A universal ritual used when meeting, greeting, thanking or congratulating, the handshake has been practiced for numerous centuries. It's a common gesture in sports, and thanks to film and photographs, many key moments involving handshakes have been documented. Not every handshake is a perfect one - here's a look at ten awkward, uncomfortable, and hysterical handshake fails in sports history!

  • 10

    Rio Ferdinand

    Manchester United's centre back, Rio Ferdinand goes in for the handshake from the man in the video and gets left with...nothing!

  • 9

    Matt Striker

    Watch as WWE commentator and retired wrestler, Matt Striker lets the audience know that he's reaching in for a handshake from fellow commentator Todd Grisham - only to be denied!

  • 8

    Stephen Gerrard

    Kids are hysterical! Check out this video of the Chelsea mascot, a young boy who perfectly sets up Liverpool's captain Stephen Gerrard for a handshake fail!

  • 7

    Grigor Dimitrov

    In this video, Bulgarian tennis star Grigor Dimitrov actually nails the handshake with his opponent Monfils, but then instantly one of the most awkward moments ever in sports history takes place!

  • 6

    Phil Jackson

    Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant were quite the compatible duo for the Los Angeles Lakers, but one thing they clearly never practiced was the art of the handshake. Watch Phil Jackson put on a comical act for the cameras as he tries to play this one off!

  • 5

    Ichiro Suzuki

    Whoa! If this video doesn't teach daring Major League Baseball fans a lesson, then we don't know what will! Suzuki plays it ultra cool, never even flinching as this guy gets the wind knocked out of him!

  • 4

    John Key

    At the widely-watched Rugby World Cup ceremony, Prime Minister John Key apparently decided to crash the handshake between Richie McCaw and Bernard Lapasset.

  • 3

    Gary Neal

    All we can say is that we hope Gary Neal has outgrown the notion of imaginary friends. Watch the clip as shoots a free throw and then receives congratulations from...well, no one.

  • 2

    Bubba Watson

    Perhaps winning the masters left golf pro Bubba Watson on cloud nine, because otherwise the lack of coordination involved in this handshake is just unexplainable (and funny!).

  • 1

    Kevin Love

    We could've given this one to either Kevin Love or Wes Johnson of the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves, but there's something about Kevin Love's persistence and reaching efforts in this nearly 10 second-long awkward handshake that makes him quilty of this handshake fail.

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