Shaking the hands of children

[Casey36]

I saw some footage of it this morning on some show. And it did look bit mean, but hey they were obviously excited. Although it was so sad.. did you see the look on those kids faces when they put there hand out and the players sorta jus grabbed the medal and put it on themselves.. aaawww!!

[Mike]

Originally posted by AussieAnge
We can hardly point fingers when our players have done something similar.

Yes we bloody well can!

Some of us deal with the loss by complaining about Roos, some about the whole team, some specific players, some the umpires, but I choose to heap some @@@@ on some of those cocky Eagles!

[Carolyn]

Originally posted by Mike
Yes we bloody well can!

Some of us deal with the loss by complaining about Roos, some about the whole team, some specific players, some the umpires, but I choose to heap some @@@@ on some of those cocky Eagles!

Yes, I rather blame the opposition than my team.

[kane249]

Originally posted by hammo
Only Daniel Kerr has a legitimate excuse for not shaking the kids hands (his short arms)

Of course with his long arms, Barry Hall shook the hand of the kid who presented the medal to him last year

Haha oh wait my bad, its only an optical illusion Hall has long arms

It's easy to get confused by the way he drags his knuckles along the ground :P

[coasters74]

Was amazed by the way the media in Melbourne latched onto this as 'The Story' of the GF. Yes I am sure given their time again the boys would have made sure to acknowledge the kids, they got carried away in the moment but no real excuse.
What really s@#ts me is singling out Wirra. He spends all his time away from footy running a foundation which aims to provide uppourtunity to indigineous kids, especially those in remote and disadvantaged areas.
The media collectivly do not have the character of that man.
Thought Kirk's speech was pretty staunch in what we all know is a gutting time.

[Danzar]

All a big beat-up. Watched the game again last night. Most of the players at minimum shook the kids' hands, some combined it with a pat on the had or side PLUS a shake.

Only a few (four I think) didn't. Based on what we know of character, two looked like genuine mistakes (Wirra included) the other two coming from the two @@@@@s Chick and Hunter.

[SwallowdaFonz]

Originally posted by coasters74
Was amazed by the way the media in Melbourne latched onto this as 'The Story' of the GF. Yes I am sure given their time again the boys would have made sure to acknowledge the kids, they got carried away in the moment but no real excuse.
What really s@#ts me is singling out Wirra. He spends all his time away from footy running a foundation which aims to provide uppourtunity to indigineous kids, especially those in remote and disadvantaged areas.
The media collectivly do not have the character of that man.
Thought Kirk's speech was pretty staunch in what we all know is a gutting time.

Yep, agree with you there. I really couldn't be as harsh on the players (WCE this year but also players of each premiership side) as the media beat-up has been, because:

1. The players are experiencing one of the greatest and most exciting moments of their lives - concentrate on protocol, I think not!;

2. They are young sportsmen, selected on athletic ability not social and etiquette skills - so getting this stuff right is not their forte;

3. It's not clear whether the kid is supposed to shake hands first or loop the medal over the player's head - it probably seems natural to do the medal first, so the handshake can easily get forgotten as the player stands up;

4. If it was an adult dignitary handing out the gongs, then the player would be eye-to-eye for a handshake - but the kids are 3 foot tall, and I think this is part of the problem.

Blame the AFL if you don't like any of the kids missing out on a handshake. They should rethink the whole thing. Hopefully this year's bad publicity will help the Swans players remember for next year's premiership presentation

But, yeah, I hate it when someone withdraws their hand from an intended shake leaving your hand hanging. How bad must that feel for the little tackers!!