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If todays snooker audience is so knowledgeable - as the commentators are always reminding us - why do they always, but always, applaud the touching ball plant shot? While not impossible to miss, this shot is actually more difficult to miss than not, and yet it never fails to get applauded. Why?
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"Kryten, isn't it round about this time of year that your head goes back to the lab for retuning?" -
when all hope is lost of keeping the break going, the plant saves the day
Last edited by MattCash; 7 May 2009, 11:28 AM. -
Looks cool and develops other reds more often than not.Comment
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I actually stand by my point in saying that the crowd claps due to it looking cool. I back up this with the fact that most trick shots are similar to that. You know that if they hit a certain point and if they are set up in certain way, the balls will do what is required - i.e. the snake.Comment
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sometimes, it is difficult to spot the plant also.Comment
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Funnily enough, Dennis Taylor has mentioned in commentary on quite a few occasions that the audience will always applaud a plant, no matter if it is unmissable.
I think it's just that the audience appreciates seeing anything good or skilful or unusual, be it a fantastic long pot, a mistake by the ref, a joke from a player, or indeed an unmissable plant!Comment
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I think that's absolutely right. I remember when Selby got to the final in 2007 he played quite a lot of little cannons to pot balls, ie, playing a red onto a colour to pot the red into the adjacent pocket. Many of those little shots are very common in English 8ball pool, and not too difficult to perform correctly for a pool player of Mark's class, and I remember being surprised when the audience applauded; but I think it's exactly what the Statman said, it's something unusual, and skillful, and so the audience applauds.Originally Posted by The Statman View PostIl n'y a pas de problemes; il n'y a que des solutions qu'on n'a pas encore trouvées.
"Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing not to put in a fruit salad." Brian O'Driscoll.Comment
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Yes, not all applause is for the reason of technical difficullty.
Often the audience will applaud the frame-clinching pot – which might actually not be difficult at all but it is the significance that is being acknowledged. Likewise an easy pot that clinches the century break; it is the significance rather than the difficulty of the pot.
A trickle of applause often accompanies the ooh and aahs when a player misses a pot or goes in-off – usually not through disrespect to the hapless player but through excitement perhaps that the frame isn't quite over yet.
Applause can indicate all sorts of emotions beyond appreciation of skill level. Humour, excitement, significance, surprise, encouragement...Comment
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