Take it like a MAN.

I'm part of the younger crowd (I'm 27) and I NEVER make an arse out of myself. The team I'm on is all around the same age 25 to 30, and 3 of the other 4 players are like this. It's embarrassing to the two of us, it makes our whole team look like a bunch of idiot punk kids.:angry: If I screwed up then I'll be upset with myself but I never say anything to my opponent or around my opponent. The thing my classless teammates do is say something just loud enough about the opponent(such as they are lucky or something stupid like that) that they might hear and then talk $hi! afterwards like they punked them or something.

Preston

P.S. I'm no longer playing with these yahoo's:smile: :smile:
 
hang-the-9 said:
A bit off topic, but this is exactly why they need to shelve the jump cues. Danny D. always says it's a crap tool to use. You make a mistake, get some skill in kicking or jump with your own cue to get out of it. If I play a nice hook, why take a toy that a 10yr old can jump a full ball with and make an easy hit?
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Is it alright to use a jump cue if you didn't make a mistake to get hooked and you are jumping because your opponent hooked you? Should I be a man and not use the bridge tool either? Perhaps I should learn to reach over and shoot one handed instead of using the bridge?
 
D Player said:
GG11 said:
I think it's very rude to say, "UGH I PLAYED LIKE CRAP," as it's just like you saying, "You didn't win, I lost!"
QUOTE]

I agree that spouting off excuses to your opponent after a loss will likely come across the wrong way.

I like to start off with "nice match" and then if my opponent wants to talk more about how we both played then it's fine to talk about things that MAY have influenced your play (excuses).
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I think it's not rude at all. it is more like admitting to oneself that he sux. what is rude is when your opponent tells you that you only won because you are lucky. the reason why some people say such thing as they su-ck is because of the feeling of humiliation by the way they are playing. no pun intended towards the other party.

the notion of "you didn't win, I lost" is more or less an illogical one and shows feeling of indifference to the other party's frustration towards themselves. I think you are being rude here, lol.
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Let me clarify what I am saying... I understand being hungry to win, and being upset when you lose. But to me, the most professional and mature players will do their whining in private. Not make feeble attempts at bringing their opponent down by taking credit away from their win. It's just poor sportsmanship.
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I don't understand how you can be that offended if you've managed to get your opponent pissing and whining after you've beaten him!

that's the sweetest kind of victory sometimes. i was reading an article in a fanzine before a big football match a few years back - aston villa against manchester united, who everybody hates really. we really really wanted to win this match. :D anyway the bloke writing said he didn't want us to beat them with a wonderful performance and have their manager alex ferguson congratulating us after the match - what he really wanted was for our players to bully theirs and for every bad refereeing decision to go our way. then at the end have their manager and the whole team stewing and moaning and ranting to the media afterwards about how lucky we were and how they deserved to win! :D

of course he was exaggerating slightly to make the point and he was trying to be humurous - but the point remains. those sort of victories are very often the sweetest ones or most satisfying, especially against a player you really want to beat.
 
uwate said:
From what I have seen in the pool room, its the people who are ok with losing, and dont seem to sweat it much, are the ones who never win. The ones who absolutely hate losing seem to be driven to higher gear than those others.
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most of the better players i've seen never miss, it's the ball rolled off ,the table is wet ,there was chalk on the ball, or some such! i usually i say oops dogged it!, probably why i never became a better player. when i get beaten i say good job, catch you later.
 
Luxury said:
Is it alright to use a jump cue if you didn't make a mistake to get hooked and you are jumping because your opponent hooked you? Should I be a man and not use the bridge tool either? Perhaps I should learn to reach over and shoot one handed instead of using the bridge?
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agreed.

when the anti-jump cue brigade can jump over a ball quite close with a day's practice, make it, and draw back 10/12 inches, then we'll open the topic up for discussion again.

at the end of the day jump cues are pushing the players' skill up, at least they should be. safe's can't be sloppy, and it means you have to learn to jump really well, something which i think the pro's don't do as well as they could be. i definitely feel the professional standard of jumping can go up another level or two - and it hasn't of yet. most pro's are content with just making a hit. not that i'm knocking anyone or anything, just i think this is one area of the game where the bar could be raised a bit.
 
Unfortunately, this is not a perfect world!!!!

In a perfect world, everyone would be a good sport, unfortunately its not the way it is. There are poor sports in every sport, not just pool.
I have seen so much bad behavior, frankly it makes me chuckle because it is so ridiculous. When you get to a competitive level, there are always the big egos to deal with. Ya know the players who think they play better than they really do. (everyone knows what Im talking about, Im sure)
How I deal with it??? I ignore it. Those guys are not worth my effort or time. Sad to say, some poolplayers just never get it!!!!
Their heads are so far up in the clouds, they dont see the REALISTIC view of this game or their skill level. I believe these are the ones who usually act out in a unsportsman-like manner.
I have found the really good players are the good sports. Most of them are good losers. Just my opinion.
 
bigshooter said:
I've always striven to a be a gentleman, I shake the opponents hand, tell them good match and walk off quietly.

I hate excuses and whiners and I have always had an even keeled disposition, it takes a lot to get me upset.
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Did you hear about the guy that ran out of a poolhall and jumped in the river and drown true story he blew a shot in st8 pool at 147 to 150 and opponent came in and ran twenty some and out thats bad are you a good player a or above.:mad:
 
There's a big difference to how I feel after I lose a match depending on if I lost or my opponent beat me.

If my opponent is running racks, moving the cue ball around nicely, playing smart and timely safeties and in general is just playing well, I won't have a thing to say after the match to myself or anyone standing around except what a great game he played. Even if I felt like I played really well and should have won, if he was playing a good game then it doesn't bother me to lose. Maybe he got one extra roll or I made one or two extra mistakes or he gambled on a low risk shot that played off, it's all good.

If my opponent is giving me BIH with 4 open balls left and I'm still failing to get out or if I hang the 9 twice or keep scratching; then I feel justified in claiming that I might have had more to do with his win then he did. I also never have a problem just owning up and saying, ?I missed?.

Either way, I'm going to shake hands, wish him the best, and run off somewhere to lick my wounds. By the time I get home, the only thing I'll be thinking about is how I felt I played
 
lodini said:
Why does it seem that the first instinct for most players after losing a match is to go on and on about how they played so bad, how the equipment was faulty, how they slept wrong last night, how they might be getting a cold, how they were a little tired, how the planets werent aligned right, how the temperature was a bit chilly, how they didnt have their lucky chalk, etc.etc.etc...

And so RARELY does anyone just say "my opponent played a hell of a match."

Does anyone else agree that these excuses are just insulting and disrespectful to the person that just beat you? And wouldn't the loser look like a bigger man by just accepting the loss and moving on?
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I agree 100% with your sentiments except for the "Take it like a MAN" statement. I hate poor excuses too, and also posted a thread about people who feel the need to make excuses even BEFORE they play their matches! Shows a lot about the person's class, sportsmanship etc.

As far as taking it like a man I have one question: As a woman, how would you know...:)
 
Flex said:
I don't think the kind of excuses that you list are "just insulting and disrespectful" at all. There could be several things happening simultaneously. It could well be the person really didn't get enough sleep, or overate and is suffering from indigestion, or the humidity in the room was through the roof and made playing conditions really tough. To make note of that could well be a statement of reality, with no insult or disrespect intended. It could also be meant to be insulting or disrespectful, no doubt.

When someone runs off a laundry list if they lose to me, I try to be kind to them, and shake their hand and compliment them on a really tough match, if indeed it was that. At the very least, a "good shooting with you" will be forthcoming, unless they were engaged in blatant, intentional, vile sharking. In that case, I may or may not shake their hand. And if they resorted to the foul stuff, I know they think they had to stoop to such low tactics to beat me, and I like that. It's basically an admission they don't measure up.

Gotta say though that not every guy's a gentleman...

Flex
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But one is forced to wonder if these same people would complain about anything if they had won.
 
D Player said:
GG11 said:
I think it's very rude to say, "UGH I PLAYED LIKE CRAP," as it's just like you saying, "You didn't win, I lost!"
QUOTE]

I agree that spouting off excuses to your opponent after a loss will likely come across the wrong way.

I like to start off with "nice match" and then if my opponent wants to talk more about how we both played then it's fine to talk about things that MAY have influenced your play (excuses).
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On the other side of that, I hate when people beat me and then proceed to tell me that I should have won, I let them win, why was I playing so bad, I didn't really wanna win etc.

Winners can be a$$holes too.
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worriedbeef said:
I actually have a lot of respect for somebody who may moan after a loss. Maybe it's just me, but there's nothing admirable about gushing about how well your opponent played and how he was flawless and he was brilliant and he deserved to win blah blah blah. Not trying to be controversial here just honest. I respect someone who has a burning desire to win and if they play below par, is vocal about it and says 'yes my opponent played ok but the main thing was that i played very poor and that's why i lost'.

I think that's reasonable enough. too much wishy washy praising your opponent and faffing about trying to be a 'gentleman's game'. If somebody is getting all the rolls and luck then there's nothing wrong with a player having a moan about it.

what i'm getting at is passion. passion for the game, and a passion to compete. mindless anger and rage is a different thing like what jason mentioned in the above post - i don't respect that. no reason to.
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You can be passionate and classy. The two aren't mutually exclusive.
 
SpiderWebComm said:
I really don't care if someone cries after a match or not. Personally, I know this is sick, but..... I get WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY more satisfaction beating someone to the point of them crying, throwing a fit, melting down, breaking their cue, going-off, etc.... than someone shaking my hand politely. I love the hate.

As the Emperor said in Star Wars.... "I can feel your anger. Hate gives you focus, it makes you stronger."

So I say let the hate flow, brother.


That being said.... when I lose, I ALWAYS shake their hands and say THEY played well. Even if they didn't.
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To add to that point...when your opponent "loses it" you know you've beaten them mentally. There is one guy in my local room that is known for his poor demeanor. No one likes to play him for that very reason. I will only play him if we cross paths in the local league play, and if he loses it I know I've won. Of course, at that point I will play more safes just to pile on. Is that poor sportsmanship by me? Maybe. Or I know I have the guy beat mentally and am now rubbing salt in the wound.
 
worriedbeef said:
I don't understand how you can be that offended if you've managed to get your opponent pissing and whining after you've beaten him!

that's the sweetest kind of victory sometimes. i was reading an article in a fanzine before a big football match a few years back - aston villa against manchester united, who everybody hates really. we really really wanted to win this match. :D anyway the bloke writing said he didn't want us to beat them with a wonderful performance and have their manager alex ferguson congratulating us after the match - what he really wanted was for our players to bully theirs and for every bad refereeing decision to go our way. then at the end have their manager and the whole team stewing and moaning and ranting to the media afterwards about how lucky we were and how they deserved to win! :D

of course he was exaggerating slightly to make the point and he was trying to be humurous - but the point remains. those sort of victories are very often the sweetest ones or most satisfying, especially against a player you really want to beat.
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Ummm...everyone does not hate Man U.
 
Just showing a little class

After a match it is just showing a little class to say something nice to or about your opponent unless they have been a real jerk. The last tournament I played in, I lost both matches to poor play on the eight ball playing nine ball. I had easy shots but it was bugging me that I couldn't see any shape to the black ball. It was just a flat disk out there. No reason I shouldn't still be able to find my aim points, I just let it get to me. I could have whined about my eyes or a half-dozen other things, instead I simply shook hands and told each player that I enjoyed the match which was true. I didn't tell them I was annoyed to lose and I didn't critique why I lost. Unless the opponent is a close friend and the event is over it isn't the time.

We all should be honest with ourselves about our performance and no harm in discussing it with our riding partners after the match. However talking to the opponent after the match or talking about a match in an interview isn't the time to be brutally honest. It is the time to show a little sportsmanship and courtesy, "good form" for the English I believe.

Hu
 
sometimes...

Getting angry or upset that you lost isn't really a bad thing. It just shows that you care.

One time I was in a pool hall that was in a strip mall with a plate glass front to the place. I kept missing easy shots which started to agitate me. I missed an easy 8 and I boiled over. I slapped a piece of chalk off the table and it flew into one of those plates of glass and cracked it. You could see a blue square where glass spiderwebbed. It made a really loud noise but no one had seen what happened. I finished my game and got out of there.

I have also played league when I was sick and it does make a difference. I had my sinuses plugged up and my equilibrium was all out of whack. I kept getting in my stance to shoot and it was like I was in a small boat or something because I couldnt keep still. That was a rough night of pool playing.

I have never discussed excuses with opponents. I just shake their hand and tell them nice game. It's just what I would expect if I had won the game. After all, it is only a game.
 
inside_english said:
I agree 100% with your sentiments except for the "Take it like a MAN" statement. I hate poor excuses too, and also posted a thread about people who feel the need to make excuses even BEFORE they play their matches! Shows a lot about the person's class, sportsmanship etc.

As far as taking it like a man I have one question: As a woman, how would you know...:)
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Because as a woman, I have met plenty of "real" men who are mature and can handle themselves appropriately in all situations, good and bad.
 
ive thought about this, what i have come up with is this...... ALL THERE IS IN POOL IS WINNING. i mean what else comes form this sport. its not like you make the cut at the us open golf, play like crap over the weekend and make 75,000. its so much tougher for him to complain, he plays like crap and goes out to buy a new ferrarri or whatever. but in pool you are just stuck with the loss and even if you win the tournament you get no money. hence all the retched complaining of which many people have perfected and it has even become part of their game as in they use it to win matches and get away with it because they are true masters of whining.
 
How about..be a good sport...instead of take it like a man

Anything that lessens the winners joy of the win, or anything that adds to the losers misery is POOR SPORTSMANSHIP. I can't say that I haven't rubbed it in at times, if someone is a @*#&, but I always try to hold back. I am human, but one of my goals before playing is always to be a GOOD SPORT.

It doesn't seem particularly appropriate when someone says to me 'great match' after I have played poorly (and lost) either. How about ..."I'll look forward to our next match", or "I enjoyed playing against you...better luck next time".

I guess it all comes down to observing the "platinum rule".....try to treat others as they would have you treat them. JMO

td
 
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