Crosby.  Lidstrom.  You know the story… unfortunately.

It’s funny – you and I don’t really care that Sidney Crosby didn’t shake Nick Lidstrom’s hand at the conclusion of the 2009 Stanley Cup finals.  It would of been nice to see, but ultimately, viewers understood Sid the kid was celebrating his first Stanley Cup win as the youngest captain to ever, while the Pittsburgh Penguins finally won at Joe Louis Arena, as the clear underdog.  Yeah, kind of a cool moment.

The result?  In seconds there’s more media on the ice than Hossa-tears.  Or regrets, despite Marian Hossa saying otherwise.  And being the media magnet that he is, Sidney Crosby is mauled with reporters, cameras and microphones.  

Nick Lidstrom grows tired of waiting (a whole 3 minutes, but whatever…), shakes other Penguins wings, errr, hands, and eventually leaves the ice for the night without shaking Crosby’s hand.  Come on, that wing joke was pretty good, wasn’t it?

But seriously, I doubt Crosby would go out of his way to snub Lidstrom.  We all know that.  The media’s presence on the ice was a big time distraction for the young captain.   Even if Crosby could see Lidstrom through the swarm of media, I doubt he could make his way through to the Wing’s captain.  There’s just no way.

So the media gets in the way of handshakes, then make a big fuss about it the following day.  Nice one. 

It’s almost ironic, isn’t it?  Shaking hands is definitely overrated, that is, unless you are going for ratings.  What a crock.  In a year that featured some of the best playoff hockey ever, this is the story the media turns to?

*           *           *

And then I’m watching the NBA finals on Sunday night – same thing.  The media jumped onto the court: lights, camera, interview!  Yes, we get the instant interview, but honestly, the players are out of breathe and are barely comprehendible.

Something about cameras jammed into team celebrations feels insincere.  I’d like to see shots of players celebrating the moment, without having to worry about the interview.  Have cameras from the roof and on the sidelines, but let players enjoy the moment.

I’d like to see media for all major championships restrained, just a little.  It’d make for better TV, a more honest sense of what the big win means to the players and would help avoid any handshake scandals in the future.

 
Stay classy, handshake frenzy media machine.

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