In the World Cup, where goals are hard to come by, moments of triumph demand to be celebrated.
When Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal scores, he spins in midair and lands with his arms stretched wide, shouting “Siuuu!” — an exaggerated version of the Spanish word “sí,” meaning “yes.”
Kylian Mbappé of France crosses his arms over his chest and tucks his hands beneath his armpits. The Argentine star Lionel Messi points both index fingers to the sky to honor his grandmother, who took him to his first soccer games before she died in 1998, when he was about 10.
Across sports, athletes have turned victorious displays into lasting signatures. Here are some of the celebrations fans remember long after the final whistle.
Chi Chi Rodriguez’s Sword Dance
His passion for golf and his flamboyance on the course transformed him into one of the game’s most popular players. After draining a difficult putt, Rodriguez would sometimes turn his putter into a simulated sword being unleashed on a bull, then wipe imaginary blood from it and place it in an invisible scabbard. “Golf is show business,” he once said. “I love to make people laugh.” Read his obituary.
Dikembe Mutombo’s Finger Wag
The 7-foot-2 center played 18 seasons in the N.B.A. for six teams, retiring with the second-most blocked shots in league history behind Hakeem Olajuwon, another African-born center. Mutombo was known for his trademark finger wag, a provocative pose he used to dissuade shooters from challenging him at the rim. Fans loved the theatricality, though some opponents found it irritating; the N.B.A. eventually discouraged him from doing it directly at players, only to the crowd. Read his obituary.
Rashidi Yekini’s Net Grab
On June 21, 1994, Rashidi Yekini scored Nigeria’s first-ever World Cup goal, against Bulgaria in Dallas. Overcome with emotion, he ran into the goal, grabbed the net with both hands and shook it as he shouted in celebration — a spontaneous burst of joy that became one of soccer’s most enduring images. In 2023, a Google Doodle celebrated what would have been his 60th birthday. Read about his act of celebration here.
Darryl Dawkins’s Backboard Smash
He was one of basketball’s fiercest dunkers and most lovable characters, a backboard-smashing, referee-dissing, fun-loving manchild known to fans as Chocolate Thunder from Planet Lovetron. In 1979, with the Sixers playing in Kansas City against the Kings, Dawkins rose over the Kings’ power forward, Bill Robinzine, and his explosive dunk shattered the Plexiglas backboard, raining clear pellets onto the floor and delaying the game by 90 minutes. When Dawkins repeated the feat a few games later, the N.B.A. said he’d be fined if he did it again; the basketball association later made it illegal to hang on the basket after a dunk, a dictum that became known as the Dawkins rule. Read his obituary.
Alex Zanardi’s Victory Doughnuts
After winning car races, the Italian driver would spin his car in tight circles, leaving rings of tire rubber on the track. He first became known for the celebration in the late 1990s, when he won races and back-to-back CART championships in 1997 and 1998. Fans loved the exuberant display, and although racing officials initially frowned on the practice, the doughnuts became one of motorsports’ most recognizable championship rituals. Read his obituary.
Florence Griffith Joyner’s Trackside Runway
Joyner was known as much for her searing speed as she was for her flamboyant fashion sense. She ran in one-legged spandex bodysuits with flowing hair and wore 6-inch-long, elaborately decorated fingernails. She embraced the attention, posing for cameras and celebrating her victories with the confidence of a performer who understood that the spectacle was part of the show. Read her obituary.
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