Ickey Shuffle

The Ickey Shuffle was a touchdown celebration performed by National Football League (NFL) fullback Elbert "Ickey" Woods, who played for the Cincinnati Bengals. After scoring 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. Woods performed this polished official version of the dance for the first time during the 1988 Cincinnati Bengals season, after scoring against the New York Jets on October 10, 1988.[1] 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.[2] The dance was in danger of being prohibited by NFL rules concerning planned celebrations, but after investigation, was not banned.[3]

Since Woods' playing days, the dance has made multiple appearances in mainstream media including a GEICO commercial, in which Woods himself performs the dance.[4][5] In addition, the dance is featured in an episode of the television sitcom How I Met Your Mother.[6] Woods stated that most of the money he has earned as a product of the Ickey Shuffle's popularity, including his earnings from the GEICO commercial, has ultimately gone towards his foundation that is dedicated to raising money for asthma research, the Jovante Woods Foundation.[7] Darrell Waltrip performed the dance while celebrating his 1989 Daytona 500 win in victory lane. The "Ickey Shuffle" has also been adopted as the name for a common speed and agility drill that utilizes a similar kind of lateral rhythmic stepping, somewhat derivative of the famous dance itself.[8][9][10]

Arizona Cardinals Larry Foote does the Ickey Shuffle
  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Brady, Jonann (February 4, 2006). "Will the Ickey Shuffle Rise Again? - ABC News". ESPN Sports. Retrieved April 8, 2009. 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
  3. ^ "N.F.L. Will Allow the Ickey Shuffle". The New York Times. August 9, 1989. Retrieved April 8, 2009.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference himym was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Kahler, Kalyn. "Q&A with Ickey Woods". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  8. ^ "Online Health and Fitness". Workoutaholic.net. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  9. ^ "How To Get Faster - Icky Shuffle Speed Ladder Drill". Online Soccer Academy. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  10. ^ "Speed & Agility Exercises - Ickey Shuffle Agility Ladder Drill". Workoutz.com. Retrieved February 12, 2021.