SJM Slant on the 2017 Mosconi Cup
- Thread starter sjm
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The Derby City Classic, the first major test on the 2018 pool calendar, is about a month away, and all the pro events are contested on the big tables, with the Bigfoot 10-ball played on the ten footer. Let's see how the Americans perform.
how about
look how they performed.....Take Shane out of the equation and it gets ugly for Americans. Take the banks division out and gets really ugly.
look how they performed.....Take Shane out of the equation and it gets ugly for Americans. Take the banks division out and gets really ugly.
Don't forget that Billy Thorpe won the 2017 Derby City one pocket event.
forget
I didn't forget. I'm just saying wins and high finishes are few and far between for Americans especially if you take Shane out of it. Take banks out and it gets worse. I am however very intrigued for 2020 and beyond when a few of our young guys are a little more seasoned. The gap from the old greats and the young guns is.........
Shane and Shane alone as far as big finishes are concerned.
I didn't forget. I'm just saying wins and high finishes are few and far between for Americans especially if you take Shane out of it. Take banks out and it gets worse. I am however very intrigued for 2020 and beyond when a few of our young guys are a little more seasoned. The gap from the old greats and the young guns is.........
Shane and Shane alone as far as big finishes are concerned.
No doubt, we are both concerned, but Thorpe and Frost are surely both threats in the one pocket event and, as you've noted, we're always dangerous in banks with guys like Brumback, Daulton, Woodward, Nevel and others. It's only in nine ball where few other than SVB have high finishes in recent years.
attendance
I will be there either way. Hopefully some more dark horses make good showings this year. Billy did make some waves last year. I want to see a year when American players have similar odds on winning events including but not limited to DCC. That is what I want to see! Danny, Justin, Justin, Sky, Oscar, all are fun to watch but haven't consistently shown they can really hang with the top dogs especially in rotation pool. For that matter Shaw is really the only one who has shown in the last 5 years to crack the big dogs Shane, Dennis, Alex, Appleton, Busty. Unless you count the unleashing of Asians JLC, KO's, etc... Always fun to see new sharks in the tank!
I will be there either way. Hopefully some more dark horses make good showings this year. Billy did make some waves last year. I want to see a year when American players have similar odds on winning events including but not limited to DCC. That is what I want to see! Danny, Justin, Justin, Sky, Oscar, all are fun to watch but haven't consistently shown they can really hang with the top dogs especially in rotation pool. For that matter Shaw is really the only one who has shown in the last 5 years to crack the big dogs Shane, Dennis, Alex, Appleton, Busty. Unless you count the unleashing of Asians JLC, KO's, etc... Always fun to see new sharks in the tank!
Hope to meet you at the Derby. Come and say hi, I'll be in TV-VIP Seat #18.
Forgive me, I've forgotten. Hope you come by and say hi again.
Great. Looking forward to seeing you guys.
Tribalism is a primitive instinct.
I luv ya Stu, but have a very different point of view.
And I love pool too because, like tennis and golf, it's mainly NOT a team sport.
I respect individuals with outstanding skills and class acts: Roger Federer, Ernie Els, Darren Appleton. Their nationality means nothing to me.
But adding competitions built around tribal nationalism cheapens any sport. It's "us against them" and thousands of rabid fans thump their chests feeling the unearned self esteem that comes merely from being born in the same country as the winners.
I'm also for removing all flags and mention of countries at the Olympics.
I know everyone means well and talks about international brotherhood bla bla bla.
But tribal instincts are the cause of most conflicts now and throughout world history.
I luv ya Stu, but have a very different point of view.
And I love pool too because, like tennis and golf, it's mainly NOT a team sport.
I respect individuals with outstanding skills and class acts: Roger Federer, Ernie Els, Darren Appleton. Their nationality means nothing to me.
But adding competitions built around tribal nationalism cheapens any sport. It's "us against them" and thousands of rabid fans thump their chests feeling the unearned self esteem that comes merely from being born in the same country as the winners.
I'm also for removing all flags and mention of countries at the Olympics.
I know everyone means well and talks about international brotherhood bla bla bla.
But tribal instincts are the cause of most conflicts now and throughout world history.
I agree with everything Stu wrote, and if anyone wants to see one very good reason why the situation won't likely improve, just check out the fact that virtually no Americans were represented in the recent World Cup 9-ball event, while an 8-ball tournament played on toy tables in Vegas drew a huge crowd.
Okay, I understand the reasons for this: It takes sponsors to travel to Doha, and everyone loves Vegas. But it still speaks to the fact that while American pool seems to be gravitating more and more to the toy tables, trying to reach out to the lowest common denominator of pool player, the rest of the world is still playing full time on the 9-footers, and in the case of the Brits, even occasionally on the 6 x 12's. It doesn't take much to figure out which approach is going to make for better Mosconi Cup players in the future.
If the Americans want to really improve their game, they should get off the bar box tables and start staging more tournaments along the lines of the Derby City Bigfoot challenge, played on Diamond 5 x 10's. Just one man's opinion.
Okay, I understand the reasons for this: It takes sponsors to travel to Doha, and everyone loves Vegas. But it still speaks to the fact that while American pool seems to be gravitating more and more to the toy tables, trying to reach out to the lowest common denominator of pool player, the rest of the world is still playing full time on the 9-footers, and in the case of the Brits, even occasionally on the 6 x 12's. It doesn't take much to figure out which approach is going to make for better Mosconi Cup players in the future.
If the Americans want to really improve their game, they should get off the bar box tables and start staging more tournaments along the lines of the Derby City Bigfoot challenge, played on Diamond 5 x 10's. Just one man's opinion.
Pool is a hobby in America that offers no steady income or sponsors. In other parts of the world pool is looked at as a legitimate sport and they have sponsors so they can put 110% of their time practicing and focusing on nothing but pool. It is to hard for US players to focus all their time on pool when you can't pay your bills on pool alone. I think this is part of the reason we are falling behind the rest of the world and why we can't win a Mosconi Cup.
Not sure I indicated anywhere that I subscribe to or advocate any deep feeling of pool nationalism. The Mosconi Cup exists as an impromptu gathering of international talent across two continents. It is what it is, and each of us can decide whether they find it entertaining or compelling.
In some ways, the Mosconi is a measuring stick for the state of, progress of, and development of pool in two continents separated by an ocean, and for that reason, I would care about the result even if I didn't watch a single rack of a single match. Yes, to me it's a referendum on the state of pro pool on two continents at the most elite level, and that referendum is important to me.
Pool is not like golf and tennis in that with just a few exceptions, American players, and not Europeans, are the only ones that learn the game from the American teachers/coaches. Not so with golfers, where seemingly more than half of the European members of the PGA tour played college golf, and thereby honed their skills, in America. Same with tennis players, where countless European pros played college tennis, and developed their skills, in America and many of them also went to the major tennis academies of Florida. It is because of the fact that the American teachers/coaches set the agenda for pool instruction in America only that the Mosconi results mean so much more than things like the Ryder Cup or Davis Cup.
Agreed that pool is not a team sport, but the Mosconi results, a concentrated sampling of the best of two continents, should help point the way for the American teaching/coaching profession to modify its agenda over time based on its observation of American play.
Like you, I appreciate talent and excellence regardless of nationality and those who have seen me at the Mosconi will attest to the fact that I cheer as hard as anybody even when Europe comes with something special over the green felt.
Tribal nationalism? Don't make me laugh. The Mosconi, year after year, has measured the state of rotational pool in the place of its origination. Why shouldn't its decline bother me or any other American, and why would you begrudge me the right to objectively assess the causes of this decline?
The Ryder Cup doesn't point the way for golf instruction in America, the Davis Cup doesn't do it for tennis instruction in America either, but the Mosconi Cup can and should point the way for pool instruction in America because the instruction profession is so centralized and because it deals almost exclusively with American players.
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Since both teams get a "trophy" and check I figured that would be good enough, but noooooo, now we can't even identify where we come from. Guess there should be no borders either
Tribalism is what has kept people safe since the beginning of time, now you say it's the problem??? Lmao.
How is it working out in all the countries that are letting Muslims pour in?
I want to be around people that have the same ideas, goals, etc. The problem is that the liberal pc culture is forcing people with different ideas, goals and yes, even looks to be together - that is a recipe for disaster!
Liberalism truly is a disease!
Jason
Look no further than the upcoming Turning Stone Classic XXIX. The first Mosconi Cup points event of the year. Played on 9 foot diamond tables. Only 2 of the 5 USA players are on the players list. And those that were in the running or should be in the team are not there as well.
Very unfortunate.
I'm assuming there was more USA Mosconi Cup team members/potential team hopefuls at the Bar Table championships last week.
You have a link to the list? I'm in town and will get down to TS and probably Salt City, even though I haven't played in about 5 months
Thanks
Jason