Keller @ Large: Why Manners Matter
BOSTON (CBS) - If you haven't had a chance to sit down in front of the computer with the kids and watch the end of the Lions-49ers game from Sunday, try to make time to do so.
Watch: The Video
Listen to Jon's commentary:
Podcast
It's the perfect teachable moment for a discussion of manners, why we have them, why they matter, what they say about is when we display good manners, and what they say about us when we don't.
For those without a clue what I'm talking about, 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh ran across the field for the traditional post-game handshake with Detroit coach Jim Schwartz on Sunday, but instead of simply shaking his adversary's hand politely and moving on, he all but body-slammed the guy and cursed at him.
Super classy!
Schwartz could have taken the high road and walked away, leaving Harbaugh all alone in the jerk hall of fame, but he chose to chase Harbaugh off the field, apparently cursing all the way.
What a couple of overgrown maroons, right?
Even by the standards of the NFL, where taunting, showboating, and other amateurish displays of poor breeding are common – in more ways than one – this was an especially juvenile moment.
But that's not the way some are seeing it.
The league says there will be no fines because there was no actual fisticuffs.
And several players have said they found the whole episode amusing.
Wonderful.
The most basic element of sportsmanship – the post-game handshake – is turned into a farce by alleged professionals on national TV, and no one in the game seems bothered.
They simply don't care about manners, and that is the most telling sign there is of ignorance and classlessness.
When you watch the video, tell your kids the truth – that manners make the man, that class is something anyone can have if they work at it, and that it's worth having as an emblem of civility and good breeding.
If you agree, you'd BETTER tell the kids – because it seems the NFL won't.
You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. and 12:25 p.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.
