Keith, you're the man. I'm one of many, many players that has never stopped to introduce myself because if every one of your fans did you'd never get to a match in time. It's too bad we didn't have cameras around when you were at the top of your game, but it would've been hard to catch your best game anyway. Everyone that knows you knows that your tournament wins, while impressive, weren't the biggest feather in your cap.
The fact is that tournaments are a race, they require a fast start, and they offer the protection of a finish line. In those conditions you could compete with the best, but it wasn't really where you shone. Take away the finish line, take the emphasis off a quick start, and make it about heart, stamina, and high gear, and NO ONE would take you lightly. There were other champions in your era, Buddy, Jose, etc, but you were in the mix and that talent is once in a generation.
I don't want to compare. Today's game is different. Fast cloth, breaking templates, lively rails, pristine conditions. You were slugging it out with oversized cueballs on torn up cloth with dead rails and playing 40 hour sessions with music blaring and smoke filling the room. And, to the point of this thread, you didn't wilt under pressure, it was fuel to the fire. If team Europe tried you in that arena they might look as out of place as you would if you came out of retirement today.
I don't disagree that team Europe is outstanding. In today's environment I think they've evolved with the game. And the conditions today dictate that old records will fall. How can they not with magic racks and low deflection shafts? Their discipline and wholistic approach is a great fit, and they are pushing us all to evolve with the game. But there is no question that you've been to the top of the mountain and no one today brings any more than what you brought every day for many years.
Thanks for adding so much color to a great game. Just knowing you'll read this post is an honor Keith.
