What gets me is how ANYONE could say that a world championship win, let alone the THREE, that Earl has is not relevant now. If you win a world championship, especially the ones in the Matchroom era when the title was a race to 17 and you had to battle through group stages with short races, then you are and always will be a world class player until you physically can't hold a cue anymore.
We love to talk about how this sport is one of the few, maybe the only one, where age isn't really a factor as long as a person is healthy enough to play. Yet then we ignore the obvious examples of this being true to say a player is over the hill, washed up, etc....if they aren't winning as much as they used to 20 years ago. We conveniently ignore the fact that the rest of the world has gotten stronger and stronger producing many more truly world class players. This is due in part to the shining examples of how to play at a world class level that Earl and Efren and Nick Varner and others provided. And in the other part due to the availability of matches, instructionals, coaching and support for a lot of those players.
I would be willing to bet that Earl still shoots in the AccuStats 900 range on average. He runs miles every day and stays fit. As far as being an example of athletic prowess most of us could only dream of being fit and playing at a world class level in anything at his age. Yes, he has mental issues but they are not the kind that really matter to any but a small group of people. He suffers from them more than any person he has ever had an encounter with. Yes it's sad when he acts up, yes it can be embarassing but be honest, be super honest, no one has ever come up to chastise you for being an American because of Earl's outbursts.
Some competitive people get out-of-line, it happens so what? Tiger throws clubs, Rodman throws elbows, Mcenroe threw raquets, who cares and why? If we are really honest deep down we watch the volatile ones hoping that we will get a show to talk about. People don't go to Nascar to watch cars go peacefully around the track, they want to see crashes and spinouts, and cars touching while jockeying for position.
If the promoters wanted to stop Earl they would have done it. I am sure Earl been "talked to" prior to events a time or two and it's not pleasant. But at the end of the day he is an entertaining highly competitive player who can still BRING IT at a world class level.
I asked him in New York earlier this year if he ever won a tournament where he ran out every set. He said twice he has played in short set events where he ran out every time he had an open shot and won the tournament without a mistake. He said he won one of them by running out every set he played. That could be a ripley's believe it or not statement but once you have actually played with Earl it becomes much more believable. The guy's firepower is truly STILL at another level above most pros he faces in my opinion.
We love to talk about how this sport is one of the few, maybe the only one, where age isn't really a factor as long as a person is healthy enough to play. Yet then we ignore the obvious examples of this being true to say a player is over the hill, washed up, etc....if they aren't winning as much as they used to 20 years ago. We conveniently ignore the fact that the rest of the world has gotten stronger and stronger producing many more truly world class players. This is due in part to the shining examples of how to play at a world class level that Earl and Efren and Nick Varner and others provided. And in the other part due to the availability of matches, instructionals, coaching and support for a lot of those players.
I would be willing to bet that Earl still shoots in the AccuStats 900 range on average. He runs miles every day and stays fit. As far as being an example of athletic prowess most of us could only dream of being fit and playing at a world class level in anything at his age. Yes, he has mental issues but they are not the kind that really matter to any but a small group of people. He suffers from them more than any person he has ever had an encounter with. Yes it's sad when he acts up, yes it can be embarassing but be honest, be super honest, no one has ever come up to chastise you for being an American because of Earl's outbursts.
Some competitive people get out-of-line, it happens so what? Tiger throws clubs, Rodman throws elbows, Mcenroe threw raquets, who cares and why? If we are really honest deep down we watch the volatile ones hoping that we will get a show to talk about. People don't go to Nascar to watch cars go peacefully around the track, they want to see crashes and spinouts, and cars touching while jockeying for position.
If the promoters wanted to stop Earl they would have done it. I am sure Earl been "talked to" prior to events a time or two and it's not pleasant. But at the end of the day he is an entertaining highly competitive player who can still BRING IT at a world class level.
I asked him in New York earlier this year if he ever won a tournament where he ran out every set. He said twice he has played in short set events where he ran out every time he had an open shot and won the tournament without a mistake. He said he won one of them by running out every set he played. That could be a ripley's believe it or not statement but once you have actually played with Earl it becomes much more believable. The guy's firepower is truly STILL at another level above most pros he faces in my opinion.
Corey Deuel and Joe Tucker
: Who's on this England team that SVB and Earl play?