Is Earl Good for the Game?

[sjm]

We should start our own Hall of Fame on AZBilliards.

Great idea, Celtic. As a group, we on the forum have seen a whole lot of pool.

I seem to remember Blud was posting about the creation of a new hall of fame a little bit before sad circumstance diverted his attention elsewhere.

The need for a hall of fame with objective, rather than political, criteria for entry is obvious.

Let's do it!

 

[Celtic]

Sure thing, I am all for it. I ask only two criteria for it. We not call it the "AzBilliards HoF" This sport needs a true official Hall of Fame that is not corrupt so what we create must be official and international in scale as we can make it. This may start as the base of operations but if we do this I want this thing to in 5-10 years have more respect and recognition then the BCA HoF or there is no point. We could call it the Pool and Billiards Hall of Fame or something.

Second as to the objectivity I agree and that is why I want a minimum age for membership that is only avoidable by death of the player at a younger age such that we know we have seen their whole carreer.

The ball is partly in Mike's court now, I am not sure if the polling can work the way I suggested or if we could get a section of the actual website as the HoF section where it lists a brief synopsis on the player/person and gives various information like DoB, DoD, Date of Admission, titles and key victories, ect... Once Mike sees this and gives the go ahead I am all for writing up an explanation to the board what we want to do and asking for suggestions and then moving towards submissions of possible admissions to the HoF for the initial votes.

 

[Tokyo-dave]

In auto racing, if there were a driver that had a well known history of risky driving, and being the cause of accidents, people would probably buy tickets to watch him race with hopes of being there when something exciting happens. So although such a driver's actions may result in greater tickets sales, does that necessarily mean that he's good for the sport?
I think the appeal reagarding Earl is similar. He's entertaining to watch, so he sells tickets.
I've met Earl only once, and he was a real gentleman off the tables. And I think that he's one of the greatest to have ever held a cue. I would sell my soul to have talent like that. And if I did have talent like that, I think I would use it more tastefully.
So IMHO, yes Earl certainly sells tickets and draws a crowd. But the same can be said about the high risk and unpredictable race car driver. Do the people buy the tickets to see the talent on display, or are they there to catch an earfull of the trash talk? Probably a little bit of both.
dave

 

[Jersey]

Old School or Robots...

Earl is great for our game...and as for HOF...he should just be there, period!

When I was coming up, I saw and learned Pool Banter for the old timers...this whole quiet as a church mouse and as emotionless and mechanical as a robot thing at the table is a 'new' phenom...now I'm not saying you shouldn't respect your opponent while he/she is at the table and vice versa, but common it's a pool hall...these days you play through 'music', trivia, food calls and on and on, then someone around the table makes a comment and people freak out!...I don't get it?

 

[Jersey]

Agree 100%

Have you lost your mind??? Johnny, not good for the game??? This is crazy.
I do agree that Earl is great for the game, one of the all time best. His behavior is not is unique and it has become part of the game itself. We can deal with it. But people like Johnny Archer are even better, long term, for the game. I'll tell you why.
You know the old story, that bowling has passed billiards by, due to the 'bad' reputation of pool players. No major company is going to put advertising dollars into a sport that seems to be loaded with criminals. The new pool player needs to be respected like any other sport and in order to be respected they need to be good solid citizens, like Johnny. It is critical for the growth of the sport!! Johnny is a great man, handles himself as a professional and has brought the overall level of the sport up a few notches by being the type of leader we need.
Sorry he bores you so much.




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Johnny is a 'CHAMPION', period!...he also happens to be one of the best people you will ever meet!...he's a 'local' boy for me here NW of ATL...he's the House Pro at Mr. Cues II here in ATL...he does clinics and 'play the pro nights', all proceeds to charity...oh and did I mention He's a CHAMPION!?

 

[Celtic]

Johnny is a 'CHAMPION', period!...he also happens to be one of the best people you will ever meet!...he's a 'local' boy for me here NW of ATL...he's the House Pro at Mr. Cues II here in ATL...he does clinics and 'play the pro nights', all proceeds to charity...oh and did I mention He's a CHAMPION!?

I never disputed this. Why is it I say he is boring and people come back at me saying he is a saint as if that is some kind of arguement against my claim? I think Johnny Archer is a GREAT guy and a PHENOMENAL pool player as good as anyone has seen in the last 15 years. But that does not change the fact that watching him bores me and many other people to tears compared to people who actually show emotion and have personality at the table. He is slow, he is methodical, and he is emotionless. You can go on telling me how he volenteers at the childrens hospital teaching blind quadrapeligics with cancer pool in his spare time and that is not going to change the fact that he is not a fun player to watch play the game.

 

[JAM]

I think Earl Strickland is good for the game, and love him or hate him, he's definitely an American legend when it comes to pocket billiards.

Many world-class champions left the sport, even though they possessed the skills set to triumph in competitive events, and the reason is simple. It doesn't matter how well you play pool because, in these times, it is almost impossible to make a decent living.

Again, turning the question around, is the game good for Earl? Not if you like money. There ain't no money in pool as it pertains to the pool player. The cost of attending multiple events each and every month far outweigh any profit capability due to the exorbitant expenses of competing and low payouts in pool competitions in the year 2005.

Mike Sigel left the game and is making custom cue sticks. Allen Hopkins left the game and is promoting events. It's just a matter of simple economics.

Yes, Earl is good for the game; no, the game it not good to Earl Strickland and players like him.

JAM

 

[vagabond]

I have never seen Earl NOT be the instigator.He always starts gesturing or talking to the crowd and his opponent til he gets an answer he doesnt like-then the glares start and more talk as i am cringing in my seat. I even got the glare myself one time when i dared to shake out some tic-tacs during a COMMERCIAL BREAK at the WPC.

I heard he behaved at one tournament about 6 months ago and Earl said it was a result of 'medication' his DR had given him. Maybe he has stopped taking it.

Hi Nostroke,
May be the guy sitting behind u might have made rude gestures to Earl and Earl may be reacting to that.U may not be aware of what was going on behind u.Sometimes I like to play devil`s advocate.
Vagabond

 

[Nostroke]

Hi Nostroke,
May be the guy sitting behind u might have made rude gestures to Earl and Earl may be reacting to that.U may not be aware of what was going on behind u.Sometimes I like to play devil`s advocate.
Vagabond

Nah- You just like Earl and i can understnd that- Maybe you havent witnessed what i have.

Two things come to mind. He was playing Mika in the US Open and the crowd was equally divided-Mika made a good shot or run-out- the crowd applauded and Earl turned to the crowd and said "What are you cheering for him for?-He's a foreigner" He was not joking either.

Another time he was playing in a straight pool tournament and missed a hanger. A guy in his seventies in the back row clapped one time, either in shock that Earl missed or inappropriately cheering the miss which he immediately stiffled before clap #2. Earl turned to the guy and said "You want me to lose, don't you?-You're an a##hole"

Sure the guy wasn't displaying perfect audience etiquette but it wasn't deliberate or egregious and he certainly didn't deserve what he got.

These are just two incidents of many. Id say he is out of line on his behavior in 70% of his matches.

I will admit that many times the audience will respond to Earl's antics by trying to rattle him. For instance in the Mika match, after Earl's comment, the crowd would respond by wildly cheering beyond any normalcy for anything Mika did. The crowd usually starts on Earl's side in all his matches but he turns them by mid match 40-50% of the time

 

[vagabond]

Mika made a good shot or run-out- the crowd applauded and Earl turned to the crowd and said "What are you cheering for him for?-He's a foreigner" He was not joking either.

It is a Southern thang,very patriotic people . Earl is a full blooded Southerner born in the sticks out side Fayetteville, NC. Cheers
vagabond

 

[will8834]

I was talking to a friend of mine, a(A+) player from my localpool hall. He just played in that big tournament in Calgary and had met Earl Strickland in the second round and lost 11-9.

During their match Earl did a few things of Strickland noteriety.

First he told my friend that watching him play pool was like watching paint dry...boring.

Secondly, Earl would miss and leave my friend 4 balls on the table. Instead of letting my friend shoot, Earl would rake the balls and give him the game. He apparently did this more than a couple times.

My friend missed and conceded Earl the 8 and 9. Earl smart talked him and said something to the effect of"No I want to shoot them."

Having said all of this ,I asked my friend what he thought of Earl.Instead of saying Earl was a jerk or something he said,"Earl's great for the game." Apparently whatever table Earl played on drew the biggest crowd of fans.They were there for the trash talk and there to see an awesome display of spin shots and pure power from a master 9 baller.

He also said Alex Pagulayan was quite entertaining(charasmatic) with his talk as well as his cue.Archer and Deule, although superb shooters left my friend feeling bored,(no,not like watching paint dry) as compared to playing/watching Earl.He was thrilled to have played Earl.

My question to my fellow forumsters: Is Earl good for the game , Yes or No. RJ

There is no one I would rather see play than earl. He is like the mike tyson of pool, people flock to see what he will do or say next.
Of course he is not exactly like tyson, but that is the allure he is unpredictable.

 

[Renegade]

i think efren's the best player for the game. people like to watch him for his pool skills and not for his attitude.

 

[X Breaker]

Could someone please explain why giving a player 4 ball out on the table is considered sharking? Isn't it a compliment? By the way, if I can get free games that way playing with Earl, I would love it! And I will never ever try to stop him from shooting any ball on the table...

 

[xander]

Yep, Earl is great for the game. Your friend is 100% right. As good as Archer is (every bit as good as Earl and alot more consistent) he is boring as sin to watch due to his emotionless business-like manner at the table. Alex and Earl are both full of personality on and off the table and it makes them ALOT more fun to watch.

Its what makes poker so fun to watch, not the game itself but the emotion and personality of the players. Watching Helmuth get owned by 7-2 os on a preflop all in when he has AA is something I really want to see one of these days, that would be some GREAT entertainment.

Archers and the like are not good for this sport, they are mechanical boring drones and after a rack or two I really loose interest in watching them play. Imagine what it must be like for a person who does not even really appreciate the game. CJ Wiley was another player great for the game, fast and loose and exciting much along the same vein as Earl. Scott Frost and his intense style and look is also great for the game. Alex as mentioned with his flamboyant personality is great for the game.

Archers boring emotionless business-like style may help him win but it will not help the sport grow or grab fans and as such it will not bring more money into the sport. Every tournament Archer wins and gets on TV with actually hurts the sport because he may be taking the place of someone who is truely exciting to watch that could spur interest.

The announcers and producers dont help matters any though. They create a atmosphere that actually discourages emotion and goes more towards the business-like boring game. I made a long post about this on a different thread, they need to spice this game up and make it larger then life so that is becomes escapism (sp?) to the viewer. It needs grand arenas, it needs show girls, it needs huge piles of real money sitting on the light, it needs to embrace its image as an adult past-time and adult sport of the style suited to Las Vegas and Sin City types of appeal. What we are getting ATM in production of the events is boring, ohh a 4 foot wide check, neato~ That sure beats poker bringing out massive stacks of $100 bills to drool over! Look a stodgy old ref with white gloves racking the balls, that sure beats a hot chick in a sexy outfit racking em! Where are they playing the tournament? The Hilton in Timbuktoo? Well that sure beats playing it in the Luxor in Vegas!

What do you expect? When you make a sport so dry and boring that the viewer itself could not care less if he were there playing in the event because it looks boring and dry you have lost. People want to see a lifestyle better then their own when they get entertained. They want to see hustlers playing pool with hot women all around being treated like kings and walking out into a packed casino after winning tens of thousands of dollars in cold hard CASH. Boxing knows what it is doing, it makes the boxers look larger then life, it hypes the scene, the location of the event, it makes sure that the viewer knows this is in Vegas, and it makes Vegas look like the center of everywhere and as such the event is THAT important and so are the boxers.

Got off topic a little but not much, because ATM people like Earl are the ONLY thing this sport has going for it.

Efren doesn't play with as much as "attitude" like Earl does... Does this mean you guys find him boring as well?

Just a thought.

 

[Hal]

Ok, now i have a stupid question, but why does he wear those STupid OAKLEY sunglass's with the clear lens? i mean that hasta be the stupidest thing i have seen in a long time. I mean i could see if it was like the yellow shooters lens, or something, with a slight tint.

Now i know two guys on the Pro bowling tour who wear sunlgass's while bowling on TV, and they say its because the stage lights are so bright it gives off a nasty reflection on the lanes.

Now i could see Earl doing this if there was bright lights over the table, or playing outside. But still its a clear lens. Now of course i guess if i was as good at pool as he is, i could care less if i had a tophat on while playing.

He wears those because it supposedly improves his vision. I'm sure he's endorsed by them as well.

 

[SplicedPoints]

Could someone please explain why giving a player 4 ball out on the table is considered sharking? Isn't it a compliment? By the way, if I can get free games that way playing with Earl, I would love it! And I will never ever try to stop him from shooting any ball on the table...

Its definately a sharking technique. Its the same reason why snooker players will eleect to keep shooting, even though the game's his already. By letting his opponent finish the easy 4 ball run, he's letting his opponent more table time to build confidence and get in stroke. Confidence's a funny thing, but you'll usually get more comfortable at the table and shoot with more confidence if you spend more time shooting easy outs.