Empire Leap. I'm OK with it. What does it matter? It does not reflect badly on Arceneaux. IMOVANCOUVER - The player celebration, known as the 'Lambeau Leap", was popularized in Green Bay, where touchdowns are plentiful. In Detroit, they call it the "Lions Leap", where touchdowns are few. In B.C., where ineptitude transference is more on the Motown model, Manny Arceneaux's Empire Leap is a statement that the Lions offence is evolving toward adequacy.
Purists? Ain't nothing pure about the Lions' play this year. Manny scaled that wall like the gladiator in Spartacus going after Crassus.Arceneaux, a second-year player who had yet to score a touchdown this season, did his communal thing with Lions fans Friday night against Calgary after he scored on a 58-yard pass from Casey Printers with the game well out of reach late in the fourth quarter.
Arceneaux's free-spirited leap into a knot of Lions fans, however, provided ammunition for some old-school purists, who argue that the celebration of a personal accomplishment, in the context of another embarrassing team loss, is evidence of a character flaw.
For once this year, I agree with Buono's judgment.Lions head coach Wally Buono argues differently.
"For him, that was a big play. It was a huge play and he had a huge game [six catches for 154 yards],'" Buono says. "Am I going to be a jerk and say he shouldn't do that? How about this: I'd like to have a few more guys on offence show that kind of pizazz."
I don't see it as self-aggrandizement. More like for Mom, and for the team. It's cool.With the openness and innocence of an adolescent, Arceneaux explained that the Empire Leap was a personal tribute his mom, Chandra, who had been waiting to see it happen all season.
"My mom [ who lives in Alexandria, La.] can't get the games on television, but she's able to catch them on the computer," Arceneaux explained. "I told her in Week One, 'Mom, if I score for you, I'm going to hop up there with the fans.' Regardless of the score, I was going to do that for my mother. I play for the team, the guys on the field and the people back home. You know what, when I had the chance, I said to myself, 'I gotta do it.' Believe it or not, I also wanted to do it for the fans, because their support means a lot to us."
Wouldn't it be weird if just that little loosening up of the offence turned things around? Arceneaux and Geroy scoring late."If we score a touchdown that late in the game -- and we win -- does that make it a garbage win?" he asks. "There was still time on the clock, and we play until it says 00:00. Regardless of when it comes, that's still a sign of improvement: 'Hey, this offence can put points on the board.We are betting better.' And that's what we need right now. Once the offence, defence and special teams all get on the same page, we'll be alright."
OK. OK. Was in dreamland there for a minute.
But Manny's Empire Leap is OK with me.
