The discussion is that some people are stating the horror of SVB not going to the Japan Open cause the #1 ranking is so extremely important to the success of American pool. This couldn't be farther from the truth. These are people that need to reevaluate what is reality.
Beyond the countless threads on here involving the Mosconi Cup, Facebook posts as well. Very little discussion on who is ranked #1 and even less on who has won the prestigious Japan Open. And the history of these two is even less noticed.
I'll bet more people can name how many Mosconi Cup teams Mike DeChaine has been on than can name, from any year, who was ranked #1 say in the time frame of 2007-2011.
Kudos to Shane for having the mettle to put the Mosconi team first.