So far, Super Bowl XLIX is all about balls.
While the New England Patriots' deflated footballs have dominated pregame conversation in the week following the American Football Conference and National Football Conference championship games, we now have a story involving balls of a different sort.
Seattle Seahawks star Marshawn Lynch was fined $20,000 for grabbing his own following a touchdown run in the NFC championship game against the Green Bay Packers.
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ESPN's Adam Schefter first reported the news on Thursday morning. Here's Lynch's post-touchdown celebration in question:
Lynch is a superstar running back who went for 157 yards and that touchdown on 25 carries to power Seattle's comeback win over Green Bay, and give them a shot at winning their second straight championship in Super Bowl XLIX on Feb. 1.
He's also the NFL's foremost crotch-grabber.
Lynch concluded an epic 79-yard run against the Arizona Cardinals on Dec. 21 by diving backward into the end zone, and simultaneously executing a flawless nads-clutch. Check it out:
Then, in the playoffs on Jan. 10, Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor returned an interception 90 yards for a touchdown to seal a win over the Carolina Panthers. Watching from the sideline, Lynch celebrated by -- well, check him out in the background of this screenshot:
@Softykjr caught this on the replay pic.twitter.com/A3Z1xnYrVX— Mark Schnurle (@markschnurle) January 11, 2015
One can only imagine what Lynch has in store should Seattle pull off the win on Feb. 1.