About halfway through the first half of Georgetown’s game against Marquette on Sunday, junior Darius Johnson-Odom made a three-point jumper to give his team an eight-point lead over the Hoyas. Caught up in the moment, Odom raised his left hand and put three fingers in the air, celebrating his score.

But apparently that’s an inappropriate gesture. Apparently it’s offensive to the opposing team. Apparently it’s a technical foul.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not complaining about the result of the foul. It gave Georgetown two extra free throws. But let’s try to be impartial: Should those free throws have been awarded in the first place?

The honest answer? No. Let the kids have fun. Let them celebrate. Let them show their emotions out on the court. Emotions make the game more fun, more exciting and more entertaining.

Granted, there is a point at which players cross the line. You obviously can’t run over to the opposing bench or stand up on the scorer’s table. But lifting up three fingers? Give me a break.

It seems to me that the rules of sportsmanship have become unreasonably strict. Athletes are constantly penalized for excessive celebrations, and a few highlights come to mind from the past year.

In December’s New Era Pinstripe Bowl between Kansas State and Syracuse, Kansas State’s wide receiver Adrian Hilburn was penalized for quickly saluting the crowd after catching a touchdown pass with one minute left in the game. That penalty cost K-State the game.

In a high school football game last fall, running back Ronnie Hastie was docked for kneeling in the end zone and pointing to God. In the NBA, players regularly earn technical fouls for hanging on the rim for too long. And, of course, the Dallas Cowboys were penalized for chest-bumping and somersaulting after scoring a rare offensive touchdown against the Titans in October. Although the Cowboys probably would have found another stupefying way to lose, the penalty gave the Titans good field position, which led to their game-winning score.

All of you refs, umpires and officials out there need to wake up to reality. This is not Little League. We’re not a group of third graders playing kickball at recess. Sometimes I wonder if I’m watching a college basketball game or a Justin Bieber concert. Austin Freeman is not going to start crying if Odom does a little celebration. If anything, it’ll motivate him to play even harder.

Sports are supposed to be entertaining, and celebrations are the cherries on top of each game. Do you need them to have an exciting, sweet game? No, but no sundae looks perfect without a little flare. Celebrations get fans riled up. Some make us laugh and some make us angry. Didn’t you just love it when Chad Ochocinco performed CPR on a football, or when Terrell Owens stood in the middle of the Cowboys’ star?

When refs call technical fouls or penalties, they change the flow of the game. It’s happened to Kansas State, the Dallas Cowboys and many other teams. When terrible calls start changing the outcome of these contests, then you know the refs have gone too far.

Bottom line: refs are annoying. Stop blowing your whistles and let the boys play. After all, athletes are paid to entertain, and cracking down on celebrations is like the MPD cracking down on noise violators. It takes all the fun out of the show.

Nick Fedyk is a freshman in the School of Foreign Service. Double NickTwist appears in every other Tuesday edition of Hoya Sports.