For the Love of the Game...or For the Love of God!

There are people that I've met throughout my life that are incredibly passionate about pool, playing in a Pool League or both. An 8-Ball Express member once told me "I play 5 nights a week (Sun-Thurs) and would play more if you had them." To this I responded "Well, we do have a Friday night division." and you can just imagine the look of excitement on his face. This was then quickly followed by disappointment upon the realization the division was farther than even his team was willing to travel, Rock Hill, SC. (He did say it wasn't the travel down that would be tough, but the late night trip back.) There are even players that some how manage the logistics of playing with two teams on the same night! Wow!


I am jealous when I come across people that would rather be in a pool hall than anywhere else, practicing and practicing, trying to run a rack, or rack after rack. I think it's fantastic and amazing when someone finds something in life that gives them great pleasure and joy. The reason for my jealousy is, after speaking to a few "8's" (the best of the best in our league), the only way to truly improve my game is to spend a tremendous amount of time practicing. And I know that I simply will not or cannot trade off time spent doing other things in my life. I would like to be better, but, as the passion is not there, I doubt I'll ever get beyond a "4" or "5" level. Or heck, after this session, beyond a "3".

While I enjoy the game, particularly 8 Ball Express 9-Ball, I am quite happy to have my Thursday night out and then wait 7 more days before playing again. I will practice while I'm out working and waiting on matches to finish, but I don't practice with the reverence for the game I wish I had. I must admit my passion is the social aspect of it, not so much the sound of balls clicking together followed by a clunk of one or two falling in a pocket.

But, having said all this, I do have to draw the line when I heard about one guy last night. This is a true story, apparently this guy was at his favorite watering hole/pool hall so much his wife served his divorce papers to him there. Now I'm no Dr. Phil, but this may have been an indication of excessive practice time. But hey, he may have lost one love but did manage to keep his other. So, I guess not all was lost. {Shrug}