Sportsmanship is an important part of athletic competition, as it represents the mutual respect participants have for one another. Sometimes, though, there is a complete absence of any such respect. There may be bad blood over a contract like Deion Sanders and the Falcons, an age-old rivalry like Florida and Georgia football, or a player like Terrell Owens who simply loves to make a scene. No matter the origin all sports tend to be overrun with people with a complete lack of regard for how their actions look.
Thanks to ESPN and the Internet, these showboats have no shortage of ways in which to get their names discussed ad nauseam. We dissect their every decision, and in doing so validate their outrageous behavior. It also helps, though, that a lot of these taunts are also pretty awesome. They express the kind of confidence that elite athletes simply must have, and show their opponents that they are unafraid. Because of that, we’re here to celebrate the 50 Cockiest Taunts in Sports History.