TSB - Ronnie O’Sullivan withdraws from Professional Snooker

[Looki]

If you want to make my post about me and use it to attack me that's fine, for what end I have no Idea? I suggest you read my post again then read it again and you will find that your response makes no sense at all.

I didn't attack you. Period. Why don't you take a breath and read my post again, maybe you'll find a point there. I'm sick and tired of Mr ****ing Sensitives around here.

[cazmac1]

I didn't attack you. Period. Why don't you take a breath and read my post again, maybe you'll find a point there. I'm sick and tired of Mr ****ing Sensitives around here.

Wow You need to take a chill pill. I'm not in anyway bothered by your post. Move on nothing to see here LOL

[Looki]

Wow You need to take a chill pill. I'm not in anyway bothered by your post. Move on nothing to see here LOL

Of course you're not bothered, that really showed from your answer to my post. You've marketed yourself as a grown-up family man here. Tell you, you make it hard to believe...

[Terry Davidson]

cazmac:

I'm not sure if I agree with you. When Joe Davis retired snooker didn't die, when Steve Davis stopped being the 'king' or Jimmy White started going downhill, snooker didn't die. Same with Hendry, Ray Reardon, John Spencer.

I think Ronnie not playing will likely hurt the attendance, especially around London but there are some really exciting players coming along who are starting to bring more fans into the game, Judd Trump being the best example and there are a few more young and exciting players out there who just need a little seasoning.

I have to agree though that I don't get very excited (and I really love the game) if Mark Selby or Peter Ebdon and the like are playing as I don't even bother to watch those matches or if I have them on DVD I'll fast-forward through them.

I've heard this Iranian player who won the world amateur is a very exciting player but I don't know if we'll ever see him if he doesn't get his visa and also this 14yr-old Chinese kid looked damned good to me considering his age, but of course we'll have to wait at least 2 years for him. Even Neil Robertson can be pretty exciting at times when he's rolling, so I don't think snooker is going to die but it does need some more Alex Higgins, Jimmy Whites, Cliff Wilsons, Hendrys and O'Sullivans but I think they're out there somewhere and it could be Britain, China, Europe or even the mid-East (note I didn't say Canada damn it!)

Terry

[billabong]

Glad you mentioned Cliff Wilson there Terry, he must have been a connentator's nightmare.
seeing shots that they couldn't.

Can imagine Willie & John explaining why that was the wrong shot he just played LOL

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[cazmac1]

Hi terry, thanks for your articulate response.
I would like to give some more details as to the way I see things. In the early days of snooker we had lot of nice folk who couldn't play that well but they were very nice men and everybody loved them, also they were improving all the time and the game along with the fan base grew with them. Then we moved onto the next phase in the games development where we had exciting snooker players that could both play the game and every body loved them. Then came the next phase where a few individuals got close to perfecting the game hitting such high standards that in a way it backfired on the sport and in some ways (IMO) put ppl off the game. Both wannabe fans and pro's alike. We have now entered a phase where there are a lot of really good players who play the game to a very high standard but not to the level of their predecessors and they have no character and anyone outside of snooker doesn't know who they are. The problem with this lot is that they nearly all play the percentage game and are just plain boring, even when making 140 + breaks. I think the game has peaked and has now plateau. with none of the current crop apart from trump remotely trying to please the crowd. Everything moves in cycle's and when one door closes another opens, there may well be a new breed to come through but as yet have not materialised.
My analogy would be to take it back to my DJ days. You can give two DJ's the same box of records and one will make the party rock and the other will have the running for the doors. Simply it ain't what you do it's the way that you do it.
But hay this is just some old family guy's opinion, what do I know?

[Gerry Armstrong]

Glad you mentioned Cliff Wilson there Terry, he must have been a connentator's nightmare.
seeing shots that they couldn't.

Can imagine Willie & John explaining why that was the wrong shot he just played LOL

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That would be hilarious!!

[Looki]

It just tells me that young guys are approaching the game more as a profession, they feel that they're not there to entertain but doing their job and trying to make the ends meet. What comes to the lack of character that's, imo, because most of young people are afraid to show their true character or are still yet to find it. I, however, think that the lack of character in snooker nowadays is overestimated. In the 70s' and 80s' when the average age of player was around 100 years, most of them were past the point they would've been ashamed to do this and that or just be themselves. They wanted their spot in the limelight, whether it was by playing good snooker or making people laugh. They were used to do exhibition stuff. Players today want to be tough snooker players (and they are), not comedians.

[Terry Davidson]

Another point might be if you look at golf and tennis. They have both had their characters (especially tennis) but for the most part they are using similar techniques and have a professional attitude and both those sports are growing and are similar to snooker in that they are individual sports rather than team sports.

Yes, we all miss the antics of Alex Higgins but in the end what happened to him? He had no discipline especially in his personal life but also on the table and he was a real character and he made some good money but couldn't hang on to it. The only area where his antics helped him was in exhibitions perhaps, but he just couldn't get the professional attitude which would have made him a Ronnie 25 years before Ronnie.

Terry

[cazmac1]

Looki, you seem to have a problem with age, as you keep referring to it. I don't know how old you are but using players age and forum members age to make your argument doe's not reflect good on you and detract's form any real points that you are trying to make. Also referring to previous generations of snooker players as comedians is in it's self a bit of a joke. With out these guys the game of snooker as you know it now would not exist.

[MartinB]

@Cazmac1
Part of what you say is due to the fact that each of these really grand players added something to the game and the way it is played (break building. long pots, daring splits...). Nowadays every pro must know all the tricks that these great guys invented in the past. It was similar in other disciplines, for example in chess, where the great champions all added new ways of looking at the game. But the more professional it becomes, the more difficult it is to add new ideas and techniques. Even the Steven Hendry from the 90s would not be as dominating in today's world as he was back then - people now have learned the things he brought to the game.

Considering Ronnie - I think part of the problem here is that people compare the Ronnie they remember to what they actually see during current transmissions. Problem is - the Ronnie we remember (who knocks in a maximum in less than 10 minutes and nudges every ball exactly where he wants it to be) was excpetional even for Ronnies own standards. He did not always play that well (or he would have won each and every tournament), but that is what we remember him for right now. So in this sense it seems unfair to me to compare Ronnie at his absolute best to the average of any other player. (And, btw, Higgins at his best is also nothing to sneer at - didn't he knock in three centuries in a row against Ronnie once?)

[Looki]

Looki, you seem to have a problem with age, as you keep referring to it. I don't know how old you are but using players age and forum members age to make your argument doe's dot reflex good on you and detract's form any real points that you are trying to make. Also referring to previous generations of snooker players as comedians is in it's self a bit of a joke. With out these guys the game of snooker as you now it would not exist.

Thank you for totally missing my point again.

I'm not, by any means, questioning their importance for the game. The approach was just different, I think.

What comes to the age, many of the 80s' player weren't exactly youngsters anymore and that's why they, as I pointed out, had the guts to be just who they were. Someone might take it as a compliment. Not you obviously.

What comes to You (I haven't referred to any other member's age, btw, which you accuse me of) in some thread you told yourself that you're a family man and also hinted that you're not that young. Which is still hard to believe.

[cazmac1]

Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to the dark side and you are definitely on the the dark side. I think you need to get some help.

[armstm]

i think all the focus on ronnie and his "natural talent" put a huge amount of pressure on him to win. if ronnie missed a ball it would be "he's bottled it" whereas if other players missed its not quite so bad (i'm thinking of john higgins here).

Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to the dark side and you are definitely on the the dark side. I think you need to get some help.

[Looki]

Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate leads hate leads to the dark side and you are definitely on the the dark side. I think you need to get some help.

Thanks, yoda. I'll consider it. While I'm doing it, I'll suggest you learn how to read and after that how make valid conclusion from what you've read. Deal?