Jets Endzone Celebration Wins OBIE Award For 'Best Choreography In A Tragedy'
NEW YORK CITY—Jets fans finally have a reason to celebrate.
The National Football League franchise, known less as a gridiron powerhouse and more as a late-night show punchline, has pulled off a most unlikely upset. Last night's OBIE Award presentations set the theatrical world on its ear when the award for Best Choreography in a Tragedy was presented to team owner Woody Johnson.
Presenter and Broadway legend Tommy Tune stood in awe as Johnson, the Jets offensive line, and team choreographer June McCain approached the stage amidst a smattering of polite applause. After gleefully snatching the crystal obelisk trophy from Tune the franchise owner addressed a stunned crowd.
"Never in a million years would I have guessed I'd see an award like this. This is what it's all about", a teary-eyed Johnson proclaimed. "I want the fans to know that this is just the beginning. This gives us something to build on."
The OBIEs are Off-Broadway's equivalent of the Tony Awards, which recognizes excellence in the season's Broadway theater productions. "Off-Broadway" doesn't usually extend to the meadows of New Jersey, but the team simply could not be ignored as they are often considered the Off-Off-Broadway version of an NFL team.
The Jets were extreme underdogs in the OBIE race, with the strongest competition coming from Apocalypse Now: The Musical and the talented cast of little people in Michael Flatley's Lord of the Rings.
The winning performance came in the Week 3 game against the Cincinnati Bengals. With the Jets offense being held to three first-half field goals, Coach McCain saw no evidence that the second half would be any better. So, when the team kicked its final field goal in the third quarter, McCain called for the O-line Stomp and Slide, with a Busby Berkeley Starburst.
And it worked. While they lost the game 27-12, the Jets celebration was superior to anything that Cincinnati could muster.
"I can't say that I'm happy about it," said Bengals Head Coach Zac Taylor. "It was an ugly win, and we got served. We need to study the films and find our weaknesses."
"I knew that I couldn't wait around for a touchdown that would never come," said McCain after the game. "I hate to celebrate a chip-shot field goal, but we needed something positive to take away from that loss."
Head Coach Robert Saleh credits McCain for the team's award-winning performance: "June's background as a dancer with The Rockettes gives her immediate credibility. The guys have seen the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City. They know what she brings."
"Coach McCain gave us the tools we needed to assemble a showstopper", offered 6'-3", 335lbs. Guard Nate Herbig, whose leg kick in full uniform is well over his head. "I had two left feet before she came here. Now I'm like Billy Madison."
Initially frowned upon by the league, endzone celebrations have recently been embraced as an artistic expression. Hardcore theater fans, however, feel otherwise.
"It's a crock of shit," protested Bruce Bagley, long-time cast member of The Fantasticks, which ran for over forty years in Greenwich Village. "If the New York Jets want to prove something, try getting to the playoffs and leave the dancing to us."
