Why do we down our heros of this sport ?

Realizm

Realizm

I love cocobolo cues.
Silver Member
The funny thing i've seen is peolpe Love Svb when he's winning eveything , then cut him up when he don't.
I feel alot of us cut down our pool heros ,
Ja wins this week then peolpe Love him .
But if he would have lost ,
I feel some peolpe would have blamed his age or something silly.. So why jump of the side of the winner of Money matches or Big Tournaments. ?

So my question is would you like pool better if the same guy wins all the time ? or do you really like the underdog ?
 
Doesn't matter to me. I love pool, but I REALLY loved pool when Sigel was in his prime. I do enjoy watching SVB these days though. But I don't care who is winning.
 
Aside from other things, poolplayers (or more specific, AZB members) have a disproportionate number amongst their ranks that show a degree of fickleness. I've seen posters on here change their faces on more than just the subject of poolplaying "heroes" (your term, not mine).

Me personally, I have a few players that I would rather watch and see win as opposed to other players. That said, I will always stop short of calling any of them heroes. I reserve that moniker for those that risk their lives for our freedoms, those that stand between us and harms way, those that endure for the cause of teaching our children, etc. I am not going to water-down the word hero by using it in conjunction with anyone associated with pool (with the too-small exception of programs like the B.E.F. and similar organizations).

Just my $.02. I don't usually make too many friends on here when I post stuff like this.

Maniac (I still like YOU though :thumbup:)
 
I think that using the word hero some way out of contents true.

the players that we do a meyer.
 
LAlouie said:
Why should fans of pool be any different from fans of other sports.
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Except it's not true. I mean, on any given day, it's Mosconi did this, or he was only a champion due to large pockets, Earl is POS, so and so could give so and so the 8, and I saw that guy play once, and he was nothing....Or SVB would open a can of whoop ass on (pick any name pre 1995).....

I've NEVER heard someone mention that Lou Gehrig was "nothing" and could not play, and the only reason you know his name is cause the pitchers did not throw as hard back them..... never.....

When we talk baseball, none of us are bad mouthing Ruth, Gerhig, Ripken, Aaron, Sandburg, Fisk, Cy Young, Sandy Koufax, etc.etc.... the legends of the game..... we still talk about them in awe, and what they did and when they did it.

Obviously, this does not apply to the steriod abusers who tained the game and we will remember fondly for life... are you listening Bonds, Clemens, McGuire, etc. ???

But for pool, every champ sucked, and could be beat by any shortstop..... the equipment was "easy", there were more top players today, than back then, blah, blah, blah.... etc.et c.

Who really cares, Moscoini did not ask for "easy" tables... not that they were due to the slow cloth, inferior balls, shitty tips, lots of humdity due to lack of A/C in many places....

But within a week we will see a thread tearing apart Mosconi for something or another.......

Just seems odd to me... I like the old and new players. I like JA, SVB, Earl just as much as Buddy, Nick, Mosconi and Lassiter. I really can't think of many players I don't like, but I don't bring their names up because it is my personal bias for one reason or another......

And they are have something in common, they are champions that played the game at the highest level, even though they each had their own style and strategy of the game....
 
I believe (just my opinion) the level of respect we show each other in this sport is horrible. Not sure why it seems acceptable and why we tolerate it in this sport but it IS dissapointing.
 
Your question

is answered, and it is because we, as fans, have a tendency to analyze everything they do, good or bad. I am sure the old players had their critics too back in the day.
 
I respect people that win with class

It was a big deal when Bobby Fisher won the chess championship. USA downed the USSR in a USSR stronghold and the underdog won. I played a good bit of recreational chess at the time and watched the matches when I could. I was embarrassed! Bobby acted like an ass and pulled out more shark moves than any two-bit pool hustler ever dreamed of. Few seem to remember that now but I have never had any respect for Bobby since then.

I think it is much the same with pool heroes. We see all of their flaws much more clearly than the flaws of many other sports figures. Of course there are quite a few other sports figures that will never be respected by me if they win a dozen world championships. Future generations may look at them more kindly than I do though. I guess we are close enough to all of the pool "greats" that we see them much more clearly than many sports figures, warts and all.

Hu
 
Then there is the fact that a great pool player
is not necessarily a great person.

I admire anyone who reaches the pinnacle
of any respectable endeavor as long as
the personality deserves my respect as well.

I have very little respect for most movie people
or politicians. Their personal shortcomings get
in the way. I wouldn't cross a street to eat
dinner with most of them.

There are some truly great people however
that I respect enormously who have not really
acquired public notoriety.

And yes the tern "hero" is greatly over used.
It's so pc to call someone a hero. The real ones
get short changed. Too bad!

My one cent worth.
 
It's pretty simple.

Any time something or someone becomes very popular, whether it's an athlete, a band, a movie, a video game... hell, a font, a set of speakers, nail polish... Someone will come out and say they think it's overrated crap.

The person does this so that they can show the world that they're a free thinker, they don't just follow the herd and automatically like the same thing as a thousand other people. They're well educated in the field of [pool pros/gaming/film/whatever], and have discerning taste, and they're clever enough to see through the shiny glossy exterior.

They hope people will think "wow, I guess most people are just casual armchair fans and they only like _________ because they want to jump on the bandwagon. But this guy, by bashing _________, must have a deeper understanding. He's a SERIOUS fan, with refined tastes!"

Which is horseshit, usually.

Shane got really popular really fast on AZ, so of course immediately twenty guys jump up and say "he's overrated, he might take down some of the american players, but he can't take down the top filipinos, he's never gonna win a major, and if he did it was a weak field/short race/lucky roll." Doesn't matter if Shane plays as well as anyone else on the planet, doesn't matter if he's a perfectly nice guy... the smart guys gotta hate on him because otherwise their friends will think they're mainstream bandwagon jumpers.
 
ChicagoRJ said:
Except it's not true. I mean, on any given day, it's Mosconi did this, or he was only a champion due to large pockets, Earl is POS, so and so could give so and so the 8, and I saw that guy play once, and he was nothing....Or SVB would open a can of whoop ass on (pick any name pre 1995).....

I've NEVER heard someone mention that Lou Gehrig was "nothing" and could not play, and the only reason you know his name is cause the pitchers did not throw as hard back them..... never...
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You are disregarding a few things, Mosconi DID highrun on oversized pockets or somesuch, and Earl IS a POS. And no one ever says Gehrig was nothing because he was simply one of the 5 greatest and defining baseballers of all time. Plus he had a beloved movie made about him played by one of the handsomest actors ever,,,and he died of his own disease. I think you picked the wrong example. :D Walter Johnson threw 99 and Bob Feller threw 99. Mickey Mantle hit a 565' homer, Josh Gibson did it twice and also a 500' homer with one hand. Don't get caught up in the "today's athletes are better" syndrome. And btw people also say Ty Cobb was a racist POS as well.

Aside from the fact that no one is ever universally loved, this is sports. Pool, because it is so splintered, subsists largely on myth, lies, and heresay. Because of this and because no one makes money in pool so everyone hustles, the only thing a hardened pool player has left is his rep and his ego. The bad ancillary issues of pool are about braggadocio, so it's all about poor gamesmanship and getting one up on the other guy.
 
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LAlouie said:
You are disregarding a few things, Mosconi DID highrun on oversized pockets or somesuch, and Earl IS a POS. And no one ever says Gehrig was nothing because he was simply one of the 5 greatest and defining baseballers of all time. Plus he had a beloved movie made about him played by one of the handsomest actors ever,,,and he died of his own disease. I think you picked the wrong example. :D Walter Johnson threw 99 and Bob Feller threw 99. Mickey Mantle hit a 565' homer, Josh Gibson did it twice and also a 500' homer with one hand. Don't get caught up in the "today's athletes are better" syndrome. And btw people also say Ty Cobb was a racist POS as well.

Aside from the fact that no one is ever universally loved, this is sports. Pool, because it is so splintered, subsists largely on myth, lies, and heresay. Because of this and because no one makes money in pool so everyone hustles, the only thing a hardened pool player has left is his rep and his ego. The bad ancillary issues of pool are about braggadocio, so it's all about poor gamesmanship and getting one up on the other guy.
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well, except Gehrig NEVER saw anyone throw 99mph.... NEVER. He is still a great player, but Mosconi gets called out because of big pockets ??? yeah, that makes a lot of sense.

and baseball players are bigger and stronger than they ever have been due to diet, personal trainers, and huge salaries..... but I'm not going to harp on someone from the 30's because he didn't hit the ball 500 feet or have bulging biceps....or only hit for high average of a lot of cream puffs.... we don't bring it up, cause you can't compare today and yesteryear....

Actually, Earl is one heck of a nice guy and would give you the shirt off his back. I'm not really sure being high strung in the heat of battle really qualifies anyone as a POS.... but half the pool world likes and the other half not so much.... no biggie, but he is still one of the greatest players of all time..... like him or not...
 
ChicagoRJ said:
well, except Gehrig NEVER saw anyone throw 99mph.... NEVER.
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No, but he played in the dead ball era, and not with the superball baseball uses today. Back then you didn't see 2nd basemen knock out 50 homers.
But now we're digressing, are we not.
 
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ShootingArts said:
It was a big deal when Bobby Fisher won the chess championship. USA downed the USSR in a USSR stronghold and the underdog won. I played a good bit of recreational chess at the time and watched the matches when I could. I was embarrassed! Bobby acted like an ass and pulled out more shark moves than any two-bit pool hustler ever dreamed of. Few seem to remember that now but I have never had any respect for Bobby since then.

I think it is much the same with pool heroes. We see all of their flaws much more clearly than the flaws of many other sports figures. Of course there are quite a few other sports figures that will never be respected by me if they win a dozen world championships. Future generations may look at them more kindly than I do though. I guess we are close enough to all of the pool "greats" that we see them much more clearly than many sports figures, warts and all.

Hu
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I tend to agree with both parts of this post.
..And these people are in the public domain...let 'em take the heat...
...or get out of the kitchen.
 
I don't think they're any different. My friend comments about the same thing with Football and Baseball fans. He says it’s an American thing.
 
LAlouie said:
No, but he played in the dead ball era, and not with the superball baseball uses today. Back then you didn't see 2nd basemen knock out 50 homers.
But now we're digressing, are we not.
Click to expand...

That is because there were not many 2B bench pressing 350 pounds or more, and getting $50M to $100M contracts. Heck, some of those old timers had jobs in the winters and did NOT spend them working out 2 hours day, eating right, etc.etc....

And thus why I don't like disparging anyone from another era.... if they were top flight at the time, and played among the best, it should not matter if the pitchers threw underhand.... or if a pocket was a little loose.... they should not be penalized based on the era in which they played, or because of equipment differences.....
 
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