Football is a serious sport. To the winner go the spoils. To the loser, often a pink slip. It’s a billion-dollar business where every decision and outcome is scrutinized every which way. But football is also a game. One that’s meant to be fun. For one moment in 2015, then-Pittsburgh Steelers coach Joey Porter Sr. and cornerback William Gay’s celebration reminded the world of that.
After a pick-six against the Cincinnati Bengals, Gay and Porter celebrated in hilarious and comical fashion, crawling on their knees to hug each other on the sideline. Remembering that play nearly one decade later, Porter shared what was going through his head.
“He just broke the record,” Porter said on a recent episode of Cam Heyward’s Not Just Football podcast. “He just got the pick. So I’m like, waiting for my turn… I said, shit, he’s taking too long. I’mma start walking towards him. Not knowing it’s going to be that.”
Here’s the moment. Gay celebrated with several teammates, drawing a flag, before his unplanned celebration with Porter drew the ire of announcer Greg Gumbel. To complete the clip, Eagle commented on the “somewhat ridiculous celebration” perfectly paired with the referee announcing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
Gay’s play tied the Steelers’ team record for career pick-sixes, matching the total in Rod Woodson’s Steelers’ career (Woodson holds the NFL record with 12, a feat that may never be topped). Pittsburgh went on to win the game, 33-20.
Porter had an illustrious career that included a Super Bowl, but a photo of that play remains among his most memorable NFL moments.
“I got a big ‘ol thing in my office of that picture,” Porter told the show. “It’s one of my better photos, and I didn’t even play. I know what it was with me and Will Gay. And how big that play was at the time. That’s true having fun with football. We love football. And if you can’t find the enjoyment in that.
“Everyone who hated was on the opposite. The people that was on that team, they loved it. We were fired up for Will. And it was a huge play of the game. Huge play of that game.”
Gay caught wind of the clip and days later, shared his thoughts.
“Peezy is the reason I played with the energy and passion on the field as a player, and now I display it in coaching to pass it on to the next generation,” he wrote in an Instagram caption.
Gay now wears the shoes Porter did in that moment. Gay is in his second year serving as an assistant coach for the Washington Commanders, one piece of the franchise’s turnaround.
That moment showed the joy football brings and why big plays receive big reactions. The NFL is a grind; a hard road many don’t complete. Those who make it that far are worthy of celebration. That play will go down in Steelers’ history as a moment that will make any football fan smile.
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