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Two days in Sheffield
A few days after my stay in Sheffield, I can't realize I was really there, attending matches and meeting champions such as Higgins, Robertson, Hamilton, etc. at the stage door. I've watched my first tournament live, and what a tournament! I enjoy watching snooker programmes but there's no comparison with being there, together with snooker fanatics, your heart beating wildly as the different sessions approach. I was at the second round matches: Murphy/Parrott (two sessions) and McCulloch/Hamilton (one session), 24 frames altogether (and watching carefully, you could have seen me on TV 
).
Here are my impressions of...
...THE VENUE
I know that they are talking about moving the competition from the Crucible. The venue is incredibly small indeed; on another thread someone compared it with his local club in a backstreet, and you can say that again! Moreover, it really needs an update: the carpet's ugly, the bar and snack are gloomy. The auditorium converted into an arena is impressive, but there's obviously no place for two tables; the players, referees and BBC cameramen are crammed together like sardines. BUT it's the Crucible, and now I know what it means: there's something in the air, that has something to do with legend. You simply fall under its spell. As for the arena, I knew it was famed for being the most intimate one in snooker and, as I was in the front row (YES!), I could clearly see Shaun Murphy's pair of cuff-links and John Parrott's brand of trousers - the proximity is astonishing.
... THE MASTER OF CEREMONIES
There was a strange guy (Richard Beare, as I heard later) with an ultra-bright smile who did the introductions as if we were in a TV quiz show. He was supposed to warm up the audience but he always started the speech with a stupid request: "We are so, soooo happy to have 888.com as the official sponsor here, so please show your appreciation of that and give 888.com a big clap!" (obviously nobody knew exactly why we should have been ecstatic about an online game room or a brand of cigarette, but I suppose the promotional contract stipulates he has to mention "888" twice in each sentence).
... JOHN PARROTT AND ME
I could have had no great liking for Parrott, as I'm an absolute fan of Steve Davis (how did you guess?
). Well, now I can claim I love old JP and could kiss his shoes if he asked me to. I didn't know him before, except for one or two matches when he was a top player a few years ago. Of course, as a French, I had never heard of his role as a team captain on "A Question of Sport". I only knew he had beaten Steve Davis. I had booked my tickets on February only for Steve's hypothetical second round, and a second round without him signified not much to me! This is why I reluctantly sat down in the front row at 2:00pm on Thursday. Twenty minutes later the Nugget was forgotten. I usually admire Murphy' virtuosity and his brilliant cue action, but he made a few mistakes and JP made the most of it. I really like his teddy-bear solid style. He's so graceful and expressive around the table, you can guess what he's thinking about and feel as if you were part of the game - that's what the crowd did, and my neighbours couldn't help ponctuating the game with "Great shot", "C'mon John!", the atmosphere was tremendous! John was the outsider but he remained an entertainer as well: in the sixth frame after three "foul and a miss" were called, JP, with a desperate expression, went near one of my neighbours, pretending to give him his cue.The crowd roared with laughter and when Shaun did the same in the following frame, John decided to take both cues and give ways to better players in the audience! It was hilarious and his humour is catching; when a mobile phone rang and the loudspeaker gave a female voice: "Hello! Hello!", Shaun said: "It sounds like my mother!". During Friday's morning session, the game became more intense and the two players were level at 8-8 in the end, after John's bright fightback. I was on my way to France when the evening session finished and I heard of Shaun's victory. He deserved it of course, but JP has not been only a foil for him, he was heart and soul in the match, good humoured, spirited and gallant. The world championship has confirmed that I really fancy the old brigade! 
Now it's over (for me!) and I hope that many of you on TSF will have the opportunity to go to Sheffield one day. It's worth your going! No doubt I will be there in 2008.
____________________________________
).Here are my impressions of...
...THE VENUE
I know that they are talking about moving the competition from the Crucible. The venue is incredibly small indeed; on another thread someone compared it with his local club in a backstreet, and you can say that again! Moreover, it really needs an update: the carpet's ugly, the bar and snack are gloomy. The auditorium converted into an arena is impressive, but there's obviously no place for two tables; the players, referees and BBC cameramen are crammed together like sardines. BUT it's the Crucible, and now I know what it means: there's something in the air, that has something to do with legend. You simply fall under its spell. As for the arena, I knew it was famed for being the most intimate one in snooker and, as I was in the front row (YES!), I could clearly see Shaun Murphy's pair of cuff-links and John Parrott's brand of trousers - the proximity is astonishing.
... THE MASTER OF CEREMONIES
There was a strange guy (Richard Beare, as I heard later) with an ultra-bright smile who did the introductions as if we were in a TV quiz show. He was supposed to warm up the audience but he always started the speech with a stupid request: "We are so, soooo happy to have 888.com as the official sponsor here, so please show your appreciation of that and give 888.com a big clap!" (obviously nobody knew exactly why we should have been ecstatic about an online game room or a brand of cigarette, but I suppose the promotional contract stipulates he has to mention "888" twice in each sentence).
... JOHN PARROTT AND ME
I could have had no great liking for Parrott, as I'm an absolute fan of Steve Davis (how did you guess?
). Well, now I can claim I love old JP and could kiss his shoes if he asked me to. I didn't know him before, except for one or two matches when he was a top player a few years ago. Of course, as a French, I had never heard of his role as a team captain on "A Question of Sport". I only knew he had beaten Steve Davis. I had booked my tickets on February only for Steve's hypothetical second round, and a second round without him signified not much to me! This is why I reluctantly sat down in the front row at 2:00pm on Thursday. Twenty minutes later the Nugget was forgotten. I usually admire Murphy' virtuosity and his brilliant cue action, but he made a few mistakes and JP made the most of it. I really like his teddy-bear solid style. He's so graceful and expressive around the table, you can guess what he's thinking about and feel as if you were part of the game - that's what the crowd did, and my neighbours couldn't help ponctuating the game with "Great shot", "C'mon John!", the atmosphere was tremendous! John was the outsider but he remained an entertainer as well: in the sixth frame after three "foul and a miss" were called, JP, with a desperate expression, went near one of my neighbours, pretending to give him his cue.The crowd roared with laughter and when Shaun did the same in the following frame, John decided to take both cues and give ways to better players in the audience! It was hilarious and his humour is catching; when a mobile phone rang and the loudspeaker gave a female voice: "Hello! Hello!", Shaun said: "It sounds like my mother!". During Friday's morning session, the game became more intense and the two players were level at 8-8 in the end, after John's bright fightback. I was on my way to France when the evening session finished and I heard of Shaun's victory. He deserved it of course, but JP has not been only a foil for him, he was heart and soul in the match, good humoured, spirited and gallant. The world championship has confirmed that I really fancy the old brigade! Now it's over (for me!) and I hope that many of you on TSF will have the opportunity to go to Sheffield one day. It's worth your going! No doubt I will be there in 2008.
____________________________________
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