Knowshon Moreno wins Upper Deck's dance celebration contest

Upper Deck had its 2009 NFL Rookie Premiere Photo Shoot at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on May 16. And it appears its touchdown dance contest was the hit of the event.

According to Upperdeckblog.com, new New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez was one of the show stealers.

When I informed USC QB Mark Sanchez the night before about Upper Deck’s TD Dance competition, he just looked at me and said, “I don’t dance. What am I gonna do?” I told him he’d dance on Saturday and that a Michael Jordan signed jersey was at stake. “Hmmm, maybe,” he said.

When Sanchez’s two-man group came around on Saturday, which included New York Jets teammate Shonn Greene (RB, Iowa), he remembered our conversation and seemed genuinely excited. When he finished his interview, where he mentioned former Jets QB Brett Favre has always been one of his idols, he hurried over to the end zone and went right to work. He even incorporated Greene to help him perform an end zone “football birth” for the competition. With Greene lying flat on his back with a towel strewn over his legs, Sanchez served as delivery doctor and - calling out QB-like signals - pulled a football from between Greene’s legs. The crowd went wild, right up until Sachez spiked the newly born baby football!

If it wasn't for helping out his teammate, Sanchez would have received an F for his dunk celebration, which was so very 1980. Of course, maybe he was going for the retro look. The winner? Denver Broncos rookie running back Knowshon Moreno, from Georgia. Moreno's winning prize? A Michael Jordan-signed red Chicago Bulls jersey (with a rumored retail price of $1,699.99). Moreno is wearing his winnings (backwards) at the end of the four-minute video.

Competing were Mark Sanchez, Matt Stafford, Mohamed Massaquoi, Michael Crabtree, Nate Davis, Glen Coffee, Ramses Barden, Knowshon Moreno, Andre Brown, Donald Brown, Aaron Curry, Josh Freeman, Shonn Greene, Percy Harvin, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Tyson Jackson, LeSean McCoy, Stephen McGee, Hakeem Nicks, Brandon Pettigrew, Javon Ringer, Jason Smith and Chris Wells (with help from Brian Robiskie).



In order to compare these rookies with other NFL players, here's a link to ESPN's top 10 celebrations. Looks like a few of the rookies borrowed their dances from the pros.

Also occurring at the same event were interviews (sponsored by Panini Bread):

Patrick Turner's interview with Mark Sanchez.

Interview with Dallas Cowboys quarterback Stephen McGee.

Interview with Cleveland Browns wide receiver Brian Robiskie.

Seattle Seahawks' Aaron Curry interview of St. Louis Rams' Jason Smith.

Interview with Detroit Lions tight end Brandon Pettigrew.