Sniffing snooker
As much as I do love to watch snooker on TV, nothing reaches the feeling of seeing it LIVE! Being there so close to the snooker table, so close to the players and the referees...you can smell and feel snooker with every pore of your being! :)
Until this moment I haven’t had the opportunity to watch the legends of snooker in action. But I did have the opportunity to see the international prodigies at the Snooker European Championship, held in Bucharest at the Rin Grand Hotel between 27th May and 5th June. And what a beautiful and wonderful experience that was!
I didn’t know the schedule so I went on a Saturday (on 29th May) and saw very little snooker, for I made it at the end of the session. But that didn’t matter! What mattered was that I was there and for the first time in my life I saw a snooker table and a referee LIVE. I mean, they were in front of me, there...just minding their business! And I was mesmerized by all of it! Did you know that the balls’ color is more intense when you see it LIVE? :)) I was feeling like a little child who gets his most wanted toy and at first he could not believe that he finally has it! It was pure madness! Pure madness, I tell you! :))
The second day I was in an even bigger state of excitement, for now I knew the schedule so I went from the beginning of the session and saw a whole match. I was absolutely thrilled! I don’t think that Columbus was as excited and happy as I was, when he discovered America! :))
The Grand Finale, was...well grand! Luca Brecel (Belgium) and Roy Stolk (The Netherlands) were the big names on the scoring board. Luca won, as you already know, kicking Roy’s ass with 7-4 and becoming the youngest champion ever! (he’s only 15 years old).
But the big surprise of the championship was Jimmy White. The snooker legend, "The Whirlwind" was playing some demonstrative games with my Romanian snooker boys after the finale. But I was running short on money that month and I saw myself missing the event! I know it sucks! But life’s a bitch!
Still I had the opportunity to see Jimmy at the ceremony, but that was not as big as me almost run into him in the hotel! I remember walking very cool and seeing him all of the sudden in front of me. I was paralyzed! I couldn’t say one bloody word! Not even a stupid "Hello"! Nothing! My brain was in a complete shut-down phase and I was so stunned to see him that I didn’t say anything! Fortunately, it seemed that my crazy brain was "just" in a stand-by phase so I found the strength to pick myself up the ground and carry on! OMG! How stupid was I? I mean, how many times can one see Jimmy White, just like that? Puf! Man, I was so angry with myself for not saying or doing anything!
But in the end all was good...wait! What am I saying here? Was fucking great!!! Was awesome!!! Words can’t describe the felling of being part of snooker, even if you’re only a spectator! And those of you, who love snooker as I do, know what I’m talking about.
The European Championship was very well organized and I must point at the Romanian Snooker Federation for that. The boys did a spectacular job and Mr. James Leacy himself, the chairman of the European Billiards and Snooker Association (EBSA) seemed very pleased also.
It’s great that snooker is growing more in more in Romania and that more and more youngsters are coming to the Snooker Club to learn how to play this amazing sport. I’m very proud of that (and God knows that being a Romanian makes you feel proud of so few things). :)
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