Justin Jefferson debuted The Griddy after mom roasted his ‘boring’ TD dances

Justin Jefferson is not only one of the greatest wide receivers in the NFL at the moment, but he also happens to have one of the most iconic touchdown dances in the entire league. 

I’m, of course, referring to The Griddy which has become Jefferson’s go-to dance to celebrate his many trips to the end zone. What started as a simple touchdown dance has evolved into one of the top celebrations in the game and Jefferson continues to find new ways to spice up the routine and add a little extra flair to his celebrations. 

Perhaps it’s for that reason that it’s so shocking to learn the origin of the iconic celebration actually stems from Jefferson’s mom poking fun at her son’s celebrations for being downright boring! 

The Griddy was born after Justin Jefferson’s mom roasted his TD dances

While Justin Jefferson might have one of the most iconic and well-known touchdown dances in the NFL at the moment, it turns out we have his mom to thank for The Griddy. 

“It was boring,” Jefferson’s mom Elaine recalled of his touchdown dance in the second episode of Receiver. “I’m like, ‘Dude, y’all have to do something to make it exciting.” 

Jefferson took his mom’s criticism to heart and decided to try something new and found inspiration down in the bayou in the form of a dance called The Griddy. 

“Back in college, my mom was like, ‘You should do something for your touchdown celebration.’ So I’m like, ‘Okay, got this new dance called The Griddy.’ This is from New Orleans, not some normal dance people do. I’m like, ‘Okay, I’mma try to do that. See if that works,’” Jefferson recalled. 

During a game between Jefferson’s college team, LSU, and Texas, Jefferson decided to finally take his new touchdown dance out for a spin and, well, let’s just say it was quite a hit.

“I went to LSU and the Texas game is what started everything. I started hitting The Griddy and the ref didn’t say anything to me. So I’m like, ‘Okay, cool.’ I can get away with this. And then every single game from there on, every time I scored, I hit The Griddy. When I got into the league, like my third game, and when I scored my first touchdown going into the end zone, I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, this is it. I gotta do something to make it crazy.’ So I started hitting The Griddy going into the end zone. I was hitting it for a long time. I was hitting it for a long time. All of my teammates came up and that was the start of it, how it became worldwide.” 

Since its debut, The Griddy has indeed become one of the most iconic dances in the NFL with many players putting their spin on the dance, and even Jefferson has found ways to keep the dance fresh with new spins. 

It just goes to show, mother really does know best!