Ickey Shuffle

The Ickey Shuffle was a touchdown celebration done by former National Football League fullback Elbert "Ickey" Woods of the Cincinnati Bengals after he would score 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. 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.^[1] The dance was in danger of being prohibited by NFL rules concerning planned celebrations, but after investigation, was not banned.^[2]

In popular culture

• NASCAR driver Darrell Waltrip famously performed the Ickey Shuffle in victory lane after winning the 1989 Daytona 500.
• Character Overton Jones references the Ickey Shuffle in the 1995 "Living Single" episode "The Handyman Can."
• The Ickey Shuffle is the subject of a bet between Barney and Robin in the 2005 How I Met Your Mother episode, "Return of the Shirt."
• In 2014, Woods performed the dance in a GEICO commercial.
• On October 12, 2014, Jeremy Hill of the Cincinnati Bengals did the celebration after scoring a touchdown against the Carolina Panthers.
• At the 2015 NFL Draft, Woods did the Ickey shuffle prior to announcing the 2nd round draft pick for the Bengals..
• Character Raylan Givens references the Ickey Shuffle in Justified, Season 6, Episode 9 ("Burned").

References

1. Brady, Jonann (2006-02-04). "Will the Ickey Shuffle Rise Again? - ABC News". ESPN Sports. Retrieved 2009-04-08. 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
2. "N.F.L. Will Allow the Ickey Shuffle". The New York Times. 1989-08-09. Retrieved 2009-04-08.