Welcome back to the Huddle, where today we will be discussing a few things I have noticed at the NCAA tournament.
Specifically, in the handshake line there have been a few instances of players still mixing it up when the game is already over.
“Hey, what are we doing? The game is over.” I am going to say that again and then I’ll move on, but the game is over.
I don’t know when we decided that it’s ok to disgrace the meaning of the handshake line, but holy jumping is it getting out of hand. The handshake line in sports is something that adds beauty to the sport because it shows no matter how intense the game gets, the athletes can come together and say good game.
This go around, we have people stopping the line to threaten one another with physical violence and another situation had actual physical violence. If the other team won the game, you have no reason to stop the line to get your threat off to prove you are tough.
It just does not make sense, lost the game then acted tough while shaking hands? Like, the only reason teams lose a game is because of reasons they can control. Most of the time anyway, if the ref makes a bad call, then that’s an outlier but the majority of the time teams could have prevented the loss by doing something different.
If you’re mad after a loss too, also perfectly fine because I get being a competitor is a part of being a great athlete. But when the clock has zeros on it you cannot carry over any animosity.
In this situation, according to reports and expert lip readers, the beef was over everyone’s favorite curse word that starts with a B. Should it have been said? No, not at all, but in the heat of battle and the competitor inside these athletes are in control of their brain, sometimes it is going to slip out.
To me, if it is between the whistles, cursing is fair game – if it is not discriminatory, oppressive or racist, say what you want. Chirping and talking back and forth is a part of the game, but when the buzzer sounds it’s over.
I understand the NCAA tournament is win or go home, and that probably added frustration to the situation. But the game is literally over, what is acting tough and making a side comment during the handshake line going to do?
The winning team is just going to move on, and the losing team goes home. So, like yea, you told them “I will beat you up if you keep running your mouth,” but you won’t have another opportunity to play them again until next season. So, it is kind of pointless unless you get their face and start something off the court, in which case that is assault and then that’s two losses coming on the court and in real life. Then if they are still feeling some type of way after a year after the incident, then maybe they should reevaluate some things.
Anyway, this tournament has been one of my favorites in recent memory with a lot of great story lines and games I just had to get it off my chest that disrespect in the handshake line needs to stop.
