Merry Christmas Post Of The Year: All About Jerome’s Flip

If you haven’t seen Jerome Simpson’s insanely athletic front flip TD over a 6’2″ defender yet, then shame on you, Bengals fan.

Here it is, if you haven’t seen it, or if you want to watch it again.

Youtube: Jerome Simpson Front Flip Touchdown

And in .gif form:

I estimate I’ve probably seen about 50+ replays at this point, and it still makes me smile. It’s really blowing up on the internet, becoming a big-time viral video. It’s already been shared tens of thousands of times on facebook, it has half of a million views on YouTube, it made the front page of Reddit.com, and now it’s in talks of NFL play of the year. Naturally, I’m biased, but I can’t think of a more impressive touchdown made in the last 10 years. A flip like that has never been done before, in college or NFL.

Here are some reactions from outside Bengals nation:

“one of the prettiest touchdowns you’ll ever see.” – NFL.com

“arguably the best touchdown of the season” – The Huffington Post

“Bengals WR Jerome Simpson with the touchdown of the season. Wow!” – Adam Schefter, ESPN’s NFL Insider, on Twitter

“Nothing to do with the game I’m watching, but the Jerome Simpson touchdown is one of the greatest plays I’ve ever seen.” – James Walker, ESPN’s AFC East blogger and former AFC North blogger

“Simpson’s gymnastics work was utterly amazing … Simpson scored on a leap that would net him a gold in about six Olympic events, jumping 50 feet* in the air and 100 yards* horizontally before landing on his feet in the end zone … *All numbers approximate.” – CBSSports.com

“the most impressive touchdown dénouement we’ve seen in a very long time.” – Yahoo Sports NFL blog. (I don’t know what that word means, but it sounds great. And I looked it up…)

"de·noue·ment   [dey-noo-mahn] noun1. the final resolution of the intricacies of a plot, as of a drama or novel.2. the place in the plot at which this occurs.3. the outcome or resolution of a doubtful series of occurrences."

“I’ve never seen anything more athletic in my entire life” – Tom Jackson, ESPN’s NFL Blitz commentator and 4 time All-Pro Linebacker

“touchdown of the year … you felt like he deserved more than the six points” – ESPN’s AFC North blogger Jamison Hensley

+JEROME’S INSPIRATION?

The flip is one of the most iconic things I’ve even seen. Oddly enough, it’s almost identical to a scene from from the 1997 movie Starship Troopers , where a player perfectly somersaults over a defender for a touchdown. It makes it even better that the offensive team is called the “Tigers”, clearly inspired by the Bengals.

+REACTIONS FROM TEAMMATES:

“It was unbelievable,” said Adam Jones.  “I mean head first?  I was like, ‘There’s no way he’s going to try that.’”

“It might be one of the most athletic plays I’ve ever seen in my life man,” said Jeromy Miles.  “I didn’t think he was going to land on his feet, but when he did, it just summed up the day for us – spectacular plays, spectacular moments.”

“I give him a 10 out of 10,” said Andre Smith.  “I liked the landing – that was pretty neat.”

“He’s not normal,” said left tackle Andrew Whitworth. “The guy’s got freakish talent and ability. He gets to show it from time to time. When he locks on and puts his head down, he’s going to be something special. I thought he might vertically jump over the guy and land. The flip was a nice added touch.”

“It was crazy. I couldn’t do that,” said A.J. Green,“I told him it was like in a movie.”

+THE BEST PART? SIMPSON’S ATTITUDE:

When asked if Simpson was excited to go home and see himself on the highlights, Simpson replied, “The best thing I’m going to go see is ‘Bengals won.’ You know, it’s not all about me. The Bengals won, and I did my part to help us win … I was glad I got to the end zone to help us win.”

Talking like that after making as big a play as he did, Simpson won over a lot of fans today.

So, Merry Christmas, Stripe Hype Readers! Enjoy the holidays, and be happy that the Bengals control their own destiny to the playoffs!