Predator314
05-18-2004, 02:28 PM
<rant>
As I've mentioned in a couple posts earlier, I played in a team state tournament event this weekend. I'm sickened about all the people bitching about rules, playing conditions, etc, etc, etc.
First of all, the rules were clearly outlined months in advance for people to review. Secondly, everyone has to play by the same rules and they all have to play on the same tables. One big complaint I heard was about the tables. We played on Valley coin-op tables. Half of them had new Simonis 860, half had some older, slower cloth. Not the best conditions, but the tables all shot pretty good.
Another rant is these whiners trying to do anything in their power to win a game. In the Sunday team event, I'm playing my singles game against a known hot-headed opponent. I get the break. I run all my balls down to the last ball, but the 8 was tied up. I ended up playing a nice bank shot on my last ball and breaking the 8 out. However, I hooked myself with the cue ball. I didn't leave a makeable shot on the 8. Now we're playing with a patch to call the 8 ball. The patch was laying in the middle of the bottom rail, not near either pocket. I had no intentions of making the 8. I could play a little half masse shot (wrinkle shot) and clip the 8 and sew the guy up. I played the shot just like I planned locking him up behind the 8. The guy calls a foul on me because I didn't call a pocket with the patch. Now this guy was not new. I had played him before and he was very aware of the rules we were playing. He's a known hot-head and just an overall prick. I politely tell him it was not a foul. He had to stall the game to go get the tournament director and ask them. By this time, he's irrate and he gets pissed at me because I'm trying to keep from laughing while he has his little tantrum. Anyway, I won the game. We got to play him and his partner in a doubles game in the same match and my partner broke and ran out. They weren't happy campers. When we turned in the score sheet to the TDs, they were elated that we won. They said the team had been pulling that crap all weekend. She said during their last match, another guy on the team called foul when his opponent placed the patch at the side pocket and made the ball in that pocket. However, the patch was just barely up on the rubber/plastic trim around the edge of the pocket instead of sitting completely on the rail. It was not hanging over the pocket where it would touch a ball going in or anything like that.
Maybe it's just me, but I think the most embarrassing thing in the world would be for me to be considered a poor sportsman. These guys thrived off it. They would take a win any way they could get it. There were other displays of poor sportsmanship around the tournament the whole weekend, but these were some of the most blatant that I got to witness first hand.
I think pool is a game. These guys didn't shoot good enough to make it their job. Very few players can. So why play if you can't have fun playing?
</rant>
As I've mentioned in a couple posts earlier, I played in a team state tournament event this weekend. I'm sickened about all the people bitching about rules, playing conditions, etc, etc, etc.
First of all, the rules were clearly outlined months in advance for people to review. Secondly, everyone has to play by the same rules and they all have to play on the same tables. One big complaint I heard was about the tables. We played on Valley coin-op tables. Half of them had new Simonis 860, half had some older, slower cloth. Not the best conditions, but the tables all shot pretty good.
Another rant is these whiners trying to do anything in their power to win a game. In the Sunday team event, I'm playing my singles game against a known hot-headed opponent. I get the break. I run all my balls down to the last ball, but the 8 was tied up. I ended up playing a nice bank shot on my last ball and breaking the 8 out. However, I hooked myself with the cue ball. I didn't leave a makeable shot on the 8. Now we're playing with a patch to call the 8 ball. The patch was laying in the middle of the bottom rail, not near either pocket. I had no intentions of making the 8. I could play a little half masse shot (wrinkle shot) and clip the 8 and sew the guy up. I played the shot just like I planned locking him up behind the 8. The guy calls a foul on me because I didn't call a pocket with the patch. Now this guy was not new. I had played him before and he was very aware of the rules we were playing. He's a known hot-head and just an overall prick. I politely tell him it was not a foul. He had to stall the game to go get the tournament director and ask them. By this time, he's irrate and he gets pissed at me because I'm trying to keep from laughing while he has his little tantrum. Anyway, I won the game. We got to play him and his partner in a doubles game in the same match and my partner broke and ran out. They weren't happy campers. When we turned in the score sheet to the TDs, they were elated that we won. They said the team had been pulling that crap all weekend. She said during their last match, another guy on the team called foul when his opponent placed the patch at the side pocket and made the ball in that pocket. However, the patch was just barely up on the rubber/plastic trim around the edge of the pocket instead of sitting completely on the rail. It was not hanging over the pocket where it would touch a ball going in or anything like that.
Maybe it's just me, but I think the most embarrassing thing in the world would be for me to be considered a poor sportsman. These guys thrived off it. They would take a win any way they could get it. There were other displays of poor sportsmanship around the tournament the whole weekend, but these were some of the most blatant that I got to witness first hand.
I think pool is a game. These guys didn't shoot good enough to make it their job. Very few players can. So why play if you can't have fun playing?
</rant>