DeMario Douglas breaks out 'Zombieland' celebration against the Texans, something that's still going strong years later
- - DeMario Douglas breaks out 'Zombieland' celebration against the Texans, something that's still going strong years later
Yahoo Sports Staff January 19, 2026 at 3:44 AM
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DeMario Douglas broke out the old "Zombieland" celebration after scoring a touchdown in their divisional round playoff game against the Houston Texans on Sunday. (Adam Glanzman/Getty Images) (Adam Glanzman via Getty Images)
Even more than three years after it was reportedly first created, the “Zombieland” celebration is still extremely relevant in the football world.
New England Patriots wide receiver DeMario Douglas hit it after scoring a touchdown early in their divisional round matchup with the Houston Texans on Sunday afternoon. That put the Patriots up 7-0 at Gillette Stadium.
🫢🫱 @popshotta3 @budlight | #ForTheCelly pic.twitter.com/xp6K2P58OR
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) January 18, 2026
That celebration is nothing new, and has been around the sports world for quite some time. It apparently stemmed from former Western Kentucky football players, who first started breaking it out during media day ahead of the 2022 season. Upton Stout, C.J. Jones and Kahlef Hailassie then explained it after a game a few weeks later.
“We were just having fun, just posing. And then boom, me, C.J. and Lef, I forgot who was taking pictures and we were just like [this], and we were like hold up, hold up. Do it again, do it again. That’s when it all really originated,” Stout said, via WBKO.
It didn’t take long for it to take off, either. Former Miami quarterback Cam Ward — who was eventually selected with the No. 1 overall pick and just finished his rookie season with the Tennessee Titans — helped boost it during his dominant run with the Hurricanes, too. Since then, it’s been something that’s been very widespread both across football and throughout the sports world in general.
the birth of zombieland 🫢🫳(August 27, 2022) https://t.co/upqTM6Nl5K pic.twitter.com/PrCjZyrP4M
— WKU Football (@WKUFootball) October 11, 2024
Even now, more than three years after the move was first pulled out, the “Zombieland” is still going strong.
Source: “AOL Sports”
