I remember when Earl was one of the most feared 9 ball players alive. I also remember him as a very gracious person unless you went up to him right after a tough loss, which applies to most of us. He always signed autographs took pictures and talked with the legion of fans he had, for whatever reason things started to shark Earl, a bad roll here a lucky shot there and then he made the mistake of letting people know he was vulnerable. I don't remember the players themselves sharking him as much as {outside} forces, a ref walks in front of him the cameraman moves then some fans got involved. maybe they were betting against him and goaded him to hedge their bet, maybe they were just scumbags with nothing better to do. I have seen fans that should have been escorted to the door and instead they just let it go on. No other sport would allow that. I realize that Earl was his own worst enemy but he should have never had to argue with a fan to begin with, when John McEnroe or Jimmy Connors lost it, no one in the stands was allowed to throw gasoline on them. Now Earl is past his prime and people don't cheer for him as a former champion they see if they can add to his disease or make fun of him. To me it seems like those people are poking a dead lion, it is disgusting and cheap and one of the reasons billiards will never be a top sport. It starts when a young person comes in the poolroom for the first time and all the deadbeats try to get them gambling to "improve" their game. You have to be a masochist to even play pool regularly because someone is always trying to set you up no matter what level you play at. Then if you fade all that and finally become a great player the minute you weaken you're a victim again, someone for the young guns to feed off of till you finally realize you can't win anymore. I read the post about Don Willis being the greatest player to ever live and I wanted to puke, he was a fine player but he was not the greatest player who ever lived. And the biggest question is what did he ever do for the promotion of billiards ? This thread is not meant as a slam against Don Willis anyone who takes it there has missed the point of the post and will hopefully reread it.
