When you lose a game, you shake the mans hand and if you can even muster a smile, that's even better. That shows character. Whining after the match makes you look so bad, so bad...Makes you look petty and like a loser. Losers whine, winners do something about it.
I've heard stuff like (I gave you the match) so many times, and I've gotten sick of it. In a way that has been good for me, since it helped me stop doing that sort of thing myself. Look, sometimes a not so good player catches a gear, or we dog an easy ball, but that is life. What shows character is how you deal with adversity.
I think the worst thing that happened to me was when I won an 8 ball game by breaking and running 5 racks. It was an important game, and my opponent was someone I looked up to. At that time it was a major accomplishment, and I was smiling from ear to ear, but instead of shaking my hand or just being quiet, my opponent had to make snarky comments. I lost a lot of respect for him that day. I try to remember that when I play weak players. If they beat me, I should let them enjoy it.
My philosophy is always to hold my opponent in high esteem. If I don't respect him, then beating him gives me nothing. If I say to myself, this is a good player, capable of running out, then I do my best to win and winning is even sweeter. And if he truely does not deserve my respect, then losing to him is my fault and should not lead to me speaking ill of him or whining. Sorry about the long rant.
