Mully:
Gold star! I'm 44, born and raised in Westchester County, NY (but have spent a good amount of my life in the U.S. Navy, living on the West coast, and then later in the South). I was also raised the same way -- I'm not an old relic from the past, but I was taught manners. The same thing with the hat indoors (good example). As well as, always look your best when meeting people for the first time (which, when you think about it, you *are* doing when going to a pool tournament -- player or spectator, it doesn't matter).
I personally wear a nice full-sleeve full-collared shirt, dress slacks, and socks that blend with my shoes. Speaking of shoes, they aren't full dress types, but rather smart-looking casual/comfortable shoes (I have a pair of "Mr. Cat" hand-made suede shoes that I bought in Brazil that are the most comfortable pair of shoes I've ever owned -- and I take care of them). I also have some nice casual Rockports that are very comfortable, very conducive to being on one's feet, walking/stalking around the pool table. Definitely no sneakers or flip-flops. Nor T-shirts for that matter.
I can understand about folks wanting to be comfortable. But let's consider one's image, especially in front of spectators. Yes yes, "I want to do what I want to do, and you can kiss my *ss." This attitude only gets you so far in life. It's like everyone's reading "do what you want to do, at the exact moment you want to do it" works from
Osho or
Richard Bach, but then bemoans what's happened with the pool industry, or how pool is left trying to wrestle itself out of the gutter of sports.
I like how certain folks are extremists, and take the "dress just a bit smarter" suggestion to extremes, and retort with the haughty, "yeah, right, like you'll see me in a 3-piece suit -- 'oh, let me get right on it and get sized for one post-haste!'" That's not what "smarter" means, smart *ss. T-shirts, flip-flops, and ragged jeans just ain't cutting it.
These same people also seem fond of quoting Rudolph Wanderone (aka, Minnesota Fats) when he famously said, "dressing a pool player in a tuxedo is like putting whipped cream on a hot dog." Yet these same people completely ignore the fact that Fatty was ALWAYS smartly dressed, no matter the fact he hated tuxedos (which, at the time, were advocated for public professional tournaments). Fatty ALWAYS wore a sport jacket, even when bent over a table shooting (which pool players today don't even do -- they take any jackets off!), dress shirt, slacks, very snazzy shoes, etc. Fatty liked to show how "well off" he was precisely by
how he dressed. So misquoting Fatty's specific balk at tuxedos is completely out of context and not in the spirit of what Fatty was trying to say. Fatty believed in showing off the fact you "have the cash," but not to the extreme of wearing formal tuxedos.
By the way, the original poster (sunnyone) seems fond of referring to "boys" and "girls." I like to think my fellow pool players/enthusiasts are "men" and "women." The distinction is clear, too -- "boys and girls" dress like, well, "boys and girls." Men and women, being mature adults, dress a lot sharper.
Just my $0.02,
-Sean
