Eight-year-old Elijah Burrell had never scored a touchdown before, he had never got into the end zone for his team, the Lawrenceville Knights. In a recent game, Burrell finally got an opportunity when he picked off a pass in the 4th quarter. He rumbled and bumbled his way into the end zone, celebrated with his teammates like it was the best thing ever.
But there was a problem, a big one actually. The Lawrenceville Knights were up 32-0 in their game. The mercy rule was 33 points. Burrell’s touchdown cost the team (and his parents) $500. No really, there’s a fine for breaking the mercy rule in the Pee Wee League. To top it off, he got his coach suspended for a week.
Most costly touchdown ever? You betcha. Here’s video from WSMV in Georgia.
[protected-iframe id=”86fb3e28d771606237b3ce1dfb8fbf66-60970621-10222937″ info=”https://WSMV.images.worldnow.com/interface/js/WNVideo.js?rnd=306524;hostDomain=www.wsmv.com;playerWidth=630;playerHeight=385;isShowIcon=true;clipId=10770339;flvUri=;partnerclipid=;adTag=Video%2520Player;advertisingZone=;enableAds=true;landingPage=;islandingPageoverride=false;playerType=STANDARD_EMBEDDEDscript;controlsType=fixed” ]
So what did they want him to do exactly? Catch the ball and fall down? Score a touchdown for the other team? God, be worse America. How about an MVP trophy for the kid who threw the pick 6? Maybe we carry that kid off the field like Rudy.
Dammit.