It was an ugly finish, but at some level or another, I think we all saw it coming.
Certainly, Hatch got off easy winning his match against Ekonomopulos, during which he struggled with his speed control. Archer was certainly masterful against Feijen and SVB righteously avenged his loss the previous day to DA. IMO, Shuff acquitted himself well versus Melling, though he lost. A few rolls and that match goes the other way.
And then there was NVB v Dechaine.
IMO, there were two or three or four things going on during that match. First is that NVB is the better player. Second is that Dechaine was several levels out of his comfort zone, competitively and situationally, what with the madness of York Hall and worked up/liquored up fans at the end of the MC. Third is that, you know, Dechaine just had one of those matches that every single last one of us has had somewhere along the line.
If you say it ain’t so, you’ve never held a cue.
The other guy gets the rolls, you get none. Every time you come to the table, the balls are laying rough. Every shot you come up on is a little too far. Each shot is a little too off angle. Every shot is a little too tough. And, it seems like the cue ball and pockets have magnets in them.
The very bottom line is that their rookies were better players than our rookies. Note to MR: you need to fix that.
Having been to the MC in Vegas a few times, I must say that the atmosphere at the MGM v YorK Hall is totally different. YH is a confined space where the acoustics magnify the impact of the crowd. And in York Hall it would seem that beer is readily available and not a half mile walk through the property. I thought that the crowd was, contrary to popular opinion, not so bad. First off, you have to remember that the Europeans have a different sports spectator tradition than we do. Chants, songs, costumes, scarves, and more are par for the course. We tailgate and do “The Wave” at a football game and think we are being incredibly creative and wild. And so, to me, they were generally very quiet during the actual shots. What they do do extremely well, and is perhaps a shock for the players who have never experienced it before, is getting under a player's skin well before they get down to shoot.
And OK, I gotta say this: CJ, from what I could see, wasn’t much of a captain -- JA seemed to be the true heart and soul of the team, not CJ.
Yes, there was the jacket thing where he looked more like a threatening wise guy (when he'd occasionally deign to approached a player) than a coach. But where was he on even the simple things, like making sure the Americans had a mechanical bridge under the table they were comfortable with? Where was he when the thing happened with JA’s wife or when the crowd did get border line? And where was he early on during the last match when, clearly, Dechaine could have used an experienced hand on his shoulder and an inspirational word in his ear, before things went totally down the toilette?
I don't know. All in all, the MC is a fun made-for-TV event. And congrats to the Europeans. MR needs to adjust the mix a bit for next year ;-)
Lou Figueroa
Certainly, Hatch got off easy winning his match against Ekonomopulos, during which he struggled with his speed control. Archer was certainly masterful against Feijen and SVB righteously avenged his loss the previous day to DA. IMO, Shuff acquitted himself well versus Melling, though he lost. A few rolls and that match goes the other way.
And then there was NVB v Dechaine.
IMO, there were two or three or four things going on during that match. First is that NVB is the better player. Second is that Dechaine was several levels out of his comfort zone, competitively and situationally, what with the madness of York Hall and worked up/liquored up fans at the end of the MC. Third is that, you know, Dechaine just had one of those matches that every single last one of us has had somewhere along the line.
If you say it ain’t so, you’ve never held a cue.
The other guy gets the rolls, you get none. Every time you come to the table, the balls are laying rough. Every shot you come up on is a little too far. Each shot is a little too off angle. Every shot is a little too tough. And, it seems like the cue ball and pockets have magnets in them.
The very bottom line is that their rookies were better players than our rookies. Note to MR: you need to fix that.
Having been to the MC in Vegas a few times, I must say that the atmosphere at the MGM v YorK Hall is totally different. YH is a confined space where the acoustics magnify the impact of the crowd. And in York Hall it would seem that beer is readily available and not a half mile walk through the property. I thought that the crowd was, contrary to popular opinion, not so bad. First off, you have to remember that the Europeans have a different sports spectator tradition than we do. Chants, songs, costumes, scarves, and more are par for the course. We tailgate and do “The Wave” at a football game and think we are being incredibly creative and wild. And so, to me, they were generally very quiet during the actual shots. What they do do extremely well, and is perhaps a shock for the players who have never experienced it before, is getting under a player's skin well before they get down to shoot.
And OK, I gotta say this: CJ, from what I could see, wasn’t much of a captain -- JA seemed to be the true heart and soul of the team, not CJ.
Yes, there was the jacket thing where he looked more like a threatening wise guy (when he'd occasionally deign to approached a player) than a coach. But where was he on even the simple things, like making sure the Americans had a mechanical bridge under the table they were comfortable with? Where was he when the thing happened with JA’s wife or when the crowd did get border line? And where was he early on during the last match when, clearly, Dechaine could have used an experienced hand on his shoulder and an inspirational word in his ear, before things went totally down the toilette?
I don't know. All in all, the MC is a fun made-for-TV event. And congrats to the Europeans. MR needs to adjust the mix a bit for next year ;-)
Lou Figueroa