Earl has his fans and those who are not fans. That's a given.
FWIW, there used to be a player from Maryland named "Geese" who suffered from schizophrenia. I came to know Geese quite well, to include his family, e..g, mother and father. Geese was a great one-pocket player, but he could play all games. He went on the road many times when action games were rampant for road players. I accompanied him a few times.
When Geese was winning, he was on top of the world, much like Earl when Earl is playing good. When Geese was losing, though, his whole demeanor would change. He was quite different than Earl, though, when he would lose. Earl might be mouthy, but Geese was scary. I used to think Geese was full of you-know-what when this happened, but he had a medical condition.
I'm not sure if Geese's condition was hereditary or if it stemmed from him getting shock treatments as a young adult. He sometimes had to get a shot of some medicine when he got really bad. I can't remember the name of it, but it began with a "P."
One road trip, we were en route back to Maryland, and Geese became suddenly angry and asked me to pull over. I was driving his car. He got in the back seat. As we drove off, he started speaking some words that scared me like, "Your god is pulling against my god. You want me to lose." I could feel a chill go up my spine as Geese was uttering these words behind my back, in the back seat. We arrived in Roanoke to some pool room, and I immediate went to a pay phone to find out where the nearest bus station was. There was no way I was getting back in that car with him. :frown:
Some player -- I think his name was Roanoke Red -- took Geese outside and smoked some pot. Pot seemed to sedate Geese when he was in one of those moods. When it came time to leave, Geese said, "Let's go," but there was no way I was stepping foot in that car with him. His whole demeanor was different after smoking the pot. He then said something to me that I will never forget. He said, "I am sorry about that happening. I don't know why that happens to me, but I'm okay now. I really am. Come on. Let's go back home." And he started crying because he felt bad.
The thing is that whether it's bipolar, mental illness, schizophrenia -- call it what you want -- there are triggers that can cause an outbreak, much like what an epileptic suffers with when they have a seizure. For Geese, and maybe Earl, losing in a pool game triggers these outbreaks. They are, indeed, medical maladies. Some handle it better than others. Believe it or not, Earl handles it better than Geese did.
Now, I'm quite sure Earl won't like reading these words I have written, but I can say this is definitely true. Marijuana is the absolute *worst* thing a person can do if they suffer with any medical condition such as bipolar or schizophrenia. Altering one's state of consciousness at will with a person who has a medical condition such as schizophrenia or bipoolar causes side effects that a person without this medical condition would never experience. The emotional system of a person who suffers from one of these conditions goes way out of whack and will stay that way for a while.
For those who want to continue to believe that Earl or the Geeses of the world are faking it, it's your prerogative. I used to think Geese was faking it when he acted poorly, but he wasn't. It was a medical condition, and the side effects, unfortunately, happened when he was under pressure, much like what happens to Earl when he's in the heat of the battle on a field of green or tournament blue. Geese used to say he heard voices. I used to think he was full of it, but I was wrong. The voices inside his head were real to him.
There are many people today who suffer with bipolar, schizophrenia, or other medical conditions that go undiagnosed. It is a real medical condition, and sometimes the side effects, outbreaks, seizures -- call them what you want -- cannot be controlled, as some on this thread are wont to saying.
