Earl should be barred
- Thread starter spktur
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Pistol Pete
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We must see the whole picture
Earl Strickland certainly brings up strong debate. But I think many people don't look at the whole picture. We must remember that since pool is not a huge sport like football or baseball, it has some unique opportunities for the fans. First of all, since venues are small, we have the chance to get up close and personal with world champions at tournaments. That allows us to see everything, good and bad. We also can mingle with the players outside of the pit. That's something you could never do in other professional sports. For me, that provides a unique opportunity that we should all enjoy.
Sure, Earl's far from perfect. But has anyone paid attention to how many spectators treat him lately? At this year's DCC Earl was playing a local Louisville favorite. At one point the favorite made a great shot and got a great applause. Earl made a great shot and no applause. With a smile on this face he said to the crowd "I guess only his shots are great." I firmly believe this comment was made in humor not anger. But some jerk in the crowd made a rude comment to Earl and that changed his demeaner. Again, if we weren't so close to the action, we may not even have this interaction. And the jerk rode Earl throughout the match. There's no reason to verbally root against any player. The fact that we can get close to these players should be seen as a priviledge.
I talked to Earl after the match and assured him that all DCC fans weren't like that guy in the crowd. He actually thanked me for that comment. He mentioned that it happens all over America. Has he brought some of it on himself, sure. But it seems to be a vicious cycle that we as fans must stop. I've had the chance to talk personally with Earl at many a DCC and always enjoyed it. When else do fans have a chance to talk shop with a legend of their favorite sport?
By the way, the next night after losing his 9 ball match, my 11 year old daughter wanted to approach Earl for a picture. We followed him out of the pit to the hallway. I told my daughter that he might not be real happy. When she asked if we could get a picture, Earl said "Of course. I talk to your dad at these tournaments all the time." While that not might not be exactly true, it made my daughter feel like she had a cool dad. I thank Earl for that.
Sorry for the long post but I think we must all consider the whole picture.
Earl Strickland certainly brings up strong debate. But I think many people don't look at the whole picture. We must remember that since pool is not a huge sport like football or baseball, it has some unique opportunities for the fans. First of all, since venues are small, we have the chance to get up close and personal with world champions at tournaments. That allows us to see everything, good and bad. We also can mingle with the players outside of the pit. That's something you could never do in other professional sports. For me, that provides a unique opportunity that we should all enjoy.
Sure, Earl's far from perfect. But has anyone paid attention to how many spectators treat him lately? At this year's DCC Earl was playing a local Louisville favorite. At one point the favorite made a great shot and got a great applause. Earl made a great shot and no applause. With a smile on this face he said to the crowd "I guess only his shots are great." I firmly believe this comment was made in humor not anger. But some jerk in the crowd made a rude comment to Earl and that changed his demeaner. Again, if we weren't so close to the action, we may not even have this interaction. And the jerk rode Earl throughout the match. There's no reason to verbally root against any player. The fact that we can get close to these players should be seen as a priviledge.
I talked to Earl after the match and assured him that all DCC fans weren't like that guy in the crowd. He actually thanked me for that comment. He mentioned that it happens all over America. Has he brought some of it on himself, sure. But it seems to be a vicious cycle that we as fans must stop. I've had the chance to talk personally with Earl at many a DCC and always enjoyed it. When else do fans have a chance to talk shop with a legend of their favorite sport?
By the way, the next night after losing his 9 ball match, my 11 year old daughter wanted to approach Earl for a picture. We followed him out of the pit to the hallway. I told my daughter that he might not be real happy. When she asked if we could get a picture, Earl said "Of course. I talk to your dad at these tournaments all the time." While that not might not be exactly true, it made my daughter feel like she had a cool dad. I thank Earl for that.
Sorry for the long post but I think we must all consider the whole picture.
Curoius if any of you read about the Glass City Open with Strickland vs Archer. Just another account of Earl being an ass. I beleive it was in the Billiards Digest issue that had Efren on the front after winning the KOH tourney (January I think)
Earl is a moron!
All the championships in the world don't give anyone the right to be an ass....
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DABABE said:
Thats very immature and disrespectful.
Rickw said:
This is so true and could be said of spectators heckling him aswell.....it only makes the problems worse....
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Awards, prizes, money and treasures is far different than respect...
Yes Earl the Girl Strickland won all them great things that most to all of us here dream of one day doing.........but that doesnt mean I respect the bastard
Yes Earl the Girl Strickland won all them great things that most to all of us here dream of one day doing.........but that doesnt mean I respect the bastard
cajunbarboxplyr said:Yes Earl the Girl Strickland won all them great things that most to all of us here dream of one day doing.........but that doesnt mean I respect the bastard
OK, lets look at this....
Earl "THE GIRL" Strickland
but that doesn't mean I respect "THE BASTARD"
I did a thorough search, and despite my best efforts, I could not find a single occassion where Earl posted here and called you "A GIRL" nor could I find a single example of him calling you "A BASTARD". Now whose being disrespectful??
I love the story where a man froze to death while sitting in front of a fireplace, next to a pile of wood. His said to the fireplace "First give me heat, then I will give you wood".
Listen, Earl is volatile, no question about it.
However, equally as certain, there are some people/fans. that go to his matches with the INTENT of setting him off!!! Then they say "He should be banned"!!!!
Thought of the day....
If you flip the light switch, don't curse the light for going on.
Fleece3 said:UH...Excuse me. Would those "actions over the years" be...6 World Championships, 5 US Open Championships? I think he has EARNED the crowds RESPECT!!!
Just a thought
Really, Fleece3? Yes he has titles and is a great player, but earning the crowds respect? Here's one example of many, many, many:
I was at the DCC maybe 2003 and waiting to watch Earl play Alex P. on the TV table. During warm-up (please note that you should play a rack-and allow your opponent plays a rack, etc.) Earl, while in the middle of his rack decides to tell stories to the audience; I mean a couple of long stories. At this point Earl seems to be in a good mood but can't/won't finish his rack, not allowing Alex to warm up. Every so often he'll hit one ball and continue his story. Alex waited very patiently and after many minutes of this made a joking comment suggesting he would like to practice (Alex had a big smile on his face and was not being disrespectful-just making a very light-hearted point that he would like to practice). That's all Earl needed. Alex had the nerve to interrupt Earl holding court with the spectators:
Earl went into a tirade screaming at Alex, calling him every name in the book, calling him a "Punk" several times and throwing balls on the table, talking to the crowd while yelling. It appeared that Earl was threatening Alex with physical as well as verbal violence (by the way, Alex looks like he weighs 93 lbs). Alex tried to keep it "light" but your hero Earl would have none of that. If you know Earl at all, or have seen him once he goes off, you know he doesn't stop. He was an embarrassment to himself and the sport. And it had nothing to do with the crowd’s behavior. In fact the crowd was enjoying some of the stories, but in typical Earl fashion, he was disrespecting Alex by not allowing him to practice before a very important match...and it turned ugly. Then once the match started, Earl turned to his "pouting" routine.
Earl got plenty of boos before the match because of how he acted and the fact that he was 100% wrong, surprisingly, not so much booing during the match...we just wanted to watch good pool. The point is Earl acts like a jerk, and often. I don't know if it's a chemical imbalance or he has no clue how to interact with people-and don't care. If it's treatable, treat it (and from what I read in other posts, he is on medication), if it's just Earl being Earl (a jerk), do something about it. Personally, I'm tired of it. You can support him all you want but the facts are the facts.
These are the type of antics that causes the crowds to pull for whomever Earl's playing. As I said, he as earned it.
Earl is still a great player, but clearly he stirs the emotion in all of us.
Dave
12squared said:
That is really a funny story! I saw Alex and Earl played a match in Calgary and it was winner rack. It was Alex's turn to rack and Earl was not too happy about his rack, Alex just kept smiling and trying to keep a sense of humor, it was one of the funnest thing I have seen in a pool tournament.
Earl is kind of like ...
Someone that tries to stack the deck when playing cards, to make everything in his favor, and 'out of favor' for his opponent. He simply
does not trust in his playing abilities enough anymore to believe that he
can win 'fairly'. His type of antics are echoed across the country by
hustlers of various sorts. He is just not very good at it, because everyone
knows what he is up to.
Someone that tries to stack the deck when playing cards, to make everything in his favor, and 'out of favor' for his opponent. He simply
does not trust in his playing abilities enough anymore to believe that he
can win 'fairly'. His type of antics are echoed across the country by
hustlers of various sorts. He is just not very good at it, because everyone
knows what he is up to.
Earl is very good player. He won big championships, but he won very less lately. Fans usually sees him as not a threat to championships anymore. So I believe that's where his attitude is coming from, he wants to make impact by being prima donna. (" I won numerous world titles respect me" kind of thing) . Earl's game was still the same as before when he was winning those trophies, but these new breed that he use to beat are the ones getting better and better. Even his contemporaries are still getting better, Scorpion, Reyes, Ralf etc. I would say his attitude comes more from frustrations. Just my opinion.
12squared said:
OK, where do I start??? First of all, Earl is not "MY HERO". That honor falls to my father and my uncle George. However, I DO respect Earl as being arguably the greatest 9 ball player of all time. Like I said in my post, Earl is volatile. But it goes deeper then that. Earl is manic. It is a emotional problem, not an option. When Earl "GOES OFF", he REALLY can not help himself. HE CAN NOT STOP IT. You can't step to a manic and say "Get a grip" or "Calm down". It doesn't work!!! You can only let him ride it out. Please listen to me here. At my job, I am often visited by a person with tirrets syndrome. I can not begin to tell you the verbal abuse that he has thrown at not only myself, but other co-workers. He has called me the "N" word, women the "B" word, and more. He even hits you for no reason. However, he is the nicest guy you would ever meet. HE CAN'T STOP IT!!!! Same with Earl. Blaming Earl for his episodes is like blaming a man with a broken leg for limping.
parvus1202 said:
Really?? At the most recent US Open Earl was the last American standing. Archer was gone, Ralf was gone, Reyes was gone (at the hands of Earl, I might add, he absolutely dismantled Reyes 11-5). Earl finished fourth. And if you BUY the accu-stats DVD you will hear them say (after he destroyed Reyes). "Earl is a major favorite to win this tournament". So I would say, he is still a MAJOR factor!! If you are convinced that he is not, lets bet on some of his matches in the future. I will bet Earl on any given day, against any given opponent.
Fleece3 said:OK, lets look at this....
Earl "THE GIRL" Strickland
but that doesn't mean I respect "THE BASTARD"
I did a thorough search, and despite my best efforts, I could not find a single occassion where Earl posted here and called you "A GIRL" nor could I find a single example of him calling you "A BASTARD". Now whose being disrespectful??
I love the story where a man froze to death while sitting in front of a fireplace, next to a pile of wood. His said to the fireplace "First give me heat, then I will give you wood".
On the same note, I can find an occasion (although not on this forum) where Earl told a whole damn city that "They Suck"
and here is a story for you:
An old man was walking out in the snow and found a snake half frozen to death. He took the snake in and warmed ikt up and nursed it back to health. One day when the man was sleeping the snake bit him and poisoned him. As the man was dying he ask "Why would you do that after I helped you" The snake replied "Look B!tch, you knew I was a snake"
How does this apply? You can put Earl in a tournament, say nice things about him, watch him shoot fantastic, but ultimately you will see him be total asshole to at least one person there.
All this said, I do respect Earl as he is one hell of a pool player, he just needs to work on being a better human being.
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