We've all seen it after a game ends. As the last few seconds of a game tick away, the coach of each team goes over to shake hands with the opposing coach followed by the assistant coaches and players. It is done as a sign of good sportsmanship that no matter who wins or who loses, the coaches can exchange a peaceful gesture with each other for a game well played.
In today's game though, it seems as if this has gone from a 'game well played' attitude to a 'let's get this over with for the quick photo' attitude. Gone are the 'friendly smiles and comments, complementing the other coaches team and how they played and fought', remarks of the past which are now replaced with a race to see which coach can get through shaking hands with the entire other team and get off the court the fastest.
Whether you liked Tubby as a coach here or not, I always respected the way he took time to talk with the other coach after a game regardless of whether he won or lost. The other coach was only the bad guy till the game was over. For most games played today, it seems very few coaches take the time to talk anymore, including Calipari. I realize this is perhaps a silly issue in some ways to bring up but I think it also reflects how sports are moving away from just games to more like life or death situations for some people and many actually have a hatred of opposing teams and players. This sort of attitude seems to have carried over to the coaches as well and created a tense environment in many games.
I think the coaches help set a bit of a tone for the fans and can lead by example. If they show a hint of hatred for other coaches, it will pour gas on the fire of the fans which can help raise their hatred and perhaps play a role in some of the very extreme cases like when some fans keyed cars following the last UK-UL football game. Is this sort of disrespect and hatred in some cases good for sports or should the fans as well as coaches take a step back and in the end remember it's still just a game?
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