SBE 14.1 Challenge

Nice write up Steve. Losing to a talent like John by that margin is awesome. Mr Schmidt is a class guy all the way.
 
Steve Lipsky said:
The other thing about John is how encouraging he is. He said some things to me during this tournament that I'll never forget, stuff about my game. I'll keep them between him and me but let me tell you - there are some very, very arrogant players in this game. Arrogant to the point that players like me, clearly below them in skill but not bad players in our own right, still mean nothing to them. We might as well be APA 3s in their eyes. John's not like that. That means a lot to all of us who look up to him.
- Steve
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Nice write up, thanks for taking the time.

Your comment about pros looking down on solid players below them is the Elephant in the room no one wants to talk about. It's a shame but THAT attitude is a major part of what keeps pool in the gutter.

I saw the same thing at a local $15 tourney last night. There's a pecking order, and IN GENERAL those on top, denigrate those below them. Whether it's insecurity, a form of constant woofing, looking for a mental edge or just lack of class, it's a pretty standard attitude in pool.

I am glad to hear there are gentlemen out there. Good on you, and good on JS. :thumbup:
 
dirtypool40 said:
Nice write up, thanks for taking the time.

Your comment about pros looking down on solid players below them is the Elephant in the room no one wants to talk about. It's a shame but THAT attitude is a major part of what keeps pool in the gutter.

I saw the same thing at a local $15 tourney last night. There's a pecking order, and IN GENERAL those on top, denigrate those below them. Whether it's insecurity, a form of constant woofing, looking for a mental edge or just lack of class, it's a pretty standard attitude in pool.

I am glad to hear there are gentlemen out there. Good on you, and good on JS. :thumbup:
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I've seen some things written about how the pros deal with the amateurs. Most of it bad. This past weekend I found quite the opposite to be true.

Over the course of the weekend, I met and sometimes chatted with a handful of pros and found them all to be friendly and accomodating. Included were John Schmidt, Corey, Kelly Fisher, Sarah Rousey, Nick Varner and Mike Massey. I talked to John briefly about a breakshot I was having trouble with.

I'm sure there are days out there when someone just came off a loss or is generally having a bad day, but I just didn't see it this weekend.

I enjoyed getting a couple minutes of their time and hope to get the opportunity again somewhere down the road.
 
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Skess said:
I've seen some things written about how the pros deal with the amateurs. Most of it bad. This past weekend I found quite the opposite to be true.

Over the course of the weekend, I met and sometimes chatted with a handful of pros and found them all to be friendly and accomodating. Included were John Schmidt, Corey, Kelly Fisher, Sarah Rousey, Nick Varner, Oscar and Mike Massey. I talked to John briefly about a breakshot I was having trouble with.

I'm sure there are days out there when someone just came off a loss or is generally having a bad day, but I just didn't see it this weekend.

I enjoyed getting a couple minutes of their time and hope to get the opportunity again somewhere down the road.
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Skess,

I think we may be talking about two different things. I'm not talking about the pros being curt with the fans, or people who genuinely want to chat with them. I was referring more to a situation like this: There is a 30 minute practice period before the US Open starts for the day, say. There are 8 tables, and there are pros at every table. You have a match that morning as well, and would like to jump in on a table to practice. I'm not painting them all with the same brush, but I'm just saying that there are some who will give you a look like "but you have no chance to win, and I do, so why are you bothering me?"

I don't want to stray off topic, and this is pretty off-topic, but I just wanted to explain what I meant. John is NOT one of those guys who'd give you that look.

- Steve
 
Steve Lipsky said:
Just wanted to give a write-up for those who couldn't make it, so here goes...

- Steve
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Steve,
Great report, great performance. Congratulations. It definitely makes me feel badly that I couldn't make it.

I do hope you and Danny B. will be playing in the Maryland tournament June 19-20th. I'm sending in my donation....errr...entry this week. Can't wait to see some great 14.1 played in a tournament format.

Thanks for the report.
 
and another thing

I'd like to thank my good friend and road companion Steve for the kind words that I paid him to say. Great post as usual Steve. I had a sense of what went on after I left and for that matter while I was there. That was a tough little group of 8 he was part of and after he beat the always dangerous B.Maidof I felt he was the favorite. In any event me and the home boys at Amsterdam Billiards were pulling for him. Thanks to Charles and Steve for all their hard work though it was clear that the driving force and the brains behind the enterprise was Steve's wife Heather. A great job by all three. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I intend being more successful at next year's event. I'm going to let Lipsky do all the shooting and I'm going to hawk a couple hundred pounds of hot dogs.
It was really nice seeing the guys and traveling with my buddy.
 
it was great metting you Danny and a pleasure to watch you shoot!! hope to see you next year!!!

PS...Thanks for letting the secret out about the mastermind behind it all!! haha!
 
Skess said:
I've seen some things written about how the pros deal with the amateurs. Most of it bad. This past weekend I found quite the opposite to be true.

Over the course of the weekend, I met and sometimes chatted with a handful of pros and found them all to be friendly and accomodating. Included were John Schmidt, Corey, Kelly Fisher, Sarah Rousey, Nick Varner and Mike Massey. I talked to John briefly about a breakshot I was having trouble with.

I'm sure there are days out there when someone just came off a loss or is generally having a bad day, but I just didn't see it this weekend.

I enjoyed getting a couple minutes of their time and hope to get the opportunity again somewhere down the road.
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Just to clarify, I didn't mean ONLY the pros do it, I meant IN GENERAL a player on any given rung of the pool ladder, looks down on those below them, like they are a better person for playing better. Whether it's an APA 5 making snide comments or woofing at a 3, or a local short stop acting like an ass to the local "A" player.

The pros you mentioned are great ambassadors for the sport, and deserve our respect for it. Tommy Kennedy, Massey, Corey, Shane, Buddy, Nick Varner are all great champions I've met and admire as much for their friendly respectful attitude AT LEAST IN MY EXPERIENCE as for their top tier pool game.

I could give "on the other hand..." examples but I won't.
 
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Grmbl,
readin continuesly makin me crazy, lol^^
The event you made happened must have been soooo great- Sad i m just able to read about it :-(


Really excited how strong the players-field was there !!! And i m sure they would all come back after reading their comments.

lg
Ingo
 
Steve Lipsky said:
Skess,

I think we may be talking about two different things. I'm not talking about the pros being curt with the fans, or people who genuinely want to chat with them. I was referring more to a situation like this: There is a 30 minute practice period before the US Open starts for the day, say. There are 8 tables, and there are pros at every table. You have a match that morning as well, and would like to jump in on a table to practice. I'm not painting them all with the same brush, but I'm just saying that there are some who will give you a look like "but you have no chance to win, and I do, so why are you bothering me?"

I don't want to stray off topic, and this is pretty off-topic, but I just wanted to explain what I meant. John is NOT one of those guys who'd give you that look.

- Steve
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dirtypool40 said:
Just to clarify, I didn't mean ONLY the pros do it, I meant IN GENERAL a player on any given rung of the pool ladder, looks down on those below them, like they are a better person for playing better. Whether it's an APA 5 making snide comments or woofing at a 3, or a local short stop acting like an ass to the local "A" player.

The pros you mentioned are great ambassadors for the sport, and deserve out respect for it. Tommy Kennedy, Massey, Corey, Shane, Buddy, Nick Varner are all great champions I've met and admire as much for their friendly respectful attitude AT LEAST IN MY EXPERIENCE as for their top tier pool game.

I could give "on the other hand..." examples but I won't.
Click to expand...

You guys are both correct. We're talking apples and oranges here. My apologies for not being more clear in my response.

And you're both right about the attitudes. I've seen that at every level of pool and every type of tournament. My exposure to the pros in a playing situation is limited, but I don't doubt that it happens there as well.

And Steve...I watched your 85 ball run last night. It was very impressive. I hope my game gets to that level one day. I received an education playing and watching over the weekend. There were times when I wondered if I was playing the same game as some of you guys. The talent level/difference was obvious and I now have something to shoot for.

Scott
 
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