Talk:Statue of Liberty play

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The NFL[edit]

When has this play ever been used in the NFL? Some documentation would help make the article complete.

If it has, it must be embarassing to have been the victim of such a basic ploy. Like a professional baseball team falling for the old hidden-ball trick 65.89.68.24 (talk) 16:38, 12 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Discobolus[edit]

I just updated the page to reflect the "Discobolus" episode of the Boise St - Oklahoma Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1, 2007. -Shane —The preceding partially signed comment was added by 64.131.152.204 (talk • contribs).

That's fine if you can cite published references to support this, e.g. from tomorrow's Boise papers. I have no idea if people in Boise are calling the play "Discobolus" or not. But if you add it back, please keep in mind the perspective. I think this game will be considered one of the great games in bowl history, but it's way too early to say that a nickname for the play will stick. Regards,

For reference, here's the disputed content. (I think a different editor wrote the last sentence.)

Because the ball was held behind the back and not in the traditional upright throwing position, the play became known as "The Discobolus." This reference stems from the famous sculpture Discobolus, constructed by the Greek sculptor Myron in 460 B.C, wherein a discus thrower holds his discus in a position similar to Zabransky's handoff. This could be argued as a load right, quarterback option but was more characterstic of the Statue of Liberty play.

PhilipR 08:02, 2 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, that last sentence was by a different editor, and is also untrue. It definitely was not a quarterback option, it was a scripted run. I'll find references for the Discobolus material. -Shane

If you add it back, in addition to content regarding the Discobolus statue please list historical football references regarding the difference between the Statue of Liberty play and what you're trying to label as "the Discobolus play." You'll find that there's no difference in any playbook — it's still the Statue of Liberty play, no matter what the quarterback's posture. It takes a long time and a lot of tradition for a formation or play to be popularly labeled. Surfbum 15:47, 2 January 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It's probably worthwhile to mention that the Looney Toons parody of this play, which gets as much attention as the football play itself, is for a character to dress up as the Statue of Liberty. The players on the other team are forced to stand at attention and salute, while the Statue-dressed character has a stately march down-field. 131.96.13.213 (talk) 16:06, 12 July 2012 (UTC)[reply]