How receptive is your family about your passion with pool??

To be totally honest, you and your GF need to live your lives.

1on1pooltournys said:
A recent problem has been when my gf goes with me to a tournament or to gamble and her friends give her a lot of heat about it. I understand they have no idea of what is really going on and make it seem like I'm some type of huge sucker that thinks he can make money by gambling. So, seeing as how you are a female, is there any way this can be presented to them in a manner that may shed some light? We went to a Dave Matthews concert in Bloomington, Indiana not to long ago and went to some college bars after the show and I beat some guys out of about 200. The one girl with us thought this was the coolest thing in the world, yet gets pissed when she hears that I'm out late at night playing pool. Sorry to keep rambling, but It is definitely a concern, as I'd like to keep our relationship strong and prevent her friends from despising me!!
Click to expand...


Well, it sounds like her friends should keep their noses out of your relationship. I hate to be so brutally honest, but the relationship you have with your GF is frankly none of their biz.(IMO) Remember, your only job is to keep her happy, not her friends. If she understands, then thats all that matters.
 
Milo said:
Well, it sounds like her friends should keep their noses out of your relationship. I hate to be so brutally honest, but the relationship you have with your GF is frankly none of their biz.(IMO) Remember, your only job is to keep her happy, not her friends. If she understands, then thats all that matters.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the insight. I guess it boils down to those not in our sub-culture have no clue about how passionate we are about the game we love. I dont understand it. If we were passionate about any other sport, then it would probably a different scenario. Oh well, I'll always be "married" to pool NO MATTER WHAT.
 
Sorry for the brutal honesty.

1on1pooltournys said:
Thanks for the insight. I guess it boils down to those not in our sub-culture have no clue about how passionate we are about the game we love. I dont understand it. If we were passionate about any other sport, then it would probably a different scenario. Oh well, I'll always be "married" to pool NO MATTER WHAT.
Click to expand...

I hope she does understand your passion for pool. I think you are lucky.
I have heard alot of sad stories about guys GFs not understanding. Either a GF gets it, or they dont. Its just that simple. Good Luck to you.
 
Thanks for all the good posts.

Well, it sure does sound like there is quite a bit of support and understanding from family, which is good. And to the others that dont get as much support. Stick to what you love, maybe someday they will understand.
My mom didnt understand until she saw me win a BCA regionals event.
The look on her face was priceless. LOL She had no idea. I am glad she saw me win a big event before she passed away. Now shes always with me.
 
Even though

Milo said:
Well, it sure does sound like there is quite a bit of support and understanding from family, which is good. And to the others that dont get as much support. Stick to what you love, maybe someday they will understand.
My mom didnt understand until she saw me win a BCA regionals event.
The look on her face was priceless. LOL She had no idea. I am glad she saw me win a big event before she passed away. Now shes always with me.
Click to expand...

Even though the one time my Mom was in Vegas during the VNEA tourney, I didn't win, she did get to see me play a few games during a match. That was several years ago, and she has passed on about 3 years ago.
As for relationships and pool, it can be a hard deal. My Ex-wife played, and although she went to Vegas every year with all of us, and played with a womens team. She used to say, "next year we need to do something different, maybe go to Florida." Now why in the hell would I want to take a vacation to Florida instead of going to Vegas and playing pool? That's absolutely stupid. No, I didn't say that to her. But c'mon, I have a chance to actually make money while on vacation.
Bobby, take it from me, your girlfriend is the only one who can help convince her friends. The first woman I lived with, was my soulmate. She had 2 kids that I loved like my own. We lived together for about 4 years and talked about getting married. When we met, I was playing music and playing pool for a living. I was averaging about 3 times more income a week than working a normal 40 a week job. We had life kicked. It wasn't her friends, but her Mom that didn't understand about pool and how much I loved it and..... her too. I found long after we split up, that her Mom was convincing her I was cheating on her because of my not wanting to get real job. After a while, I guess she just couldn't take it.
If you really care for this girl, make sure you talk with her. Tell her to tell her friends, if they don't understand it, just don't talk to her about it. It is a sub-culture. Maybe it is actually cheating to be in love with something like this.

I always kid about past girlfriends who asked me to quit pool. I say, "I just told her, my pool cue was here a long time before you were, and it will be here a long time after you're gone" End of story.
I know your talent for playing pool, and you don't get there without loving it. Best of luck with your girlfriend, hope you can keep them both. Sam
 
Nice Post Sam

satman said:
Even though the one time my Mom was in Vegas during the VNEA tourney, I didn't win, she did get to see me play a few games during a match. That was several years ago, and she has passed on about 3 years ago.
As for relationships and pool, it can be a hard deal. My Ex-wife played, and although she went to Vegas every year with all of us, and played with a womens team. She used to say, "next year we need to do something different, maybe go to Florida." Now why in the hell would I want to take a vacation to Florida instead of going to Vegas and playing pool? That's absolutely stupid. No, I didn't say that to her. But c'mon, I have a chance to actually make money while on vacation.
Bobby, take it from me, your girlfriend is the only one who can help convince her friends. The first woman I lived with, was my soulmate. She had 2 kids that I loved like my own. We lived together for about 4 years and talked about getting married. When we met, I was playing music and playing pool for a living. I was averaging about 3 times more income a week than working a normal 40 a week job. We had life kicked. It wasn't her friends, but her Mom that didn't understand about pool and how much I loved it and..... her too. I found long after we split up, that her Mom was convincing her I was cheating on her because of my not wanting to get real job. After a while, I guess she just couldn't take it.
If you really care for this girl, make sure you talk with her. Tell her to tell her friends, if they don't understand it, just don't talk to her about it. It is a sub-culture. Maybe it is actually cheating to be in love with something like this.

I always kid about past girlfriends who asked me to quit pool. I say, "I just told her, my pool cue was here a long time before you were, and it will be here a long time after you're gone" End of story.
I know your talent for playing pool, and you don't get there without loving it. Best of luck with your girlfriend, hope you can keep them both. Sam
Click to expand...

Couldnt of said it any better!!!!! Great Post!!!
I might of been alittle too vague and direct. LOL Thanks Sam!!!
 
An illustrative story

The groom, a noted shortstop, waited at the altar.

As the bride listened to the Pastor's words, she noted her betrothed's cue case leaning against the altar behind him.
She asked, accusedly, "What's that about?"

The groom responded, "Well, this isn't going to take all day, is it?"

:rolleyes:
 
memikey said:
Yep it does sound very familiar ironman.......and to be perfectly honest any family who encourages a family member to take pool very seriously is probably doing that person no favours.

As a pool mad person you will forever be viewed by the majority of people, including many potential employers, potential clients, in-laws and bank managers to name but four groups, as being slightly short of a fully rounded and mature adult, lacking in class, slightly downmarket, slightly untrusworthy and as someone who 'could have done better' but got in with the wrong crowd.

Sad but unfortunately as true today as it was 40 years ago.
Click to expand...

You are so right and I guess I have known this for decades and really just didn't care what people thought. As I have gotten older, sure there are regrets, but there always are. The difference now is that I really could care less about what people think. My wife and I are very happy and have even found a way to have fun at it without her ever hitting a ball.

The older I get, the smarter I was!!
 
When i met my wife, i told her that i had one hobby & that was playing pool.

I told her that i would be playing pool until i was too old & decrepid to walk around the table.

I asked her if she had any problem with that.

she said "no".








it's been a problem ever since.
 
no doubt

asn130 said:
When i met my wife, i told her that i had one hobby & that was playing pool.

I told her that i would be playing pool until i was too old & decrepid to walk around the table.

I asked her if she had any problem with that.

she said "no".







it's been a problem ever since.
Click to expand...






They just don't totally understand what that means, "I have 1, {count it 1} hobby." It means basically, I have NO TIME FOR ANY OTHER FOOLISHNESS IN LIFE. I will work to take care of my family, {and support my hobby, habit} but I will require some free time of my own,{12 or 13 hours a day} to play some pool. Be it here at home, or 3000 miles away on a month long road trip. LOL.....
That's what my first girl I lived with said. I will never ask you to quit playing pool or music for a living. Yea, right. It's just a test with them most of the time, to see if you love them enough to give up playing pool.

No offense intended to the ladies, because some of you are as bad as us. I just had a female friend, ask her boyfriend, {who also plays leagues 3 nights a week} to move out because he said she was playing pool too much. She thinks leagues 5 nights a week are ok and 1 night at a tournament. After all, she takes Tuesdays off to stay home. LOL
 
I have ZERO support from my family, They doesn't even consider it as a sport. They kept telling me that I've grownup and should stop of playing it. They think its a bad sport/or a game for tramp people or a game for kids. they don't respect pool whatsoever which annoys me. and I love it so much, but can't take it as a profissiona. It's a hubby for me.
 
Last year i played pool 360 days out of the year . I hate it when i think about
those 5 wasted days :D

So far since i started playing pool my kids hate me my wife left me and my dog bite me :eek: :rotflmao1:
 
Last edited:
I grew up in a small town in Oklahoma in the 1950's. We had a snooker hall called the "Men's Club". They meant it - no women allowed. There was no sign outside that I remember, just a small single wooden door in a brick wall behind the cab stand. When you went in the door, you went down a long dark hall to another door with a one-way window so the people inside could see who was coming in.

Even without the sign, my mother knew what it was and knew that the devil lived there and forbid me to ever go there. I went every day. From about my first day in Junior High School, which was about 3 blocks away, I played snooker after school and on weekends. We never played pool. The room was deep and there were maybe half a dozen snooker tables and then there were a couple of pool tables at the back. We never played on them. We saw some older people playing on them from time to time and sometimes a crowd would gather around to watch, but we never payed them much attention. Since there was gambling going on back there, we were encouraged to stay away. I wonder now who we missed back there.

Anyway, all through school, I was told that any kind of billiards was bad and people who play it go to hell and that I should quit. Up until the day I left for the navy in 1961, I played it pretty much every day. I never played again until the early 90's, when a friend got me interested again.

Today I play league one night a week and tournaments when I can. My wife has emphysema and is on oxygen 24/7, so she won't even start to consider thinking about going with me until long after a complete smoking ban. But she does encourage me to go anytime and supports me playing at any time. Things could be worse.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top