To follow up on Laura's post about haptics in sports, I would like to add some personal insight about this topic in relation to ice hockey. The "handshake" ranks second in the top 15 best traditions in sports, according to the bleacherreport.com, a pop culture sports website. Although many athletes will congratulate one another after a win, regardless of the type of sport, hockey is slightly different. During the 82 game regular season, this tradition does not take place. It is only after the end of each grueling playoff round, does this unwritten tradition happen. As Bryan Sakakeeny writes,"What's great about this tradition is that fans often label hockey players as barbarians or grizzly men. Yet we have LeBron James storming off the court like a baby a couple of years ago, and numerous NFL coaches refusing to shake hands every season.
Here we have these hulking hockey players having the class series in and series out to shake their opponents hand and show their true appreciation for the sport, and the other teams' efforts" (Sakakenny).
Having been fortunate enough to play a handful of semi pro hockey games in the CHL, I can attest firsthand to the commitment and sincerity of this tradition. These players, although playing at a level lower than the NHL, respect the game just as much as a NHL professional, and treat the handshake with the utmost amount of respect and professionalism. As we have learned in the text, a simple handshake can mean so much more that its physical act, and speak volumes about non verbal communication.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/430099-the-best-traditions-in-all-of-sports
No comments:
Post a Comment