★ Mosconi Cup ★ Absolutely Spectacular ★

Paul Schofield

Paul Schofield

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
No doubt about it. The Mosconi Cup was a fabulous production. The carefully designed arena packed with young, attractive, and exuberant fans, added an exciting dynamic to what happened on and around the table. The interaction among team members, between teams, the rallying and taunting of the audience added new dimensions to a pocket billiard event.

The controversies generated interest, drama, opinions, and discussion, all of which are good for the event and our sport. The Mosconi Cup mattered.

The entire production team did a commendable job and contributed to the theatre of what has become pocket billiard's most prestigious event.

Congratulations and thank you Barry Hearn
 
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Is this thread meant as a joke? The brand that is the Mosconi Cup took a hit this year ---- let's just hope that it was a small one.

The poor demeanor and occasional ambivalence of Team USA member made it harder and harder to root for them. The event, scheduled for our days, went two and a half days. This was the equivalent of a boxing match in which there was a second round knockout.

Yes, the production values were high, and the arena superb, but this Mosconi Cup, meant to be a celebration of 20 years of great competition between the two sides, didn't deliver.

It was fun being there and sharing the experience with old friends and making some new ones, but this will surely go down as one of the worst Mosconi Cups, possibly even the worst.
 
sjm said:
Is this thread meant as a joke? The brand that is the Mosconi Cup took a hit this year ---- let's just hope that it was a small one.

The poor demeanor and occasional ambivalence of Team USA member made it harder and harder to root for them. The event, scheduled for our days, went two and a half days. This was the equivalent of a boxing match in which there was a second round knockout.

Yes, the production values were high, and the arena superb, but this Mosconi Cup, meant to be a celebration of 20 years of great competition between the two sides, didn't deliver.

It was fun being there and sharing the experience with old friends and making some new ones, but this will surely go down as one of the worst Mosconi Cups, possibly even the worst.
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I think this is a powwerful statement and from a true fan of the sport/game.
IMO it is a blackeye for we Americans and we should be more careful about who we delegate to represent the game and the country.
 
Sadly, American professional pool is doomed, if the sentiments on this thread are the majority. Instead of continuing to kick a man when he's down, maybe, just maybe, it would be beneficial to lend a hand to pick the man up.

Now, before the naysayers and American pro-haters reply to say nobody asked them to be a professional player and they're no-good bums without jobs, in order for American professional pool to flourish, there needs to be a fresh prognosis on which way to go from here. If not, the existing lot of American pros will continue to diminish. Though this will make some AzB-ers happy as clams, there may be others, like myself, who will be sad to see this happen.

It doesn't do any good to beat a dead Mosconi horse when the Mosconi horse is now dead and buried. Time to reevaluate, pick up our American bootstraps, those of us who still want to see professional pool in America, and figure out which way to go.

The pros are *not* the only thing in the American pool machine that's flawed.
 

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Until the team is picked different I boycott the mosconi cup..My one ego bet a year I make is costing me to much ha ha. Worst cup i ever watched.

Ill take me..Chris Bartram..1on1pool tourneys...gene albrieght and rhea and bet the score is closer with the same euro team.
 
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Paul Schofield said:
No doubt about it. The Mosconi Cup was a fabulous production. The carefully designed arena packed with young, attractive, and exuberant fans, added an exciting dynamic to what happened on and around the table. The interaction among team members, between teams, the rallying and taunting of the audience added new dimensions to a pocket billiard event.

The controversies generated interest, drama, opinions, and discussion, all of which are good for the event and our sport. The Mosconi Cup mattered.

The entire production team did a commendable job and contributed to the theatre of what has become pocket billiard's most prestigious event.

Congratulations and thank you Barry Hearn
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The production values were first class.

But the event -- as a sporting contest -- was Ugly with a capital U. In addition, the behavior of several members of the American team was appalling and an embarrassment. I think we're all willing to tolerate and even enjoy a certain amount of personality and ferocity in our players. But massive doses of poor sportsmanship from Team USA at an international event like this is beyond the pale.

My take is that virtually everyone there sitting in the arena was mortified by some of the outbursts. I guess you can edited some of that out for broadcast but seeing it with your own two eyes was enough to make you sick. I just hope that the cure for all of that is not worse than the illness.

Lou Figueroa
 
I reiterate:

I go to a lot of pool tournaments. I would not dream of attending the Mosconi Cup. Nor did I buy the pay-per-view this year, if there was one. Here are some of the reasons why.

Audiences full of YOBS (a word from a couple of centuries ago for the audience at the Mosconi Cup) who show no respect for their team’s opponents either on this side of the Atlantic or the other.

Uniforms.

Teams.


Nine Ball.

Players who show no respect for anyone.

A selection system that figured out somehow that Cory Deuel is second rate.

Trumped up enthusiasm for the legal fiction of “Europe.” It’s as embarrassing as the European carry-on about their new identity at The Ryder Cup.

Bad Losers. Losing pool players would do very well to watch the video of the straight pool match in which Crane runs 150 and out against Joe Balsis. Then they would see how a muscular, truly masculine man who had cut meat for a living and was a mechanic in the Coast Guard during a war conducts himself when he loses an important pool match.

From what I have read on this Forum, if this was a “fabulous production,” then it was the production of a carnival.

I like and admire Barry Hearn for what he has done for cue sports and wish him well in his future efforts to promote them. But England got high quality snooker. We’re getting the MC. It’s not a fair trade.
 
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I have the cell numbers of some 400 local players in my area, 390 of which knew nothing about the Mosconi Cup. I have access to a mass texting service. Next year, I am going to use that service to keep the pool community updated and link them to the live streaming. I am going to make this event a part of my program to promote the game in my area.
 
Ill take SVB-Landon Shuffett-Oscar-Bartram-Shuff......in short races I'll take my chances with these guys and I guarantee they will play hard to the end.
 
krelldog said:
Ill take SVB-Landon Shuffett-Oscar-Bartram-Shuff......in short races I'll take my chances with these guys and I guarantee they will play hard to the end.
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Since Shane turned 30, the best under-30 player of the Americans is Mike Dechaine. I like the fact that you want a young team, and so do I, but leaving Dechaine out would be another dose of the politics that caused Team USA to show up with something other than its best possible squad this year.
 
Paul Schofield said:
I have the cell numbers of some 400 local players in my area, 390 of which knew nothing about the Mosconi Cup. I have access to a mass texting service. Next year, I am going to use that service to keep the pool community updated and link them to the live streaming. I am going to make this event a part of my program to promote the game in my area.
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What live streaming are you going to link them to?
 
Bob Dixon said:
The team play is a complete turnoff for starters. Two players can't properly execute a strategy the way an individual player can. It becomes a comedy when you yoke up a player with another one who isn't up to what's required.

Slopping in balls and continuing to shoot is laughable.
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Then don't watch it. I found the whole spectical very entertaining and interesting. I will do what I can, in my limited capacity, to encourage others to watch the next time it comes around.
 
ironman said:
I think this is a powwerful statement and from a true fan of the sport/game.
IMO it is a blackeye for we Americans and we should be more careful about who we delegate to represent the game and the country.
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Yes that was just the black eye there's more to come, if any of this reality trash tv gets off the ground it will surely relegate pool back into the gutter and kill any chance of it becoming a real sport with professional players making a living.
Mosconi Cup may be the last bastion of Pro pool.
 
Philthepockets said:
Yes that was just the black eye there's more to come, if any of this reality trash tv gets off the ground it will surely relegate pool back into the gutter and kill any chance of it becoming a real sport with professional players making a living.
Mosconi Cup may be the last bastion of Pro pool.
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Absolutely spot on. People with money to spend will run the other way.
By the way, where are all the people who were arguing that this kind of crap is what pool needs? It's time to move pool from the gutter or watch it die. I'm not talking about gambling either. It in itself is not evil.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk
 
Tobermory said:
Bad Losers. Losing pool players would do very well to watch the video of the straight pool match in which Crane runs 150 and out against Joe Balsis. Then they would see how a muscular, truly masculine man who had cut meat for a living and was a mechanic in the Coast Guard during a war conducts himself when he loses an important pool match.
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I like the situation you used to describe it. I have watched that match many times and Balsis acted like a perfect gentleman even though he knew he was getting trounced.

Unfortunately, that era of people having class in most endeavors from that period doesnt exist anymore. If people knew they were being televised back then, they wouldnt dream of acting like a jerk because they wouldnt want everyone to see them acting like that.

Today, we have slobs who dont care what anyone thinks, thats what we have come to. Not entirely, but the idiots stand out way too much nowadays and they must revel in it.

The penalties for this type of behavior we have witnessed should be financial and automatic. Then we will see how quick they start toning it down when they know they will be leaving with empty pockets. Loss of income has that strange effect of calming people down.

As for Earl, how he has gotten away so long with this nonsense act of his is amazing to me. I can guarantee that hes the type that if someone would have given him a well deserved crack in the mouth, he would start screaming for the cops and a lawyer instantly, the fact the he deserved what he got would never enter his mind though, thats for sure. Its truly astounding that no one has done it yet, thats a real mystery.
 
Toncam said:
As for Earl, how he has gotten away so long with this nonsense act of his is amazing to me. I can guarantee that hes the type that if someone would have given him a well deserved crack in the mouth, he would start screaming for the cops and a lawyer instantly, the fact the he deserved what he got would never enter his mind though, thats for sure. Its truly astounding that no one has done it yet, thats a real mystery.
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Maybe because people have more class 'these days' than you think?
 
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