Saints tight end Jimmy Graham got to do what he loves to do after scoring touchdowns at the Pro Bowl: He dunked the ball over the goal post.
Graham, whose dunk during the 2013 season knocked a goal post off balance and led to a rules change for 2014, wants the league to change the rule back and allow players to dunk in celebration again.
“That was amazing. For me, it made the entire week,” Graham said. “Hopefully, one day they’ll look back and change this rule so I can do it in a real game. And hopefully one day in the Super Bowl.”
The NFL rarely goes back on excessive celebration rules, so it seems unlikely that Graham will get his wish. But it would make more sense for the league to modify the rule so that players can dunk as long as they don’t touch the goal post: The point of the rule was to prevent games from being delayed by a goal post knocked off kilter, so as long as a player doesn’t touch the goal post when he dunks, it shouldn’t be against the rules.
The game, after all, should be fun. And for Graham, it’s fun to pay tribute to his basketball background when he scores a touchdown. At the Pro Bowl, he could do that again.