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Originally Posted by OverAndBack
You can't hardly go wrong as an official, I guess, if you do what the rulebook and your supervisors tell/want you to do. It does seem harsh, but if the rule is clear, the rule is clear. Unlucky. I'm going to guess that guy will never do that again.
All that said, and this is just Devil's Advocate here...do we think that what the quarterback did was intended to be unsportsmanlike? I know what the rule says. There's no argument about what the rule says. I'm asking could one see that what the intent of the rule was, its raison d'etre, was not necessarily to punish spontaneous joyous celebrations?
Yes, the ball went high. No question. Did anyone really get shown up?
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I have seen many times over the years with the NCAA (mostly as a fan and not an actual official). The NCAA gets a bug up their behind about specific acts and they want them penalized. A good example of this was the "Q" sign that many players of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity would give after touchdowns. Or the act of removing the helmet. There was even a time that kneeling and praying was outlawed, and then Jerry Farwell who was over Liberty University at the time, got the NCAA to back off of that specific restriction. And I could go on and on about other things the NCAA wanted players to stop doing and you do not see those acts anymore. And unlike the NF, the NCAA shows tape to back up their position and give bulletins to further express their position on these acts. It has nothing to do with showing up anyone. It has everything to do with they want these acts to stop and the NCAA has put their foot down. Does it mean it is fair or makes sense? It may be a terrible rule, but that is the rule and I can never fault officials for doing exactly what they are instructed. I can bet you there were more than one example of this action and this play fit the action. The NCAA has done the very same thing in basketball and even baseball as to what they want to eliminate. I can never fault an official for doing exactly that is on the tape. I just hate how we want to put the lighting back in the bottle.
Peace