DeAndre Hopkins Explains His 'Remember The Titans' Celebration Wasn't A Shot At His Former Team

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DeAndre Hopkins hauled in his first touchdown catch as a Kansas City Chief during his new team's overtime win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night. After scoring what was the Chiefs' first touchdown of the game, Hopkins jumped up and began doing the well-known dance from the movie ‘Remember The Titans’ before a number of his teammates joined in on the fun.

Given the fact that Hopkins was a Tennessee Titan just two weeks ago before being dealt out of Nashville to Kansas City, most assumed that the wide receiver was taking a dig at his former team with the celebration. There is also the fact that Hopkins said "I haven't played meaningful football in a couple of years" after being traded from Tennessee, which was a factual statement, but also eye-opening to many.

According to the five-time Pro Bowler, he wasn't throwing any shade at all. 

Hopkins shared a video of his celebration, coupled with the scene from the movie, explaining that him pulling out the dance was actually a tip of the cap to the Titans and the team's general manager, Ran Carthon. 

There is a joke to be made that Hopkins is such a fan of Carthon because he decided to trade him from the Titans - arguably the worst team in the NFL - to the Super Bowl-favorite Kansas City Chiefs, but we won't make that joke here.

Hopkins appeared in 23 games for the Titans during his two seasons in Nashville and hauled in 80 catches and eight touchdowns. 

Kansas City's win over Tampa Bay on Monday served as a coming-out party for Hopkins as he caught eight passes on nine targets for 86 yards and two scores.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.