Thoughts of the Day (9/24/09)

The Handshake. When kids played little league or pop Warner or some kind of organized sport, all of the adults and coaches would tell them to shake hands with the opposition after all of the games that they were involved in to show good sportsmanship. "Go shake hands with them. It doesn't matter that they won 17-0, you have to show sportsmanship", they would all say. The kids would line up, with their heads down and slap hands with the other team chanting a low mutter of "good game, good game, good game...". None of them really meant it, they just did it because they were told to and because they were taught that good sportsmanship is part of playing competitive sports. Where and when did this end? Now, only coaches come across the field/court/stadium and shake hands, telling the spectators that they are representing sportsmanship for the sore losers/winners in this competition. The handshake shows dignity and is humbling for all when one side says to the other, "good game". If the teams had kept up the tradition of shaking hands, then the losers get the opportunity to meet with the winners and can take from them the idea that...."hey, no worries, you fought well and you'll get it next time"; the winners on the other hand get a chance to be the better humans and show the losers that it was just a game. Some collegiate sports still continue to shake hands, the NHL has kept it going, but mostly, as the level of sports climb the ladder from youth to the pros it has begun to trickle off and disappear. What makes matters worse, is that some of the coaches are so sore from losing or winning that they won't even look the other coach in the eye or won't even make it across the field to reach out and touch someone. One perfect example is the arrogant coach for the New England Patriots, Bill Bellichick. When Bill wins the Super Bowl he walks through his shake with a stone cold demeanor. When he wins a regular season game sometimes he stops by and gives a shake, sometimes he leaves them hanging. But, when Bill loses, especially to coaches he feels are inferior to him, you might not even find him on the field. Everyone knows how dominant the Patriots have been under Bill and that he is a very good coach and everyone knows that he knows all of that as well, but please show some humility, there are kids watching. Professionals need to realize that they set examples for the younger ones coming up behind them and that if they just made an effort to put that hand out there and grab a hold of that peace offering, then the idea of sportsmanship would be reinforced.
What is sportsmanlike conduct? It isn't punching the opposing player after a loss when he isn't looking like Oregon's Lagarrette Blount. It also is not blowing off a handshake from the opposing teams rookie QB after a loss like Bellichick did to the NY Jets' Mark Sanchez. It is however, sportsmanlike when after a loss, teams huddle together and pray at the middle of the court. Although it is only a handshake, it is a symbol peace and an showing of good faith that after all the play is over, at the end of the day, it was just a game.