Television didn’t air one of the more peculiar events Sunday during the surprising New England Patriots’ football victory against the San Diego Chargers, but newspaper stories described how several Patriots players re-enacted a dance on the midfield emblem of the Chargers, enraging their defeated opponents. Besides showing why an anthropologist should be stationed in the announcers’ booth, the act causes wonder at the world of the National Football League.

According to the news stories, the dance was the creation of the Chargers’ top defensive player, Shawne Merriman, who had named it “Lights Out.” When New England players performed “Lights Out” as they celebrated their 24-21 win for the right to play in the AFC Championship, they were, naturally, demonstrating contempt for the defeated. This angered the top offensive player for the Chargers, LaDainian Tomlinson, who needed to be restrained from trying to … what? Cut in, perhaps.

The lineage of such a ritual is evident and ancient, even if it did not bring about the actual death of the defeated. But for those of us who are at best occasional fans, it did bring confusion.

Football players still have their own dances? How ’70s.

A group of these adults would mark their victory by belittling the opposition?

This behavior would evoke anger rather than pity?

And what about Mr. Merriman? Will painful memories forever ruin “Lights Out” for him?

The mysteries of football are deep. Even when the game is discussed at length in the office, we don’t pretend to understand it.