As you should be. Keith played and finished well and he had a large following that rooted hard for him.
And Kim's opponent re-racked the balls for ten minutes, and did so without complaint. No referees were involved. Keith threw the balls in the rack, slid it forward, lifted off the rack, and called it "good" several times when it wasn't. I seriously doubt Mika was asking for a re-rack when he didn't need them, because he was stressed out by the way he was being treated, too.
At no other table that I saw was an oponent treated with the hostility and childishness I saw exhibited at in the KM/Mika match, and none of it was coming from Mika. Every other player I saw took great care in racking the balls, and when asked, re-racked without comment or complaint. Every other player was going through the same "heat of the battle." Only one player behaved poorly.
Knowing this, perhaps he could have actually taken his time to rack the balls. Knowing the conditions were tough, perhaps he could have accepted that he had to re-rack a few times without complaining each time. And the table condition had little to do with the rack being aligned properly, just with balls moving a lot.
I watched another match the day before on the same table, and you're correct: it seemed to be one of the more troublesome tables. But in that match, the guys took great care in racking the balls and things didn't get out of hand in the least bit.
Indeed I am entitled to my opinion and you yours. But thank you for reporting my post anyway. I suppose next time I should watch out before I dare so much as to disagree with you while talking about something pool-related.
I was also the guy with the pretty capable camera lens.
As a rule, and as someone trained in the sciences, I attempt to gather as many facts as possible before making an opinion. At first I thought Mika was being unnecessarily picky - nobody else had had this many problems and I'd not seen any of Mika's other matches except across the way. I changed my mind when I saw with my own eyes fairly large gaps between the side balls through my camera lens.
Furthermore, please understand that I know the difference between calling someone something and calling their behavior something. Smart people can do stupid things - doesn't make 'em stupid. In this instance, I was clear to say that his behavior was a disgrace, not the man himself.
None of my post was "holier than thou." You darn well bet I wouldn't have treated my opponent as Keith did, but I didn't even say that. And yes, it was my first time at a high-level pool tournament. But I watched just about all the action I could and you know what? Not one other person I saw had a childish little fight about racking the balls. That says something to me.
None of that implies or makes me "holier than thou." It does, however, make me observant. I've compared pool to golf several times, and in golf behavior like he exhibited Sunday against Mika would not be tolerated.
It's my honest opinion. As I said, I wanted to be a fan of Keith's. His own actions turned my favor towards his opponent. My wife - who really couldn't have cared less who won and who barely cares about pool at all - expressed the same thing to me. She said she "felt bad for that kid" (Immonen) and also said "I have to hold back my teacher instincts, but even my seventh graders don't behave like this."
Those are the facts of my (and my wife's) opinions. I didn't post here to be a jerk, just to provide another viewpoint on Keith's match versus Mika (which, contrary to the subject, was won 9-8).
Why should I have waited a day or two? I could have posted mid-day Sunday. I waited until late evening Monday, not because I wanted to, but because I'd caught up on work by then and could "dilly dally" a bit.
I sincerely hope this is my last post here. However, attempts to make my post(s) into something they're not or to call me names will likely be met with further responses, as I've never been one to sit by in such cases.
I'm not one to back down from two things: the truth or an opinion. I'm also one who takes great care in separating the two. My posts have contained a bit of both, and as intelligent people, I imagine you can determine which is which.
