Arguably the best tradition in hockey is the handshake line after a playoff series or every games in an international tournament like the Olympics, for example. Regardless of what happens during a series or big game, the players have the utmost respect for one another and the handshake line represents that respect.
As much as we love this tradition, it might be over at the Winter Olympics this year and there's a very good reason as to why that is.
As per Stephen Whyno of the AP, officials have told players to fist-bump each other instead of shaking hands in order to prevent the transmission of norovirus.
Last week, James Wisniewski's father tested positive for norovirus, so the Team USA member knows how important it is to take the necessary precautions in order to prevent it from spreading.
"It's something that you're like, 'Ah, really how bad can it get?' And then all of a sudden bang, bang — a couple people close to you have it and you don't really know how, you don't know where," Wisniewski said Monday. "You don't want it going through your locker room, that's for sure."
Wisniewski and his teammates are all in on the fist-bumping as they even fist-bump media members just to be safe.
The American Women's Team, on the other hand, is carrying on the tradition regardless of the risks.
"That's part of what's special about hockey is the mutual respect and the handshake after," U.S. forward Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson said after advancing to the gold-medal game. "In these tournament settings, it's not prelims anymore, so I think shaking hands ... it's just respect."
When Canada faced USA, they shook hands rather than fist-bumping, too, and we imagine both teams will do the same after they battle again for gold.
Considering the circumstances, we, along with the rest of the sports world would be fine if they did the fist-bump, too.
(H/T: Stephen Whyno)
