icelandic club Stjarnan have made it into an art form — and viral video sensation — recently. But it wasn’t until the Sounders’ mustached menace Roger Levesque went all Jacques Cousteau after scoring against New York back in June was it ever so literal.
After being gifted the ball at the 18-yard ine courtesy of a Greg Sutton gaffe, the Seattle fan favorite merely had to tap the ball into the back of the net to grab his second goal of the night. He then hopped on to the top of the lightboard behind the net, pinched his nose while sitting with his back toward a braying ECS and leaned back over the edge … which had to hurt just a little on the unforgiving CenturyLink Field turf.
And that’s the funny thing about it: Levesque’s celebration seemed to be way more taxing than the scoring the actual goal.
2. Sébastien Le Toux flash mob dance
There are few things as annoying as the dancing guy in that AT&T commercial, but if you are the Union’s Le Toux and you put two goals past I-95 rivals D.C. United in the first 15 minutes of the game, you get a pass to be as annoying as you want.
3.Terry Dunfield into the crowd
A universal truth of sports: Everyone loves a hometown boy. No matter where you hail from, seeing Vancouver native Terry Dunfield score then leap into the arms of an adoring home crowd while playing for the Whitecaps is goosebump fuel.
