Ever since Justin Jefferson got drafted in 2020, the Griddy has completely taken the NFL by storm. Now, the celebration has made its way across the pond, to one of the biggest football clubs in the world.
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It’s not often in the NFL that we see a rookie have the type of influence that Justin Jefferson did last season. After riding the bench the first couple of games, the former LSU national champion got into a groove and eventually earned the record for the most receiving yards by a rookie in the Super Bowl era.
During his stellar freshman season with the Minnesota Vikings, Jefferson also found himself in the endzone frequently, which meant one thing: The Griddy. He brought his signature celebration from college to the pros, and almost immediately, the league followed.
Something about the tapping of the heels and throwing up the “B’s” just caught everyone’s attention, and soon enough, players from every team were doing their best imitations. While Jefferson popularized it, it was in part thanks to Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase that the dance became so famous.
It was Chase’s friend, Allen Davis, who invented the dance and showed it to him in the first place. And once Chase introduced it to his fellow wideout at LSU, Justin Jefferson, they never looked back.
The Bengals rookie continued hitting the Griddy this season in the NFL, on his way to breaking Jefferson’s record. It looks like the dance might be a good luck charm for young athletes, and if it is indeed, Manchester United fans can start getting excited about Anthony Elanga.
Manchester United winger Anthony Elanga draws inspiration from Justin Jefferson
During Manchester United’s 3-1 win over Brentford FC in the Premier League last night, 19 year old winger Anthony Elanga had his moment of stardom. The Swedish international, who has been in MUFC’s youth system since he was 12, scored a beautiful goal to break the deadlock.
To celebrate his second league goal in just six appearances, Elanga chose to do the Griddy. And after a few seasons of watching Vikings QB Kirk Cousins painfully attempt the dance, most viewers could agree that Elanga executed it relatively well.
While Americans and Europeans can’t agree on much (like what to call the sport Elanga plays), there is something so poetic about watching a Swedish footballer playing for England’s biggest club doing the NFL’s most well-known celebration on a cold night in Brentford.
Fans of both types of football took to social media after Elanga’s goal, tagging Justin Jefferson on countless posts in the hopes that he might eventually take notice of the incredible global reach the Griddy has earned.
