I used to disdain team pool. Then I joined a team in Germany and learned that it's so much better when your performance means something to your teammates and your season performance means you get to compete against better competition.
It's incredibly rewarding to have your teammates depending on you and you play good. And it's a lot of fun and stress to be pulling for your teammates when they play.
When I moved back to the USA I played for a VNEA team and a BCA team and once our BCA team got to 17th place out of 492 teams. Every match was exciting but none as exciting as the one where we were down 10-4 in a race to 13 and we managed to win 13-11.
Honestly, the times I have played and won on the teams I have played with, win or lose really, have been the greatest fun and greatest thrills I have ever had playing pool. I have gambled for decent money and won few tournaments against good players and none of the highs I got from that were as good as the victories against other tough teams when I was with a bunch of good guys that all jelled.
There is an energy there that can't be described really.
I can only imagine that as a professional player it is multiplied a thousandfold when you are representing your country.
Professional Golfers and Tennis players report the same feeling when they play team events like the Davis Cup and the Ryder Cup.
So while the show business aspect of the Mosconi Cup means that they have to play it up as if it's the most prestigious thing in pool the fact is that it is an honor to be selected for the team and I am sure that it's highly meaningful to the players who do play. And for those of us, like me, who get a huge thrill out of playing for a team, we know what it means to us and are proud of our countrymen when they do!
