Justin Bergman--Mosconi Cup
- Thread starter barrymuch90
- Start date
Yep, same story in all professions. I'm a dancing monkey in the work I do, live in a hotel room for months at a time, never see your friends or family, over half the time working at night cause at 47 I'm still a young dancing monkey. 26 years of it so far, but it's my choice, and like the players I wouldnt change a thing
Jason
Another thing to add to the list is wear and tear on your vehicle. If you have a major breakdown, most likely you won't be making the tournament. One tournament I was going to play in I paid the entry fee's online and paid for the lodging online. The entry fee and lodging was not refundable. Luckily enough I didn't make it over the 100 mile mark yet and got free towing with AAA. To get my vehicle fixed and the loss on the lodging and entry fee cost me around $1500. The biggest thing I could remember from that day is wear I was going to take a piss surrounded by traffic and sat there for about 8 hours. That part hurt the most. lol
I understand your thoughts and appreciate your sharing them.
The point I was trying to emphasize is that these pool players who today are being cheered and high-fived for playing pool enjoy a sort of celebrity status in the pool world. You and me, though, going to work, nobody is cheering us and high-fiving us when we start our workday.
In this regard, the thought I was trying to relay, though maybe not well, is that these pool celebrities today will fade away in the pool sunset when they get old and can't run racks anymore. Nobody will be there cheering them and high-fiving them and wanting to back them in a high-stakes game.
Yes, people like you and me go to work every day, but we're not pool celebrities or pool stars or professional pool players. I am trying to advise Justin Bergman to devote some of his effort into a career or education because playing pool, no matter how passionate he is or no matter how much he wants to chase his dream, he may end up like Norman Wines and other players like Norman who are alone and have nobody to help them in their time of need, all because they chased their dream of playing pool professionally and made a huge sacrifice for it.
I want to emphasize that I don't think young Justin Bergman should make a sacrifice to only play pool in his young life. This is the point I am trying to make. I'm not going to debate whether a pool player made that choice and so screw him, let him die an ugly death.
Ask Tony how many friends he had when he was serving time. Today, now that he's out and playing pool around the country, including big challenge matches, everybody is Tony's buddy and friend. They're all cheering him and giving him high-fives.
Waterdog, Wade Crane, and now Norman Wines are three examples of what I am trying to share about pool players who did not have a Plan B in life. They chased their dream and put all their pool chips on the come.
I hope this helps to illuminate my thoughts. :smile:
Ronnie Allen is a unique case. You're definitely right on the money -- pun intended -- about how much money have passed through his hands.
What I always admired about him, though, was that even during all of his on-the-road escapades, he always sent money home to his wife and children to help with expenses. He had a sense of family values that stayed with him.
Even after he and his wife separated, he and she as well as his children remained close and in touch. I kind of admired that about Ronnie, and his family loved him.
The pool players of that era, money was just fuel to keep their gambling engine going. When the money went dry, they had one tire in the sand, and like a substance abuse addict looking for his next fix, the gambler will find a way to get that gambling engine running again.
I remember when I first met Ronnie Allen, it was on the telephone, and I asked him why he didn't have passion for pool anymore, the way he once did. His reply then puzzled me, but I totally understand it today. He said, "I've been beaten up by pool." The passion for pool is so strong for some, especially when they're winning and on top of the world, that they don't realize the toll that it takes on their life span until it's too late.
The opioid crisis in America is rampant. It's the leading cause of death in Americans below the age of 50.
]
I sincerely hope that anyone who has an addiction to opioids and/or adderal will seek medical assistance before it is too late.
Weight loss is the first symptom, and then it's the interior organs that fail.
It's nothing to mess around with.
]
I sincerely hope that anyone who has an addiction to opioids and/or adderal will seek medical assistance before it is too late.
Weight loss is the first symptom, and then it's the interior organs that fail.
It's nothing to mess around with.
Like how Justin shows him upon the biggest stage in the world lol
I bet Shane does have a problem with it
Like it or not, JB has been the best player on the US team two years in a row and woud have been again this year.
On the Mosconi Cup, sure, Bergman outperforms Shane, but so does everyone else. He always plays weak there. But he doesn't even come close to Shane year-round when they're playing tournaments. Bergman made $12,820 so far in 2017 not including any gambling matches, and around $35,000 in 2016...
Why would Shane have a problem with his teammate playing better than him when they're both fighting for the same cause? He might, however, have a problem with himself not playing up to par with his teammates.
So your way of judging someones ability is how much money they made in tournaments? Too bad you aren't a backer in my area haha
Not necessarily but money = high finishes in tournaments. I'm not knocking Justin, he's one of my favorites, but saying he outdoes Shane on the big stage isn't true because his Mosconi Cup appearances are too small of a sample size to compare. After he has 8 appearances then we'll see. Plus, most don't even consider MC as the big stage, that's the World 9 Ball or US Open.
I did not say on the big stage. I said on the biggest stage. No pool event gets as much worldwide exposure as the Mosconi Cup. I've been around pool for 20 years and never been to a "viewing party" for any event with one exception. The Mosconi Cup, it's by far the most watched, talked about, and biggest stage in pool. This thread is a great example. You may hold the US Open or the World Championship in higher regard and that's fine but it's not the biggest stage. Ask the players what event they have felt the most pressure in. It's a pride thing, not about money.
Shane has competed many times in the world 9 ball with zero wins. Justin doesn't travel to it for the same reasons he doesn't travel for many other events.
My original point is that Justin is currently the best our country has to offer under that pressure, that's why we call him iceberg. Justin Hall should be on the team as well. I'm already bored with watching Skyler and Mike D dog it. The process is flawed and until it's fixed we have NO CHANCE to win. Team Europe has enough for two teams that I believe are favored over our current team. As a fan and proud supporter of this country in all athletic events, I hate that we keep losing and just wish the powers thaat be would give us a fair chance by putting our best five on the team.
What kind of work do you do?