Fightinphil said:
Well hello everyone,
However, things change. I wanted to believe that I could keep improving to be able to play full time. But after competing full time for a year and a half in the Northeast tours (they changed names many times) and on the Joss Tour, and gambling, I quickly realized how futile playing pool would be in order to create an excellent life for myself and my wife (excellent being the important word here - not to simply pay bills) I simply was not able to regularly compete with those on the professional levels and anything below the top spots was below minimum wage.
Dude, we are so on the same page about this. As soon as the meal tickets ran out, what was left?
I do envy those of you whose significant other plays or interacts with you playing this sport. My wife can't even hold a cue and has no desire to. But I love her dearly for everything we have accomplished recently.
I can't believe you guys are packing. DAMN!, But If the baby looks like me, I plead the 5th. Tell the pookster that i'll stop by so we can get our stories straight
My desire to play again is also tempered by my fear that my level of play would be so inferior to what is was before, that I would consider any competitive return a failure. But reading this forum does keep my interest up somewhat (thanks to all of you on this forum for that! - you too Superstar) I enjoy some of the banter and thank you for that.
I don't know about that. You did torture that guy during the midnight madness. He was ready to kill himself when you fired in the table length off angle combo to win it.
The true point of my post is that even though you are not certain of your relationship based on your wife's dissatisfaction of your pool playing habits, you may find a different happy medium in time. Just give it a chance. Even though I will never try to play full time/semi-professionally at any point, I am sure I will try to play competitively again at some point. I am just letting my cue age for a little. :smile:
We will be eagerly awaiting your return.
Phil S
Dude, I totally identify with this post.
I mean, in my situation, it's the exact same thing. The girl knew what i was before we even got involved.
She's seen me win, she's seen me lose, and knows that if i ever have to bail on something we have planned, that it's because i stand to make a decent score. Not simply because i have the urge to play. I don't have that urge anymore. But she knew right out of the gate, that i don't play pool for fun. There is rarely any enjoyment in it for me. She knew it was more a job then anything cause she's saw me struggle to make a buck in the pool world when that was my only income.
When it became obvious that i couldn't maintain the lifestyle of which i've grown accustomed to and the meal tickets all but disappeared, it was no brainer to pack it in.
As for differences because of me playing, there really aren't any. She knows that pool isn't a serious thing anymore, so when i do get motivated like 3 times a year to really try and get in stroke (expo and maybe like 2 regional tournaments), she has no complaints. She's seen me win enough times to ever complain about me spending time on it. Most likely, cause traditionally, whenever i won some money, i blew it on us going out. (That's the secret guys)
Plus, if there is a weekly tournament that i want to play in, she just calls up her girlfriends, and they go to get their nails done, and do girly things. So it's not like she's out in the cold, and i am abandoning her.
If i ever were to compete seriously again, it wouldn't be a problem. That's just the type of girl she is.
Now as far as the exes go......lets just say that there are reasons they got fired.
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