The Dab Dance has become the latest sensation, where it comes to sports’ celebration. Sportsmen and sportswomen across the spectrum seem to be Dab dancing to celebrate euphoric moments for them.
Recently, we saw Victoria Azarenka dab dancing after fourth round win at the 2016 Australian Open. Jesse Lingard of Manchester United's brought the 'dab' dance phenomenon to the British public consciousness when he scored in his team’s 3-3 draw with Newcastle.
We have seen many other sports stars in recent months celebrating with this new craze. So, where and when did it begin and how has it become so popular globally? Let us find out.
How did the Dab dance craze begin?
The dab dance first originated in the United States, where it first emerged in their professional sports circles in the autumn, having originated on the hip hop music scene.
This dance owes it origins to rap group Migos, who started performing it in Atlanta last summer. The dance is very simple one to do; you lean in to your elbow like you are sneezing. That’s all there is to it, literally. All of us have dabbed before.
In the sporting circles, Cam Newton, starting quarterback of this NFL side, the Carolina Panthers has been at the forefront of spreading the Dab revolution.
The “dab” dance seemed to have caught fire during the NFL during Week 10, but no one was more responsible than Cam Newton, the Caroline Panthers starting quarterback for spreading the Dab revolution.
Newton danced after a late touchdown against the Titans, and danced for eight seconds. When two of the Titans players confronted him about the celebration, he continued to dance in their faces, even as he backed away.
Let us have a look at the video of this spicy celebration by Cam Newton:
Other nations and Sports catch the Dab fever
After initially gaining popularity in the NFL and US sports circles, the celebration spread to Europe and other sports.
In football, Jesse Lingard and Paul Pogba were the first ones to catch up to the dab celebration dance. Pogba went a step further than celebrating with the Dab on the field, and posted online about the Dab, so that it could gain more popularity.
In the NBA, LeBron James was seen dabbing on court during one of his pre-game warm-ups. Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell, celebrated with a double dab on October 12, 2015.
In tennis circles, Victoria Azarenka was the first one to do a dab dance. She did the dab at the Brisbane International, after pummeling Elina Vesnina in the first round.
Innovative celebration gimmicks like the Dab dance and their importance in sports
We have seen some innovative celebration gimmicks emerging in the last few years like the Gangnam dance, Dab dance, etc, which have gained widespread popularity. These have broken through the barriers of different cultures and sports, and have become universally loved.
That is something which can only be considered as good. After all, sports itself is a celebration of the human spirit and energy. Sports are meant to unite people and bring them together.
So, these trends only bring people across the globe together, though innovative ways of celebrating victories and positive moments in sports. We hope such new trends keep on coming and uniting people in a common spirit of celebration of sports and life.
Dab dancing celebration in football
The dab dance has become a prominent goal celebration in football . However, Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba has taken things to a new level all together by incorporating it into his haircut. He recently played for the Serie A champions Juventus, with the word 'dab' emblazoned into the side of his head.
Liverpool’s Jordon Ibe and Nathaniel Clyne have also joined in with Dab dance trend. Everton’s star man, Romelu Lukaku also joined in with the dab craze later on.
