The San Jose Dick quote which follows brought a topic to my mind: Is there any difference in the tolerance for sharking today in contrast to 40 years ago? Were players in the 1960's tougher than they are today in the new millennium?
I recall that sharking and commenting were much more widespread and acceptable then. Oftentimes players would try to rattle the other guy, although it was usually only safely practiced turning a player's own turn.
Certain guys were legendary for this practice: Ronnie Allen, Fats (of course), Keith McCready, Mike Sigel, etc. If a guy couldn't take the heat, and either throw it back at them or ingnore them, they simply couldn't prevail.
Since the advent of tournament play, and social forces, that type of repartee is pretty rare these days. Times have changed. I'm not sure that's a bad thing, but it sure takes some of the character out of pool.
Last summer I watched a great 1P match-up btween Cliff Joyner and Billy Incardona for 5 bags over in Mobile. I won't mention the spot, so as not to knock their action, but it was a thrill-packed contest. Cliff's backer kept trying to shark Billy, since the backer had agreed to play Billy for the same amount at a similar spot, only in reverse, at the match's conlcusion.
What surprised and delighted me was that Billy just kept throwing it right back at the heckler. Being a warrior from the old school, Billy not only didn't get rattled, but he verbally overcame the guy, and sent him back to the shadows. (BTW Joyner took no part in the sharkfest, and behaved as a perfect gentleman.) The outcome? Billy won that set, then the backer refused to play the promised followup match!
Doc
I recall that sharking and commenting were much more widespread and acceptable then. Oftentimes players would try to rattle the other guy, although it was usually only safely practiced turning a player's own turn.
Certain guys were legendary for this practice: Ronnie Allen, Fats (of course), Keith McCready, Mike Sigel, etc. If a guy couldn't take the heat, and either throw it back at them or ingnore them, they simply couldn't prevail.
Since the advent of tournament play, and social forces, that type of repartee is pretty rare these days. Times have changed. I'm not sure that's a bad thing, but it sure takes some of the character out of pool.
Last summer I watched a great 1P match-up btween Cliff Joyner and Billy Incardona for 5 bags over in Mobile. I won't mention the spot, so as not to knock their action, but it was a thrill-packed contest. Cliff's backer kept trying to shark Billy, since the backer had agreed to play Billy for the same amount at a similar spot, only in reverse, at the match's conlcusion.
What surprised and delighted me was that Billy just kept throwing it right back at the heckler. Being a warrior from the old school, Billy not only didn't get rattled, but he verbally overcame the guy, and sent him back to the shadows. (BTW Joyner took no part in the sharkfest, and behaved as a perfect gentleman.) The outcome? Billy won that set, then the backer refused to play the promised followup match!
Doc
SJDinPHX said:
, Believe me you know when Fatboy is in the house,,,,unless I dont have anything to bet with. 
