Shane said #2

[Gerry]

This is how we mere pool mortals should treat pool....as the great recreational activity it is. I feel sorry for those who make it their entire life. Yes, this includes the top pros.

There is a lesson to be had when watching the old twilight zone "a game of pool". It should be heeded.

I feel lucky to have a burning desire to see what level I can achieve at this game. Why feel sorry for those who go after their dreams of being the best at whatever.....pool, golf, boxing, tiddlywinks, art, landscaping....whatever.

If we all felt it was a waste of time to be the best......how would we grow, or push anything to the next level?

Granted, I have a plumbing business to pay the bills, but if it were up to me?...I would hit the road and see what happens!

G.

 

[Celtic]

Can the arguably #1 player in the planet find action with any kind of frequency? It would be nice to win a few $100-1000 sets a week. good luck finding anyone thats willing to match up.

I don't think Shane would have a tough time finding action. He simply cannot find it on American soil.

If he travels to the Philippines, Taiwan, China, ect... he can get played. Hell I think Darren basically told him to come over to Europe and he can get played for huge cash as that is where most of the backer money is.

If Shane wants to get played he needs to travel. There is a lot of action out there, even for a guy as good as him. BUT he might not be as big a favorite as he or his backers want him to be playing Ko in Taiwan, Wu in China, Dennis in the Philippines, or Appleton in Europe.

The top Filipinos like Dennis O do not stay in the Philippines, they get to a point where they need to travel to get action and tournaments. Guys like Darren outgrow their home turf and they move overseas to get action. Maybe it is time SVB left the nest and does what most of the top players in the world end up doing, go to where the action is and stop waiting and hoping it will come to you. With TAR now history the chances of that happening with any regularity is slim to none.

 

[Celtic]

This is how we mere pool mortals should treat pool....as the great recreational activity it is. I feel sorry for those who make it their entire life. Yes, this includes the top pros.

There is a lesson to be had when watching the old twilight zone "a game of pool". It should be heeded.

I spend 15 hours a day working on, or commuting to and from mining sites for up to 24 days straight at a time.

I cannot fathom feeling "sorry" for someone who has spent their life playing pool and traveling around the world competing in events. Especially someone like SVB who has seen a fair bit of financial success doing it through both winnings and sponsorship.

No matter what your job is, we all commit a significant percentage of our life towards it.

The life of a pool player in their prime is a fairly good one as far as freedom goes. There is rarely an alarm clock telling you to get up, a clock that tells you when you can stop working and go get a cu of coffee or some lunch, or finally go home for a night of cooking supper, watching a TV show, and going to bed so you can get up and do it all again tomorrow.

The only time I feel sorry for the pool players is when they end up broke in their old age. But those of us that work through the prime years of our life so we can relax with some money at 55+ years old have lost those best years of our lives when we had our health and youth and the ability to do everything we love to the maximum forever.

It must be really nice to be able to be a guy that can say "I don't feel like working 8 hours a day anymore, there are other things to do in ones life". That is a pretty gigantic amount of freedom that 99% of us simply do not have.

 

[sjm]

Celtic, you truly have life in a proper perspective.

 

[Island Drive]

I don't think Shane would have a tough time finding action. He simply cannot find it on American soil.

If he travels to the Philippines, Taiwan, China, ect... he can get played. Hell I think Darren basically told him to come over to Europe and he can get played for huge cash as that is where most of the backer money is.

If Shane wants to get played he needs to travel. There is a lot of action out there, even for a guy as good as him. BUT he might not be as big a favorite as he or his backers want him to be playing Ko in Taiwan, Wu in China, Dennis in the Philippines, or Appleton in Europe.

The top Filipinos like Dennis O do not stay in the Philippines, they get to a point where they need to travel to get action and tournaments. Guys like Darren outgrow their home turf and they move overseas to get action. Maybe it is time SVB left the nest and does what most of the top players in the world end up doing, go to where the action is and stop waiting and hoping it will come to you. With TAR now history the chances of that happening with any regularity is slim to none.

Yep, move overseas. My nephew has been playing pro basketball in Europe I think 5 or 6 years now, makes Good money. He's already got his new home built in Champaign IL.