Is it poor sportsmanship to celebrate a mistake by the other player?

Very bad sportsmanship. My first season I played a 4-2 race. I had a good rack and the first one. The guy I played ended up scratching on the 8 as well giving me the match. I have known the guy and played with him on other occasions. He shook my hand and I told him that wasn't a loss for him or a win for me. It was a technicality. We waited for the rest of the matches to finish and played again for fun. He also taught me a lot that took me from a 3 to a 5 in 8-ball.

Be to be humble than an @$$hole.
 
Yes it is...

I don't care if someone cheers when I make a mistake as I tend to ease up on people when I think of them as my friend and if I want to crush them I get quiet and focused. It feels like I am in a box and its just me and the ball.

But if someone on my team cheers when our opponent makes an error or if they cheer when my team makes an error. I go over and have a little talk with them. Its hard enough for a civilian to try out competing with out the destructive unpleasant bs.

In fact I find the toxic stew of negativity that is most teams really depressing. I think with some good coaching and positive reinforcement you get a way better team. Only 1 player on my team is under 55% lifetime win percentage. I believe this is mainly due to my teams ethos. We don't support you because of what you have done what we care about is what you will do next. So if you make a mistake shake it off and make the best of what you have. We pull allot of matches out of the fire by not letting them change the state of play.
 
I agree with the OP, but with the caveat that there are shades of gray built into this. For example: if you're simply playing a league round and this happens? You celebrate inwardly. You can be gracious, you can smile, you can be happy - because you did win. But you keep it in. The reason I say there are shades of gray is because if this happens for something major - say the last play in a long tournament, a significant championship... You can celebrate and whoop it up a little (within the bounds of taste) because of the significance of what just happened. You celebrate the title, not the way things went down. You celebrate surviving the long grind. But if it is just league? Definitely not the way to go.
 
Of course it's poor sportsmanship and bad manners
That type of behavior is common with a certain element of league pool.
On the flip side, I've seen douche-bags do what would almost be considered a victory lap, every time they pocket a ball.
I hate league pool
 
hang-the-9 said:
So something happened in league last night that really upset me.

I had this in the 'how you are doing in league' post also but I think it's a good enough post on it's own.

My team-mate was going to 4, other guy going to 2.

The score is 3-1, and our guy is shooting the 8 in the side, tough cut. He missed, but the cueball hits off the side rail and goes across into the corner to scratch and we lose the set.

The other guy is waving his hands in victory, pumping his fist, jumping off his chair all happy. I found that to be in really poor taste. You did not earn the win, you did not play good enough to even have an even game with the player, you should not be celebrating that the other guy had the misfortune to scratch in a odd way (it was not an obvious scratch by any means). He started to say how he keeps beating the good players and I told him "you did not beat anyone today, you had to win half the games the other guy did and the only reason you even won that was because he scratched and it was crappy of you to be happy at his loss".

I consider it bad manners to celebrate a mistake by the other guy or root for someone to mess up. Don't know why so many players, even some good ones I have seen, get all worked up when they get an un-earned win.
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ABSOLUTELY is poor sportsmanship. It's one thing to root for yourself; but not at the expense of others. If you win due to an opponent's fatal unforced error, shrug your shoulders, shake their hand, and give 'em a 'them's the rolls, buddy'. Celebrating another's mistake is in poor taste, and may earn you a black eye.

A few months back playing TAPs, I'm a 7 playing a 4, I believe it was a 5-2 race. I win the lag, then make the 8 out of turn on a fluke carom executing a breakout. So he's on the hill out of the gate, and I need 5 straight. I rack and run the next game, then put a 3-pack on him to make it hill-hill. I break and scratch. He makes a few balls, gets out of line, dogs the ball; but I have no shot, and my balls are a mess. He kicks and makes a good hit, and clears some traffic for me as well. I take care of my problems, but have to play one more safe, as I accidentally tied up his last ball is tied up to the 8. He tries a wild shot, misses, and hooks me behind the 8. I kick safe, freezing him to the back of my ball. He kicks his ball into the wrong pocket, but once again leaves me with no shot. I play one more safe, leaving him a long off angle bank on the 8. He misses the bank, leaves me straight in, but the 8 rolls in front of the CB and I have no shot. I jump the 8, but hang my last ball in the corner, leaving him an easy shot for the win. Afterwards, he's running around the table with his cue raised above his head like he just won the US Open, saying stuff like "that's how you do it","he ain't all that","XXXXx(me) just got schooled" etc. etc. I told him to get back on the table, I'd give him 6 on the wire going to 7 for $100, and if I lose I'd quit pool. He shut up pretty quick after that.

P.S. We've played a few times since then. Me-15, him-0
 
Couple of thoughts:

If you win, you won..act like you've been there before..congratulate the opponent for a good contest...perhaps comment on things they did well..'you kicked well everytime I tried to play safe..good shooting'/ 'that was a great cut up the rail on that 7 ball'..earnest honest compliments.

If you 'win' because the opponent 'lost' on a bad roll, a scratch etc..acknowledge the misfortune and accept the result as fortunate for you. There is no win to celebrate, and unduly celebrating the opponent's loss speaks to a misguided value set.

Stuff happens...recognize it and act accordingly. Luck is a factor in most games...deal with it appropriately.

Saying 'thanks' when the opponent rattles the 9 or scratches..is probably not the best reaction...unless your intention is to be penciled into the wrong side of the ledger.

Some people are jerks...might as well clarify that status early on. Celebrating an opponent's misfortune instead of your own accomplishment is a clarifying act.

Just my opinion..and I have been that jerk. I'm working on it.
 
Cornerman said:
I think it's incredibly poor sportsmanship to celebrate an unforced error/mistake by the opponent.
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For every high there is a low...

For those that are bothered by one celebrating an opponent's error, remember: that individual is equally tortured by his own errors.

I wish pool folks were more like 3c folks, they celebrate each other's accomplishments and apologize for unintended gains.
 
It really sucks, but what are you gonna do?
I mean, I guess you can do it right back, but to me that doesn't feel right. I do recognize however, that sometimes when you hope to address trash you have to get right down in the gutter with it. There have been times that found match behavior so unsportsmanlike that (if I win) I won't shake hands when it's over. That's when I can tell the other person "dude, you acted like an ass". If I lose then my options are fewer, anything I do or say may reflect as sour grapes. But win or lose, if they.ve acted that way, then they have already set the tone for any future matches that we may play and they can count on my best effort to make their mothers cry when they see how badly I've treated their children.
 
Depends

If I am playing a buddy and I scratch and he laughs in fun and beats me I laugh to. If I beat some guy and I can see he is bummed I would tell him he got screwed by a bad roll. Pool is one of the few sports where a show of emotions at any time besides a post play interview is frowned upon. That is the nature of the beast. If Strickland shows emotion it is usually in poor taste and I think it is a cheap trick a looser does hoping to win. If Alex the Lion shows emotion he pleases the crowd and no one is put off. Much depends on the delivery, timing and how it is viewed by others. Being a jerk because you loose or win is a character flaw and speaks volumes about the type of person one is.
 
hang-the-9 said:
So something happened in league last night that really upset me.

I had this in the 'how you are doing in league' post also but I think it's a good enough post on it's own.

My team-mate was going to 4, other guy going to 2.

The score is 3-1, and our guy is shooting the 8 in the side, tough cut. He missed, but the cueball hits off the side rail and goes across into the corner to scratch and we lose the set.

The other guy is waving his hands in victory, pumping his fist, jumping off his chair all happy. I found that to be in really poor taste. You did not earn the win, you did not play good enough to even have an even game with the player, you should not be celebrating that the other guy had the misfortune to scratch in a odd way (it was not an obvious scratch by any means). He started to say how he keeps beating the good players and I told him "you did not beat anyone today, you had to win half the games the other guy did and the only reason you even won that was because he scratched and it was crappy of you to be happy at his loss".

I consider it bad manners to celebrate a mistake by the other guy or root for someone to mess up. Don't know why so many players, even some good ones I have seen, get all worked up when they get an un-earned win.
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Yes. Bad manners to high five and fist pump after an opponent makes a mistake.

Equally bad manners to rain on somebody's win by telling them "they didn't earn it", "got lucky" or whatever. This player is obviously not very experienced and is excited about pool. Won a match, no matter how it happened, and he should be allowed to enjoy that. Even if he was out of line how he celebrated.
 
Some people are just uneducated when it comes to the game and game etiquette. They don't realize (or don't care) how poorly that behavior reflects on them or their team and that they might be very unwelcome next time around. This can be addressed in a delicate way as not offend by trying to find the right word to let them know that although they are playing well, it's not OK to openly wish misfortune on their opponent and cheer that misfortune when it happens, it all comes around.
...and some people are very aware and are just ass-hats, these are the people that nee to be hurt
 
I never celebrate an opponent's mistake. Matter of fact, I go out of my way to be respectful and try to gauge how they want to be treated. Never tap the tank as you may play that individual in the future. I don't want them super focused when they play me the next time. Just like poker, I don't berate someone's bad play when they get lucky when they win a hand when they were a huge dog. I want them to continue their bad play as I want to benefit from it.

All that being said, I guess that is why the 4 is a 4. The match was hill/hill. He/she missed a tough cut but lost control of the CB and scratched. I think from that point of view you may be denigrating the 2. Just a thought. I am not advocating for the opponents behavior.

Al
 
I don't mind if my opponent and his team celebrate a victory...even if it resulted from my error. After all, who am I to deprive them of this small pleasure. On the other hand, when it happens to me, I try to shake my opponent's hand, apologize to him for his bad luck and quietly accept congratulations from my team.

Now...on the other hand. I've been in matches where my opponent's team will make it a point to clap, hoop, and holler after each and every one of my mistakes. This usually has the effect of really getting my competitive juices going and putting me into a sort of "search and destroy" mode where all my senses seem to be on hyper-drive.....or I just go on tilt.
 
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Knucklehead Move

Very bad sportsmanship. Almost as bad is when you win your game and start high fiving your teammates before shaking your opponent's hand.
 
The wonderful world of league play:rolleyes: Sorry, this is one of the many, many reasons I don't participate. And, yes, I know not all league players are like this, but too, too many are.
 
If someone over celebrates a win over me, I am flattered. It means they thought I was good enough that winning was a big deal. All I really care about is the other guy doesn't try to cheat and doesn't try to shark me while I'm shooting. If my own focus and mental strength is so poor the other stuff gets to me, it's a problem I need to fix.

The vast majority of people I play are good people. I'm not going to get bent out of shape over the few A-holes that you inevitably run into daily/weekly in life. If they persist in presenting themselves as a problem, you ruthlessly and deviously plot their downfall. LOL
 
You should sit down and shut your mouth...PERIOD
The teammates should sit down and shut up

No talking to the other player
Oh Nice Shot
I thought you had that
You really won that game; you got a bad roll, no justice... meanwhile I am breaking
WOW, Etc Etc
I am sure you have heard them all; some of you may have said them.
There are many forms of sharking and disrespect
Sit in the chair...Shaddap....shake hands when it's over

No Gimmes, shoot everything. I don't care if my opponent hit 10 recovery shots and has the winning ball hanging, SHOOT IT
I want to shoot it also. MAKE ME SHOOT IT. Set that rule from the beginning, shoot everything

Celebrate on my misfortune? I am calling you out on it for sure.

If I played leagues I would end up in jail taking over Jeffrey Dahmers cell.
I would probably boil them and eat them, or worse, OFF WITH THEIR HEAD, some of my teammates also
Fran Crimi hit it on the head, Education, that would be 98% of the pool world
And the the rest of the nation.
 
Very rude and shows a complete lack of class. I think we've all won a match or several because of a fatal mistake that our opponent made. I never celebrate that and hate to win that way. I don't make a big celebration of any win. I shake the hand of my opponent and tell them good match..or if it's a bad one for them because of their play, I'll say tough match man, just didn't go your way.or not your night...I don't think high fives all around or big loud talking about a victory has any room in the pool hall. Just my way of doing things I guess.
 
What is with accusing players of sharking by giving a compliment. I've never been distracted by someone saying "good shot" or whatever. I take it as a .... compliment lol.

I've said it to other players who have just made a nice shot, because - drum roll- they made a nice shot, not to shark them.

Confused.
 
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