Quote:
Originally Posted by Snaqwells
Seriously, the problem is not the handshake. The problem is that one particular state in the US has determined, in their infinite wisdom, that this meaningless go-through-the-motions postgame ritual can be made even more warm and fuzzy by having the game officials "preside" over the "ceremony." The kicker is that they get to do it with diminished authority.
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Snaq, I hope that you understand that what's happened in MA is just garden-variety administrative mission creep. A bunch of bureaucrats acquire some power and forever after must justify their own existence. They do that according to the old idealists' motto,
esse est percipi, "to be is to be perceived."
How do administrators get noticed? They change things, even things that don't especially need changing (you can't keep changing the same things, right?). Also good candidates for this kind of change are things that haven't been changed in years, and things that don't especially matter (like handshakes after games).
Sometimes, bureaucrats screw up, and they change something in a way that is inconsistent with something that matters or some higher bureaucrats' changes (like NFHS rules and mechanics). Typically, the lower bureaucrats will dig in at this point, since otherwise they lose face and appear incompetent.
And that's my happy holidays account of the post-game handshake situation in Mass. Happy holidays everyone!
