NCAA's Handshake Move Rattles Gundy
Tuesday, September 1, 2009 at 8:09AM By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season
STILLWATER, Okla. -- There's going to be some feel-good college football this weekend, particularly in Columbus when Ohio State fans are expected to stand and applaud when visiting Navy takes the field before it gets slaughtered by the Buckeyes.
YOUR THOUGHTS: Should teams shake hands before the game?
And in other games that don't have BCS implications, student-athletes will shake hands with their opponents before going to battle.
The NCAA has encouraged its schools to ask their players to meet their opponents at midfield for pregame handshakes this weekend. But some teams are thinking about things far more important than the practice of good sportsmanship.
Heck, here in Stillwater, Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy has a national championship to chase this year, beginning with a huge tilt at home Saturday against national power Georgia.
Monday was my first face-to-face exposure with the man whose "I'm-a-man-I'm-40" meltdown was a YouTube sensation in 2007, and he told a room full of reporters familiar with the program that he didn't want to get riled up about the handshake sitch. Gundy light-heartedly asked a reporter not to inquire about the NCAA's suggestion, but the reporter of course pressed anyway.
"You have 110 or 115 (Oklahoma State players) that could potentially be in uniform and (Georgia's) bringing approximately 70," Gundy reasoned. "It just takes one guy to pop off, and I don't know that we could get it broken up before the game. That's one thing that concerns us."
Should a pregame donnybrook ensue, you can bet you'll see pictures of it right here on One Great Season.
"I have a lot of respect for (Georgia) Coach (Mark) Richt and their team and I'm sure he probably does for us, but how do you control something like that?"
Though the game is just a few days away, Gundy said he's still uncertain what to do.
"We haven't made that decision," he said. "It's a difficult decision."
Georgia, Mark Richt, Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
Reader Comments (3)
Shall we also offer tea and scones and maybe after tackles we shall extend one's hand to help our fellow competitors up off their arse and of course we shall also encourage our home fans to shout just as loud whilst our offense is on the field to help out their defense.
Idiots
Terrelle's hands are so large he can shake the opposing team in one fell swoop.
Screw tea and scones; Lloyd Christmas would favor tea and strumpets.