Choreographed end zone dances and taunting are inappropriate because the former are premeditated and the latter are unsportsmanlike. Organic celebratory acts, however, are a natural part of what is, after all, a game of emotion. I jumped up and pumped my fist in the air when Tra Battle reached the end zone; why shouldn't he be allowed to get airborne at the same moment? He earned it.

Whether a celebration is excessive is, by definition, situational. (This is why I think the penalty against Vanderbilt at the end of regulation against Florida last year was absurd. If you're a Vanderbilt player and you've just scored the touchdown that is about to give your team its first win over the Gators in Gainesville not only in your lifetime, but in your parents' lifetimes and maybe even in your grandparents' lifetimes, there's very little you can do short of throat-slashing or break-dancing that could be called "excessive" under the circumstances.)

When you've just picked off a pass to score the touchdown that signals that the rout is on in a game your unranked team wasn't supposed to win against a top-five team in a rivalry game on the road, diving into the end zone may be showboating, but it's an understandable expression of joy rather than an effort to rub the opponent's nose in it. (If Georgia was the sort of team that rubbed it in, Mark Richt would have gone for the touchdown at the end instead of taking a knee even though he couldn't run out the clock completely.)

That said, Elmo is right . . . if you know the refs are going to call it, you have to know better than to do it. Whether the refs ought to call it is something to be addressed in the offseason, but, when you know the rules, it's foolish to break them when you know your team is going to be penalized. Get the W, then go crazy.

I'm still not getting your Bud Light, though, am I?

C-Dub, you and I fall on opposite sides of the Notre Dame divide and, due to the unique position the Fighting Irish occupy in the sport, I don't believe any college football fan truly can be neutral where the squad from South Bend is concerned. You either have to love the Golden Domers or hate them, in a way you aren't really required to love or hate, say, L.S.U. or Oklahoma or U.C.L.A.

That having been said, as much as I dislike the fact that the news media have a knee-jerk predisposition in favor of the Irish, the truth is that Notre Dame is a fine university with an extraordinary college football tradition and Charlie Weis is a good guy doing a good job of coaching an outstanding team. I hate Notre Dame conceptually, but I don't dislike any particular person affiliated with Notre Dame individually.

On the other hand, I hate Auburn. I hate their coaches, I hate their college (sic.), I hate their nicknames, I hate their history, I hate their fans, I hate their band . . . I hate everything about them. I hate Notre Dame in the abstract, but my hatred of Auburn is specific, perennial, diurnal, and eternal. If Auburn played Notre Dame, I would root for Notre Dame.

In the spirit of goodwill and universal brotherhood that accompanies a Georgia win over Auburn, CW, I will do my best to show Notre Dame the love and friendship to which all institutions, ideas, and living things are entitled purely by virtue of the fact that they are not Auburn.

What would be a nice compromise? When linking and/or referring to other weblogs, should I provide a short precis or brief excerpt from the posting being quoted, so that the reader can get the gist of it even if he has not read it in its entirety?

Much like William Faulkner in his novels or Kevin Smith in his movies, I'd like to be able to reward those who delve into what I am writing in depth without punishing or excluding those whose time is more limited than they would like. Is that a workable solution?

I hope all is well with you and yours, as well.

Thanks for the kind comments. You'd better believe that Reese Witherspoon will remain the official Dawg Sports game day open comment thread good luck gal as long as the 'Dawgs keep winning!

I was pulling for South Carolina in the Swamp yesterday. Y'all almost pulled that one out and, if the 'Cocks had beaten the Gators, you'd better believe FireUrbanMeyer.com would be up and running right now!