Things got a little weird after Detroit's loss to San Francisco yesterday.
Jim Schwartz, coach of the Lions, and Jim Harbaugh, coach of the 49ers, had what's being described as an "altercation."
The postgame tradition of the coaches shaking hands before leaving the field didn't go too smoothly.
There's no excuse for this sort of behavior from head coaches.
After the Niners rallied for a 25-19 victory over previously unbeaten Detroit, a wild-eyed Harbaugh began an emotional victory dance, untucking his black sweatshirt, attempting a chest bump with offensive tackle Alex Boone, thrusting both fists in the air and whooping while greeting Schwartz near midfield with an aggressive handshake that was followed with a rap on Schwartz's back.
Harbaugh, who barely looked at Schwartz during the brief meeting, began jogging away. An irate Schwartz ran after Harbaugh and bumped into him from the side. Schwartz had to be restrained by a group that included 49ers spokesman Bob Lange and offensive tackle Anthony Davis as several players from both teams began pushing each other near the locker-room tunnel.
...After the skirmish ended and Schwartz, presumably, had cooled, the two coaches saw each other in the tunnel leading to the locker rooms. Did Harbaugh take that moment to make amends?
"No, I didn't apologize," Harbaugh said. "I just told him, 'I shook your hand too hard. That's on me.' "
Harbaugh's words apparently had little effect on Schwartz, who seemed to interpret Harbaugh's back slap as a shove. Schwartz was also put off by a choice word he said Harbaugh used during their greeting.
"I went to congratulate coach Harbaugh and got shoved out of the way," Schwartz said. "I didn't expect an obscenity at that point, so it was a surprise to me at the end of the game."
Very strange.
Show some self-control.
________________
Watch Schwartz and Harbaugh talk about what happened.
2 comments:
On Sundays, primarily, grown men suit up in outlandish costumes and then knock one another senseless while attempting to move an oblong leather sac toward one end of a grass field. It appears to be an allegorical play (sic) about the meaninglessness of war. But what it really is, is an extravagant advertising scheme to sell beer and automobiles.
I really fail to see how it differs, other than in scale, from professional wrestling. The use of controlled (somewhat) violence to gather people around their televisions in order to make them purchase things they may need. If the violence happens to carry over into the time after the last whistle, so much better the entertainment value (sic).
Or are we supposed to believe these are sane people doing something valuable for our society? I think not.
Harbaugh said it best "..I can get better at the postgame handshake and we’ll attempt to do that”.
You get what you pay for, so I think I'll have a beer.
First, the NFL is not like professional wrestling.
Second, when the Acme Packers took the field in 1929, people weren't gathering around TVs.
Third, people enjoy watching sports. Entertainment has value in a society.
I'm not going to get all sociologically analytical.
I just like watching the Packers play, and win. It's a good thing.
Post a Comment