Impressed by Earl

Big Perm

Big Perm

1pkt 14.1 8 Banks 9 10
Silver Member
I have zero experience with Earl....other than some of the video links to his bad behavior and some scolding on the forum, I have never EVER seen him play in person, TV, or video....

That was until this weekend.....I saw him play Buste on the tube for about 30 minutes....caught it by accident and realized this was the very first time I had ever seen him play, period.....bottom line, impressed to the Nth degree to watch him play.....his position play was impeccable, pocketing the same, he was quiet, considerate, and most importantly, his pace of play was perfect.....he took time when he needed to, but he kept up a great pace and kept me watching....normally, I tune out after being bored for 20-30 seconds inbetween shots....Earl, you da man....

Oh, and not trying to take away from Buste.....all the same compliments would apply.....I just expected an Earl circus after some of the comments I've seen here, and while I'm sure he has his moments, the 30 minutes I saw was greatness....
 
Big Perm said:
I have zero experience with Earl....other than some of the video links to his bad behavior and some scolding on the forum, I have never EVER seen him play in person, TV, or video....

That was until this weekend.....I saw him play Buste on the tube for about 30 minutes....caught it by accident and realized this was the very first time I had ever seen him play, period.....bottom line, impressed to the Nth degree to watch him play.....his position play was impeccable, pocketing the same, he was quiet, considerate, and most importantly, his pace of play was perfect.....he took time when he needed to, but he kept up a great pace and kept me watching....normally, I tune out after being bored for 20-30 seconds inbetween shots....Earl, you da man....

Oh, and not trying to take away from Buste.....all the same compliments would apply.....I just expected an Earl circus after some of the comments I've seen here, and while I'm sure he has his moments, the 30 minutes I saw was greatness....
Click to expand...

Big Perm:

You caught Earl on one of his good days. Quite honestly, it's a coin flip as to whether he gets on a rant, gets bothered by someone in the audience, picks out something in the game he doesn't like (e.g. jump cues, soft breaking, et al.), etc.

I'm actually surprised at how good Earl can be as a commentator:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ao7jjdSI1yI

He's lively in his speech, complimentary of the player shooting at the moment, but at the same time constructive in his criticism. He can be a bit, well, "clamoring for some head-petting" (looking for acknowledgment/compliments) at times, but aren't we all at some point in our lives, to some degree?

When Earl's on a roll (shooting-wise, not mouth-wise), there's noone more fun to watch!

-Sean
 
I agree...his performance on ESPN was top notch. Glad I happened to catch it.
 
Earl

I caught him a few times playing at the SBE and I have to say, when he's on his game and there's no distractions, you can tell you're witnessing greatness. The stroke, the concentration, the confidence - he's several levels above anyone else in the room. Problem is the occurrences where there's no distractions are few and far between.

Ron F
 
Big Perm said:
I have zero experience with Earl....other than some of the video links to his bad behavior and some scolding on the forum, I have never EVER seen him play in person, TV, or video....

That was until this weekend.....I saw him play Buste on the tube for about 30 minutes....caught it by accident and realized this was the very first time I had ever seen him play, period.....bottom line, impressed to the Nth degree to watch him play.....his position play was impeccable, pocketing the same, he was quiet, considerate, and most importantly, his pace of play was perfect.....he took time when he needed to, but he kept up a great pace and kept me watching....normally, I tune out after being bored for 20-30 seconds inbetween shots....Earl, you da man....

Oh, and not trying to take away from Buste.....all the same compliments would apply.....I just expected an Earl circus after some of the comments I've seen here, and while I'm sure he has his moments, the 30 minutes I saw was greatness....
Click to expand...
Perm, I am glad you got to see him at someof his best. Nomatter what you hear about Earl or what you see. He isn't a bad guy. Even he knows that he sometimes does not do the right thing but he has so much passion for the game he has a problem keeping his mouth shut.
 
bfdlad said:
Perm, I am glad you got to see him at someof his best. Nomatter what you hear about Earl or what you see. He isn't a bad guy. Even he knows that he sometimes does not do the right thing but he has so much passion for the game he has a problem keeping his mouth shut.
Click to expand...

I agree Mark. He tries so hard and holds himself and other professionals to such high standards that the pressure just makes him a little crazy sometimes. And as a wise man ones told me, "Show me a good loser and I'll show you a

loser"! That being said, I'm not condoning his outbursts just trying to explain how they come about. And frankly often people are looking for him to "lose it" and take things out of context! For example, Earl was once lambasted for

not shaking hands with Ralf Souquet after Ralf beat him in a tournament match. The truth of the matter is that Earl went to him immediately upon his sinking the final 9-ball and shook hands with him. Then Ralf made the rounds

around the table being congratulated by the fans while Earl put his cue away and turned to leave the room. The camera panned in on Ralf turning to Earl again to shake hands a second time just as Earl had turned to leave. I

don't think Earl even saw Ralf coming to shake a second time but the commentators and press made it seem like Earl was a poor sport who refused to shake hands with Ralf. I'm not saying he's an angel, but some of the things

that he's blamed for are just taken out of context and blown out of proportion. He's actually one of the nicest, kindest people you'll ever meet. Yeah he's opinionated and doesn't mind sharing his opinion but he does so honestly

and believes what he's talking about. I can't hold that against him! We've been friends for over 25 years and I've never been ashamed of it in the least!
 
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