Simply amazing that he can compete at such a high level at age 60.
So Jeff, how old was that ringer you brought to the four man tournament?
Still cant believe you had to bring a top ranked player into our town to beat up on the locals,,,,,,ha ha ha. Really, it was nice to actually see a top ranked player play and it was even nicer to see that he was approachable and a gentleman to talk with.
I think that there was more than one game that us normal players had the opportunity to actually beat Rafael, but felt the pressure of the "I just beat Rafael". The players he was playing against never play against that quality of player so I think they talked them self out of it if they actually had the chance to play. There wasnt that many chances to play against Rafael if he was breaking, but as for when his opponent did get a chance to shoot, they would hand him the win more often than not. I have heard of a couple of players talking about missing the ball before the 8 or missing the 8 ball against him. So did Rafael just steamroll over everyone, no, a lot of missed opportunities from his opponents would be how I would put it.
I really dont think you had a huge advantage bringing him to a four man team tournament like I have heard people saying afterwards, so it didnt bother me one bit seeing him there. The way I explained it to them is that, I just figured that we only have to play one game and if I get the break then I do my best and run out or lock him up. If he gets the breaks, it would be no different than playing 50% of the other players at the tournament that are capable of breaking and running.
To sum things up,
Thanks Jeff for bringing Rafael, it was a real pleasure for me and I hope that everyone else enjoyed meeting and playing Rafael and learned something from the experience.
