What Best Describes Your Attraction to Pool?

JAM

JAM

I am the storm
Silver Member
Whether you're a pool enthusiast, railbird, industry member, social shooter, tournament soldier, weekend warrior, professional player, hustler, gambler, or a lemonade man, there must be something about pocket billiards that keeps you coming back for more. :)

In the year 2010, pool just isn't a good spectator sport, attracting large masses of viewers, whether on TV, Internet, or in person. This is unfortunate but true. :frown:

Of course, there's exceptions to this school of thought. Some may enjoy partaking in a little side action on the outcome of a match, and others may have enough spare time in their lives to sweat pool for long durations, as that's what some pool races/matches end up being, especially the ahead games. :grin-square:

Watching abbreviated pool on TV isn't much fun when portions are cut out, but that's how it is on TV. Matches are edited because the media people, like ESPN, think it's just too much content to hold the attention of mainstream viewers. :D

It would be interesting to find out the demographics of the pool culture, at least as it pertains to the readers of AzBilliards discussion forum. I'm not sure how statistically significant it is or what the plus/minus ratio is. :embarrassed2:

If I've left out a category and you want to describe the reason you like pool, please share! :p
 
I think the best word for it is sadistic. When I'm seeing the ball the way I should, I love to torture my opponent with nasty defenses. Masochistic is a better word for when I'm not shooting well. I torture myself.
 
The Schwartz said:
I think the best word for it is sadistic. When I'm seeing the ball the way I should, I love to torture my opponent with nasty defenses. Masochistic is a better word for when I'm not shooting well. I torture myself.
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LOL! :grin-square: Yep, I know exactly what you mean. :smile:

When I used to hit 'em and was hitting 'em well, I remember experiencing this odd sensation sometimes mid stroke. :p

It was midway, between the beginning of the swing and the actual hit on the cueball. If the ball went in, I felt this brief draft of wind in my swing. If I missed the pocket, that draft of wind wasn't there. :sad:

There's no better high in the world than when you're running out with ease. That's for sure! :cool:
 
I swear, pool and golf are both simultaneously some of the most frustrating and rewarding activities a person can do. I love it.
 
Hey Jennie! I would say I am a pool enthusiast, I am a B player looking to move up to an A player in a couple years. I love the game so much and just want to do what I can to give something back and that is why I do live streaming 5 times a month. I do stuff in the industry but I cannot say its a biz for me, just a hobby that is taking up too much of my time, lmao. The best is all the good people I have met such as yourself and others, its really a pleasure. :smile:
 
Fast Lenny said:
Hey Jennie! I would say I am a pool enthusiast, I am a B player looking to move up to an A player in a couple years. I love the game so much and just want to do what I can to give something back and that is why I do live streaming 5 times a month. I do stuff in the industry but I cannot say its a biz for me, just a hobby that is taking up too much of my time, lmao. The best is all the good people I have met such as yourself and others, its really a pleasure. :smile:
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Wow! So, Lenny, you're a player, a pool enthusiast, a hobbyist, an industry member, and a railbird all wrapped up in one! :thumbup:

You're very fortunate that you are out there enjoying your pool passion as much as you do. :smile:

I'm a mere railbird today, but I used to play socially, stake players, and gamble if I was given the nuts. :grin-square:
 
I love playing because at the end of the day, I'm the one that determines my own fate.

I don't have teammates to blame or coaches to blame.

I'm my own offensive and defensive coordinator.

It's me against my opponents and may the best person, at that particular time, be the winner.

When I'm at the table, executing shots and my cue-ball is listening to my commands, there's not many feelings I've experienced, better than running out rack after rack.
 
My attraction to the game started as a boy when my father put a table in the basement. Once I started pocketing balls with some consistency, I was bitten. The finesse, the mastery of angles and friction, ... I've yet to get achieve that mastery (I'm working on it), but it's just a beautiful thing to see when it's done well. Even competition for me isn't so much about defeating my opponent, but about playing the table better than s/he does.
 
How can I express in words the true existentialist passion that I have for pocket billiards. The almost poetic movement of the cue ball as it spins over the grass green cloth, colliding, and caroming from one object ball to the next, as if in a dance. To hear, and feel the thunderous explosion of the break, as ball after ball escapes the caos of the storm by seeking refuge in the far reaches of the table. Then, if one's senses were not hightened enough, witness the dichotomy of that destruction by the soft kiss of the cue ball as it gently carresses a cushion and moves up table to a safer position.
Mere words cannot describe, nor paint an even marginally adequate picture of how I feel about pocket billiards.
I like golf to. I used to play alot of golf. Golf's cool. :smile:
 
Hi Jennie

In my retirement years, pool has given me "something to do." I've played on and off since I was 20 and even though I'm probably only a B- player at best, when I am playing well and I drop down on a shot, I don't feel all 68 of my years, I am just shooting the shot, just about like I did 48 years ago.

And beyond it being a game that you can play even in old age, there are other elements that have attracted me from time to time. I was a bit of a photography buff back in the 1980s and enjoyed the challenge of photographing pool tournaments. More recently, I've had fun using computers to scan and edit negatives from those tournaments.

Pool plus the Internet has connected or reconnected me to some pool world people, so I'll add that to the things that have attracted me to pool.
 
I am an addicted C/B player who has a table at home.

To me, pool is an instant vacation. Whether I am playing for 10 minutes or an hour, I am oblivious of everything else during that time.

I get instant gratification everytime a ball drops - even better if I get position.

I am like the lab rat endlessly pressing that lever for more food.
 
For me it's like seeing a shiny new Mercedes convertible with a pretty girl in it, and she is waving at me to get in. Every time I get close to the car she pulls slowly away from me. Not too far away, just enough so I can't quite catch up to her. Then she smiles and waves again and beckons me to come on.

I've been chasing that damn car and the girl for over forty years now. I sure wish she would run out of gas or something. :thumbup:
 
Pool is a huge element in my life, playing, watching or thinking about it is almost addictive, got to have my pool fix. I also am retired and find it one thing that you can still do as you get older. Knowing that you'll never be as good as you might once have been is difficult but the days when thing go great are certainly special.
 
JAM said:
Whether you're a pool enthusiast, railbird, industry member, social shooter, tournament soldier, weekend warrior, professional player, hustler, gambler, or a lemonade man, there must be something about pocket billiards that keeps you coming back for more. :)

To a man, every enthusiast I know was captivated as soon as he saw a table, the balls, their sound and movement. Pool isn't an acquired taste, IMO, but something that hits you on an elemental level.
Carping about it not going mainstream is futile. It will always be a subculture, in the U.S. at least. It's interesting to note, however, that the net has made it more accessable. What would Greenleaf think of the available instruction, and the ability to live-stream matches and save them for posterity on You Tube? What would Don Willis think of his total inability to go undetected in any town in America?
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A.J. DeAngelo said:
To a man, every enthusiast I know was captivated as soon as he saw a table, the balls, their sound and movement. Pool isn't an acquired taste, IMO, but something that hits you on an elemental level.
Carping about it not going mainstream is futile. It will always be a subculture, in the U.S. at least. It's interesting to note, however, that the net has made it more accessable. What would Greenleaf think of the available instruction, and the ability to live-stream matches and save them for posterity on You Tube? What would Don Willis think of his total inability to go undetected in any town in America?
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You make a good point how things have changed. In my opinion it is for the better. There are more good players now then ever IMO, people are coming up in ability right out of the gate because the knowledge is spread more freely now. I talked to someone about Jack Cooney and how he probably could not do all he did in this day and age. I am not saying someone could not pull down big scores hustling and laying it down, perhaps I am wrong and someone like Jack could do it as he is super sharp and dedicated. I think its great we get to see how great our players of today are as opposed to hearing about it. I love the stories but a video to go along with the stories is the nuts. :smile:
 
jay helfert said:
For me it's like seeing a shiny new Mercedes convertible with a pretty girl in it, and she is waving at me to get in. Every time I get close to the car she pulls slowly away from me. Not too far away, just enough so I can't quite catch up to her. Then she smiles and waves again and beckons me to come on.

I've been chasing that damn car and the girl for over forty years now. I sure wish she would run out of gas or something. :thumbup:
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Hey, Jay. Where I come from we dangle a carrot in front of a mule. :smile:
 
Welcome home!

As a young golfer.i played scratch...sometimes...
I also was a decent chess player....sometimes...
And i had a comtemplative nature....always...
So when i walked into a pool hall,at the age of 17,i felt like a
homeless kid that had just discovered his parents.

My first shot was scooping whitey onto the floor.
I lost $40 to a guy i always bar-b-cued on a golf course.
For a week after i would go the pool hall after school and
watch the best players,intently and quiet as a mouse.
The owner,God bless him,recognized my enthusiasm and respect
and gave me a back table to practise on,gratis.
Within a month i started thinking of myself as a pool player who
could play golf.

But i'm not absolutely hooked....i'm giving it maybe another 30...
uh,make that 40,years,and that's it....
...maybe i'll try scuba diving...
 
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jay helfert said:
For me it's like seeing a shiny new Mercedes convertible with a pretty girl in it, and she is waving at me to get in. Every time I get close to the car she pulls slowly away from me. Not too far away, just enough so I can't quite catch up to her. Then she smiles and waves again and beckons me to come on.

I've been chasing that damn car and the girl for over forty years now. I sure wish she would run out of gas or something. :thumbup:
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You are a sucker for Pretty girl or mercedes convertable or both?:thumbup:
 
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