Mosconi Cup

I thought it was a great Mosconi Cup even though we lost. I got to watch two days and four nights of great pool played by great players. I don't have much respect for player bashing. The pressure is incredibly high. The races are short. One lucky kick in one rack can be enough to sway a whole set. It isn't fair to say that anyone lost the Mosconi Cup for us or that any single shot did it. Going into this I thought the teams were very even and I think they still are. If we did 100 Mosconi Cups in a row it wouldn't suprise me to see the final score be close to 50-50.

I feel bad that Dennis even saw some of the venomous stuff written here. As a musician I played a couple of shows in front of a few thousand people and let me tell you, you can't stop your body from producing adrenaline when it has determined it is going to produce it. Shakes and fatigue after an adrenaline dump are things that no one is immune to. A few thousand people was bad enough, I can't imagine what it would be like knowing a few hundred thousand people were watching and that what you were doing was going to tape where it could be scrutinized forever. Blaming Dennis for missing one shot is like blaming a man for being human.
 
I have seen the action live in London, my first Mosconi Cup that I did not see on TV.

Being from Germany I am happy for Europe to win of course, but Team USA put up a great performance too and all players deserve respect for the high level of play. Up to Sunday it was exteremely close call with many hill-hill matches, part certainly due to the alternate break format. Considering the atmosphere with a huge crowd of European supporters (think soccer like chanting), it must have been very hard to concentrate for everyone and the pressure to deliver mounted towards the final singles matches. I would say there is a distinct advantage for the home team. With the short races, one mistake was usually enough to loose a match, particular as long as balls were made during the break.

I had a great time watching the event and it is a different story compared to seeing it on TV. I took some photos and here is a collage that shows what is was like:



I really hope to see the cup next year in the US as well if I can!

Joerg
 
Its too bad that the US lost, and I hope the crowd wasn't as bad as described. Since Matchroom controlled both, I can honestly say they were a whole lot more concerned with bad behavior (yes, mine) in Vegas than they seemed to be in York Hall. I'll have to review the tape and see.

One thing I'll add. Mssr. Appleton was a true team player in Vegas. That guy never stopped cheering for his team, regardless of the score. I'm happy to see his success. It's well deserved.

As far as the US team goes, sounds like Johnny and Dennis did well. The others, I'm thinking may be due for replacement. Give someone else a shot, I'm saying.

Concerning the loss, great. Now I have to go back to Vegas again. whoohooo. Buffets and bad gambling.

Why don't we do it at Snookers! Then, at least we could have Regina's pasta!!!!

tim
 
AtLarge said:
A few numbers:

US Players' Records. [Note: For doubles and team matches, everyone involved is credited with a win or a loss.]
  • Archer 3-4
  • Deuel 2-4
  • Hatch 3-3 (the only US player without a losing record)
  • Morris 1-5
  • Van Boening 2-4

Europe Players' Records.
  • Appleton 5-1
  • Boyes 5-1
  • Immonen 4-2
  • Souquet 4-3
  • Van Den Berg 2-4 (the only Europe player without a winning record)

Overall record in games: US 78 - Europe 95

Number of hill/hill matches: 9 of the 19

Number of matches decided by at least 3 games: 7 of the 19
Click to expand...

Thanks for posting. I noticed that the Mosconi Cup doesn't even have a website. This kinda sucks for how long it has existed.
 
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