Touchdown

Texas Longhorn quarterback Vince Young (center top of picture) charging ahead for a touchdown vs Colorado in the 2005 Big 12 Conference college football championship game. The vertical yellow bar is part of the goal post.

A touchdown is the primary method of scoring in American and Canadian football, in which the ball carrier causes the football to break the plane of the end zone, or an eligible receiver catches a forward pass in the end zone, thus earning 6 points for his team (in both codes). The scoring team is also awarded the opportunity for an extra point or a two-point conversion.

After scoring a touchdown, football players will generally celebrate by doing some sort of move or dance. These can include a high-five, backflip, spiking the ball, or a dance. Terrell Owens, Chad Johnson, Steve Smith, and Joe Horn (just to name a few) are players known for flamboyant touchdown celebrations. On the other hand, some football greats such as Barry Sanders never celebrated, instead simply handing the ball to the referee.

A touchdown is analogous to a Rugby try, with the major difference being that for a try the football has to be placed on the ground, a requirement abolished decades ago in gridiron football.

The term touchdown is also used in rugby union and rugby league to refer to the physical act of placing the ball down on the ground past the goal line.

Touchdown

See also