There are two ways to view whether to shake the opponent’s hands after sporting events, you either do or you don’t. Looking back to when the first handshake was ever done was at least 3,000 years ago. Historians believe that the modern handshake is based on a relief from the ninth century BCE, which depicts King Marduk-Zakir-Shumi I of Babylonia shaking hands to forge an alliance with the Assyrian King Shalmaneser III (Deutsch). Generally, a handshake is shown to convey trust, respect, balance, and equality. As one knows, handshakes in daily life can be done when meeting, greeting, parting, offering congratulations, expressing gratitude, and everything else of that sort. Whereas in sports, a handshake is considered good sportsmanship. While there is no originator of who starts shaking hands after sporting events, over the years it has been known to shake hands after games to show good sportsmanship and respect for your opponent.
So, why we should shake hands after games? As a young child learning to play a sport, you are taught that no matter what the outcome is, you should kindly shake or give a fist bump to the other team. This always symbolized teaching kids that at the end of the game that it is just a game and you show respect to the opposing team. Though seemingly common knowledge, it is important to note that the handshake or first bump at the end of a game symbolizes good sportsmanship. This is simply the foundation for becoming a good athlete, which means good sportsmanship is an important value to instill in children. As they get older and their passion for the game grows, respect for their opponents should grow too. The constant contact through the handshake is breaking down barriers no amount of coaching can do. The ritual of the handshake is slowly, incrementally, changing the players behaviors and how they treat and respond to each other. Through the handshake, it teaches children from a young age that respect is something that will be carried with them on and off the field, rink, or court.
Now, why shouldn’t one shake hands after games? One of the main examples is commonly seen in baseball. In baseball, pitchers will intentionally try to hit a batter up to the plate. The reason for this could be because they are good and they don’t want them getting a hit, they are annoyed with the batter up to the plate, they are annoyed with the umpire, or they are just having a bad day. Another example could be seen in soccer is that you slide tackle intentionally trying to hurt someone on the other team. In these cases of intentionally trying to hurt someone then why shake hands? As a matter of fact, in professional baseball, they do not even line up after games to shake the other teams’ hands. According to the Cardinals Pitcher Adam Wainwright, “When you’re doing this professionally, there’s so much on the line. Sometimes there’s bad blood. Sometimes the last thing you want to do right after the game is see the person you had an encounter with.” Cardinals Outfielder Stephen Piscotty agrees with Wainwright on the handshake lines saying, “It’s chippy during the game, then you go through the line and you’ve got raw emotion. You’re pissed. They’re pissed.” People believe that due to the high intensity of the game and all the emotion that goes on, if there were handshakes lines then things could get ugly. “If there were postgame handshakes, you’d see some fights out there,” he goes on to say.
Both sides of the story have their pros and their cons, just like any other story. I encourage you to take a look at both sides, putting yourself in their shoes. If you were a mother or father, how would it make you feel seeing your kid smiling and giving a handshake to the other team? While on the other hand, how would it make you feel if you saw someone trying to intentionally hurt your child over a game? We must keep in mind that it is just a game; though, there are many motives for playing, the number one reason should be to have fun—which is an ongoing battle for all players, coaches, and even parent minds in athletics.
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