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Ssb - the greatest
Fora time this afternoon Stephen Hendry was the no.1 trending topic on Twitter.
Iwonder what this meant to him? Knowing Stephen, probably nothing. Neither didall the handshakes and congratulations, well meant though they were. Neither, even,will the money, welcome though it is.
Why?Because for the authentic greats of sport, achievement is all. To have made athird Crucible 147, the 11th of his career, is what really matters.Everything around it – all the platitudes and comment – is an irrelevance.
Muchof sport exists as a soap opera. Snooker is not immune. But amidst the tantrumsand spats and hype, we must never forget that the true test of greatness insport is achievement.
Hendryhas achieved more than any other player of the television age and todayunderlined once again why he is, by any objective measure, the greatest.
Thefirst few shots of the maximum were all missable but he quickly achieved primeposition and never looked like missing, even potting a Thorburnesque yellow.
Iread in the Daily Telegraph today that Judd Trump had suddenly made snookermore attacking.
Trumpis a delight to watch but snooker has been attacking for more than 20 years.
Hendryis the modern era’s true game-changer. He pioneered a way of playing which allthose who came after him copied. Some, such as Ronnie O’Sullivan and JohnHiggins, have arguably improved on it.
Butthe reason they all play how they do is because they saw Hendry do it, toremarkable effect in his pomp.
Today’soverall performance was a reminder of what made him so great: all out attack,nerveless potting and clinical break-building.
Thisis the way snooker is now routinely played – witness Neil Robertson’s threesuccessive centuries on the other table.
Thequestion now is how far Hendry can go in this tournament. On this form a longway, but let’s not get carried away.
Welive in an age of opinions – blogs, forums, Twitter and the rest. But when allthe chatter is blown away and forgotten – which it will be – achievements willstand in time.
StephenHendry’s achievements will be looked back on by snooker historians of thefuture as landmark feats, defining the era in which snooker saw playing standards rise.
Asfor the present, the game can cherish a champion still capable of defying theyears, the critics and the comment.
Whenall else is gone, his achievements speak for themselves.
More...
Iwonder what this meant to him? Knowing Stephen, probably nothing. Neither didall the handshakes and congratulations, well meant though they were. Neither, even,will the money, welcome though it is.
Why?Because for the authentic greats of sport, achievement is all. To have made athird Crucible 147, the 11th of his career, is what really matters.Everything around it – all the platitudes and comment – is an irrelevance.
Muchof sport exists as a soap opera. Snooker is not immune. But amidst the tantrumsand spats and hype, we must never forget that the true test of greatness insport is achievement.
Hendryhas achieved more than any other player of the television age and todayunderlined once again why he is, by any objective measure, the greatest.
Thefirst few shots of the maximum were all missable but he quickly achieved primeposition and never looked like missing, even potting a Thorburnesque yellow.
Iread in the Daily Telegraph today that Judd Trump had suddenly made snookermore attacking.
Trumpis a delight to watch but snooker has been attacking for more than 20 years.
Hendryis the modern era’s true game-changer. He pioneered a way of playing which allthose who came after him copied. Some, such as Ronnie O’Sullivan and JohnHiggins, have arguably improved on it.
Butthe reason they all play how they do is because they saw Hendry do it, toremarkable effect in his pomp.
Today’soverall performance was a reminder of what made him so great: all out attack,nerveless potting and clinical break-building.
Thisis the way snooker is now routinely played – witness Neil Robertson’s threesuccessive centuries on the other table.
Thequestion now is how far Hendry can go in this tournament. On this form a longway, but let’s not get carried away.
Welive in an age of opinions – blogs, forums, Twitter and the rest. But when allthe chatter is blown away and forgotten – which it will be – achievements willstand in time.
StephenHendry’s achievements will be looked back on by snooker historians of thefuture as landmark feats, defining the era in which snooker saw playing standards rise.
Asfor the present, the game can cherish a champion still capable of defying theyears, the critics and the comment.
Whenall else is gone, his achievements speak for themselves.
More...
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