Who do you think won the showdown at the close of TCOM?

Who wins at the end of TCOM?

  • Vince

    Votes: 57 48.3%

  • Eddie

    Votes: 61 51.7%
  • Total voters
    118
DogsPlayingPool

DogsPlayingPool

"What's in your wallet?"
Silver Member
Well, TCOM happened to be on TV today and it got me thinking how Scorsese left open the question of who wins that showdown between Vince and Eddie at the close of the movie, perhaps in anticipation of a sequel that wasn't made.

Anyway, I don't recall this being asked before and thought it might be fun to see what you guys think.

Being both old school and just plain old, my money's on Eddie. :D Just seems to me that he knew Vince's speed better than Vince knew his.
 
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I think the movie ended much in the same way The Hustler began, Eddie was yet again fighting back to the top and Vince was his new "Fats".

That is why he told Vince "if I don't beat you here I will beat you in Atlanta, and if not there..."

Vince asks how does he know, and Eddie answers "because I am back".

In effect it means the old Eddie who simply refuses to lose and stay down for the count was back, he did not get Fats the first time they played but he came at him again and eventually made Fats quit.

Eddie very well might not have won the battle in that green room at the end of the movie, but he was going to keep coming at Vince and eventually once he starts beating him he will beat him until he quits and admits defeat like Eddie made Fats do.
 
I couldn't sum it up any better.

Celtic said:
I think the movie ended much in the same way The Hustler began, Eddie was yet again fighting back to the top and Vince was his new "Fats".

That is why he told Vince "if I don't beat you here I will beat you in Atlanta, and if not there..."

Vince asks how does he know, and Eddie answers "because I am back".

In effect it means the old Eddie who simply refuses to lose and stay down for the count was back, he did not get Fats the first time they played but he came at him again and eventually made Fats quit.

Eddie very well might not have won the battle in that green room at the end of the movie, but he was going to keep coming at Vince and eventually once he starts beating him he will beat him until he quits and admits defeat like Eddie made Fats do.
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I think Vince twirled his cuestick around like a samurai warrior a few times, stuck it through Eddie's heart, then pulled it out and shook the blood off of it onto the Green Room floor :eek::thumbup:!!!

Maniac (and his hair was perfect)
 
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Sadly I think Vince won, thats always been my take on it.

Great thread/poll


sucks no other movie followed up COM.
 
Eddie and Vince were a lot alike. Both had a ton of heart and wanted to beat the best and be the best. Eddie had more hustling "knowledge" from his years on the road - but if you remember in "The Hustler" he did not show up to "hustle" FATS. He came in letting them know he was there to bust a champion. He later showed his heart when he beat that 3 cushion champion after JUST learning the game. "Hey, it's just some balls and a stick man! Let me play him, Burt."

In "The Color Of Money" Vincent was the same way. He hated dumping. He hated the "hustle". He wanted to beat everyone at their "best" game. Money meant nothing to him. Remember, he was offering $20 a game if they could simply BEAT him. "I think it's the money that might be throwing you off here today." Haha...great lines! He was satisfied working at Babys R Us for change and hundred dollar scores at pool.

Later, when Vincent played Grady Seasons he was busting him until his girlfriend came over and provided a friendly reminder of why he needed to dump. "If you win another game you'll be h*mping your fist for a week."...as Vincent gets that disappointed look on his face.

They ended starting a set of 9 ball. Of course when playing 9 ball the momentum can easily change. I just imagine they had lots of great match-ups in the future...but THEIR match wasn't the point at all. The point was, Eddie was back...and he a ton of heart and no "give-up" and wanted to re-claim the throne as the best, you might say.

Best two pool movies, period.
 
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I always thought that youth and skill would win...but I was rooting for Eddie.
 
Even with his Burt-imposed hiatus, Eddie had a heluva lot more experience than Vince. (That tournament was the "end" of Vince's first road trip.) So even though Vince was younger, faster, stronger, (and a scientologist :)), I think Eddie would be able to find a way to win.
 
Eddie

They played the first 9-ball rack for choice of game. Eddie broke and ran half the rack, then he made an easy combo on the 9. He stood up and told Vince they'll be playing 14.1 You should've seen the look on Vince's face. PURE TORTURE ensued.....priceless.
 
One thing that really caused me to pick Eddie over Vince is that in The Hustler, the moral of the story was that talent was not enough to be a winner, you had to have character. It was the experiences on the road and particularly what happened to his girlfriend in Louisville that spawned the development of character in Eddie's soul. It was because of this that when he came back to Ames there was no way Fats could beat him. Not because he was more talented than he was before.

To me, Vince is just the brash young Fast Eddie in TCOM, with loads of talent and no character. And he never really develops the true inner spirit. He's still basically the same punk he was throughout the movie, except that maybe he knew a few more tricks about hustling. In the meantime Eddie does continue to further develop in this movie, learning things about himself through the experiences with Vince and notably through the relationship with his girlfriend.
 
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I always liked to think that a sequel to this would start off with Vince looking beaten and betrayed by his own skill , putting up his cue and wondering what the hell just happened.

Kind of like Eddie after loosing to the hustler Amos. Then maybe he goes on to develop "character" like Eddie did and there you have the circle of life.

But I would rather see Vincent just fade away and Eddie go on to kick everyone's ass in the pool world and retire with a pile of money somewhere in the Bahamas with his GF.

But for the love of God, if they do a sequel please explain what the license plate on his Caddy stands for. "TK 6" (its killing me!)
 
Scott Lee said:
I think the saying is, "Age and experience trumps youth and enthusiasm"! They both had skill, but Eddie won...I was there to see it! LOL

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
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That reminds me of the story about the old bull and the young bull. Young bull says "Lets run down the hill and have our way with one of those cows." Old Bull says "Lets walk down and have them all!"
(okay, I cleaned it up a bit!)
 
Cdryden said:
That reminds me of the story about the old bull and the young bull. Young bull says "Lets run down the hill and have our way with one of those cows." Old Bull says "Lets walk down and have them all!"
(okay, I cleaned it up a bit!)
Click to expand...

Colors with Sean Penn
 
Vince won, they played right after the credits rolled as bonus coverage!.....you telling me you guys didn't watch it?....thats why there was never a sequel. Vince ordered a bottle of JTS brown, Eddie got wasted as usual, and fell asleep under the table.

i thought everyone knew that!

G.
 
It's eddie.

He's a champion, played countless high dollar matches, figured out how to overcome his weaknesses, and winning was simply more important to him. He sought out the tough games.

Vince had very limited experience playing under pressure, just unrefined talent. And even in terms of sheer shooting prowess, look at how eddie plays when he's on - he doesn't just beat other champions like fats, he ruins them... rack after rack without a miss or mistake.

The impression I get is Vince might have been a 'best-in-the-state' type of player, but eddie was a once-in-a-generation player.
 
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