I am in Manila watching Worlds. I bought season VIP passes for the entire week. I even flew in from Korea for the event. For the most part the tournament has been fun for me. But I witnessed something first hand a couple of days ago that put a bad taste in my mouth.
I was on the top rung of seats on table two watching a match, can't remember between who, anyway next to table two was the warm up tables. Django Bustamante was up next (on table 2) waiting for his match with the Crown Prince of Brunei. At this event my head is on a constant swivel because there is so much to see. When I looked over to see what Bustamante was up to i saw Michaela Tabb quaintly sitting next to Django, coffee in hand, having a nice little chat.
I have never seen her in that area before that, she is always walking around making sure everything is running smoothly if not ref'ing a match. Anyway when I first saw it I thought nothing of it.
Our good friend the Prince rolls eight deep when he moves from A to B. Lots of men with black jackets (its hot as hell here in Manila) and ear pieces, family members and attendants. Two matches before any of the Princes' matches, if it's on table one ore two, security comes in and kicks people out of the first two or three rows of seating in the middle (VIP tickets be dammed!) Maybe mid match of the previous match before his, his wife and family members sit down.
So I make sure I get a good seat to see this spectacle, so do the rest of the crowd who are mostly filipinos cheering for their countryman. When they start Francisco clearly, CLEARLY half heartedly losses the lag. Everyone giggles. Then it began. Missing and scratching all over the place. At frist everyone was giggling but it kept on and on. After the fourth rack when it would not stop I walked out and went over to table one, Disgusted. Other friends asked me how it was going and I told them that it was a joke and not to pay any mind to it. It wasn't pool.
And who was the Ref for that match? Michaela of course. Make your own assumptions but it was pretty obvious to me. They wanted the Prince to have a somewhat good time at the event and not be embarrassed on TV by one of the most dangerous players on earth. But it pisses me off when you think about all the REAL pool players who paid entry fees at qualifyers and played their hearts out to try and get a spot. And all the players who fought hard to EARN their spots.
The fact that they would even approach Francisco with a proposition like that and the fact that he went ahead with it, in front of his own people at home just put a bad taste in my mouth. He DID win the match but it was an embarrassment for him and pool in general. I feel that the game is bigger than everyone, even efren, even the money that TV provides. Michael Jordan would always say that nothing is bigger than the game of basketball.
The game should rule as king!
But we don't live in that kind of world I guess.
I paid $120 bucks to see this?
I was on the top rung of seats on table two watching a match, can't remember between who, anyway next to table two was the warm up tables. Django Bustamante was up next (on table 2) waiting for his match with the Crown Prince of Brunei. At this event my head is on a constant swivel because there is so much to see. When I looked over to see what Bustamante was up to i saw Michaela Tabb quaintly sitting next to Django, coffee in hand, having a nice little chat.
I have never seen her in that area before that, she is always walking around making sure everything is running smoothly if not ref'ing a match. Anyway when I first saw it I thought nothing of it.
Our good friend the Prince rolls eight deep when he moves from A to B. Lots of men with black jackets (its hot as hell here in Manila) and ear pieces, family members and attendants. Two matches before any of the Princes' matches, if it's on table one ore two, security comes in and kicks people out of the first two or three rows of seating in the middle (VIP tickets be dammed!) Maybe mid match of the previous match before his, his wife and family members sit down.
So I make sure I get a good seat to see this spectacle, so do the rest of the crowd who are mostly filipinos cheering for their countryman. When they start Francisco clearly, CLEARLY half heartedly losses the lag. Everyone giggles. Then it began. Missing and scratching all over the place. At frist everyone was giggling but it kept on and on. After the fourth rack when it would not stop I walked out and went over to table one, Disgusted. Other friends asked me how it was going and I told them that it was a joke and not to pay any mind to it. It wasn't pool.
And who was the Ref for that match? Michaela of course. Make your own assumptions but it was pretty obvious to me. They wanted the Prince to have a somewhat good time at the event and not be embarrassed on TV by one of the most dangerous players on earth. But it pisses me off when you think about all the REAL pool players who paid entry fees at qualifyers and played their hearts out to try and get a spot. And all the players who fought hard to EARN their spots.
The fact that they would even approach Francisco with a proposition like that and the fact that he went ahead with it, in front of his own people at home just put a bad taste in my mouth. He DID win the match but it was an embarrassment for him and pool in general. I feel that the game is bigger than everyone, even efren, even the money that TV provides. Michael Jordan would always say that nothing is bigger than the game of basketball.
The game should rule as king!
But we don't live in that kind of world I guess.
I paid $120 bucks to see this?
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