Jeremy Doku has caught the eye since his £55.5 million ($68.2 million) move to Manchester City from Rennes in August.
Settling into life under Pep Guardiola is notoriously tricky but the Belgium international has hit the ground running with three goals and four assists for the treble winners. An explosive winger with a spectacular repertoire of skills, Doku has already begun to dazzle fans with his contribution on the pitch — and with his celebration.
After his first City goal, an equaliser in a 3-1 Premier League win over West Ham, Doku broke into a shuffling jig at the London Stadium.
It was the same story when he crowned a Champions League win at RB Leipzig by the same scoreline. The 21-year-old slotted home a cool finish from Julian Alvarez’s pass and duly “hit The Griddy”.
Fans at the Etihad Stadium then got their first look at Doku’s signature celebration when he opened the scoring as City raced into a 3-0 first-half lead against struggling Bournemouth.
Where does ‘The Griddy’ come from and why does he do it? Well, allow us to explain.
MORE: Who is Man City’s best summer signing?
Jeremy Doku dance: Origin of ‘The Griddy’ celebration
Doku’s celebration when scoring for City is a version of The Griddy, a move made popular in the NFL.
Jesse Lingard is another footballer to have joined in the craze after scoring, having done so when playing for Nottingham Forest last season. Christian Pulisic of Chelsea once did The Griddy after a goal in a Champions League match for Chelsea.
The move itself has its origins in American Football, though – not soccer.
What is The Griddy?
The dance first came to prominence as a sports celebration in the NFL. Created by high-school footballer Allen Davis, nicknamed ‘Griddy’, it went viral when he posted it to TikTok in 2019.
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson is generally credited with bringing The Griddy to the gridiron in 2020. He is credited with developing the move to include “throw[ing] your B’s”.
MORE: Can Man City win Premier League without Rodri?
Stefon Diggs, Ja’Marr Chase, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Adam Thielen and Kirk Cousins were then among those to get in on the act.
Now The Griddy has swept the sports world and beyond it – so much so that the popular video game Fortnite introduced the dance as one of the FPS title’s emotes.
The origins in sporting terms go back to Jefferson’s time at Louisiana State University.
Who started The Griddy dance?
The Griddy was invented by Louisiana’s Allen Davis, a friend of former LSU wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, who wanted to create his own rhythmic dance after he was inspired by the Nae Nae craze during the mid 2010s.
Davis created the dance, a friend of his posted it on Snapchat and the following morning he was inundated by videos of people copying him.
Once Chase found himself at LSU, he introduced the dance to teammate Jefferson and the pair shared it to the rest of the locker room. Jefferson brought the dance to a national stage during his sophomore season in 2019 in a matchup with Texas, when he exploded for 163 yards and three touchdowns: after his first TD, Jefferson broke out The Griddy for the world to see.
The dance consists of a few simple, easy parts: tapping your heels together, throwing up your “Bs” — your “big billionaire” glasses — and swinging your arms back and forth and side to side in rhythm.
Does City owner Sheikh Mansour regularly throw up his Bs? We’d love to know.
How to do The Griddy
For your entertainment, here is a step-by-step breakdown to how to do The Griddy:
- Score a touchdown/goal/whatever your sport dictates
- Tap your heels, alternating between left and right foot forward
- Make an “OK” symbol with your hands (throw your Bs!), and, while in rhythm (this is likely difficult for some of you), bring them up to your eyes like imaginary goggles
- Swing your arms back and forth and across
- Repeat.
Maybe Justin Jefferson can help piece it together for you:
The good thing about The Griddy is that you can freestyle it however you want to. Make your Griddy a deluxe, why don’t you?
If these steps aren’t helpful, then maybe the official founder of the dance can clear things up.
