Footballer Celebrates Last-Minute Equaliser By Downing Fan's Beer

We've all celebrated our team scoring an injury-time equaliser by downing our drink. It's a natural reaction. The brain says "I am happy with this turn of events" and, without knowing it, the arm is raised, the head tilted back, and beer is drunk. Then the brain is quiet; the brain is at peace.

But for a player to celebrate a goal in the same way is rather less common – particularly when they do it on the pitch.

Now it has come to pass. Deep into injury time, Esbjerg fB's Nicki Bille Nielsen equalised from the spot against Danish Superliga rivals Hobro. That levelled the score at 2-2 and ensured Hobro remained bottom of the table – one place below fellow early-season strugglers Esbjerg.

And so an elated Nielsen sprinted to the crowd, grabbed a fan's beer, and downed it in celebration.

Did he plan this? Presumably he knew there was beer in the crowd – the Danes, unlike the Brits, can be trusted with the dual tasks of drinking and watching live football. But could he really have anticipated the whole thing? I think not. I think this to have been a spur-of-the-moment decision. He had scored, he was elated. His brain, racing with the excitement of netting a crcual penalty, just managed to communicate oh-shit-there's-some-beer-better-down-it. And so he did.

And thus the world has a new celebration. Bebeto gave us the negligent baby-swing (probably a bit late now, but you should never swing a baby like that, Bebeto). Peter Crouch did some bad dancing with his poorly conceived limbs. And now, Nicki Bille Nielsen has given us the steal-a-drink and-down-it. We await its inclusion in the next FIFA game.