Sheffield – the city that’s in love with snooker
Imagine a world
map and go on and look for the United
Kingdom. Go on, don’t be shy! No, it’s not
on the continent; it’s a bit far away from it, to your left. No, that’s the Netherlands.
Search for an island! Yes, there you go.
And now that all
that has been settled let’s see where we are. Ah, yes at 51° 30′ 0″ North
and 0° 7′ 0″ West – we are in England. Let’s zoom-in on one of
its nine regions, Yorkshire and the Humber.
No, too generic, let’s focus on South Yorkshire.
Neah, still too vast … a bit more zooming and here we are – the glorious city
of Sheffield.
Although it has
managed to amaze and draw tourists through combining avangardist buildings like
“The Cheese Grater” Car Park with the old and mysterious Matthew’s Parish Church
from Carver Street
and greet its visitors with friendly coffee shops and flowers that never seem
to leave the city, people tend to remember Sheffield
for its history with sports.
Either is the
fact that the first ever football club was founded here in 1857, or the
constant love affair that the city has had with snooker since the World
Championship set foot here in 1977, the strong connexion between Sheffield and
sport can’t be denied.
It’s its logo,
its surname, its identity, you name it, but one thing it’s for sure: sport has
played a major role throughout the life of this beautiful city and will
definitely continue to do so in the future.
A history with sports
1857 is a year that
would be impossible to forget especially if you are a football fan, for it was
the year when the world’s first football club was created: FC Sheffield.
Although various
form of football were being played in other parts of the planet, it was in the
UK where everything turned official and got a proper name that would capture
the hearts and souls of millions of people from all round the world.
Next to
football, rugby became another sport played here in Sheffield,
in 1984 Gary Hetherington putting together the professional rugby team known as
Sheffield Eagles, while in 1991 the city’s Ice Hockey professional team was
shaping up under the name of Sheffield Steelers (reminding of the city’s long
dated history with manufacturing steel).
The Lord Mayor
of Sheffield (Councillor Dr Sylvia Dunkley), confirms
the strong connexion between this city and sports:
“Sheffield has seen sport as a key strand of its wider
regeneration strategy over the last 20 years. This has included facility
investment, major events and public participation programmes. “
“The city has
also pioneered innovative management via a charitable trust which combines
social objectives with commercial acumen.
There is evidence that the number of Sheffielders who take part in sport
and physical activity is continuing to grow.”
But today we are
going to focus on a cue sport that has become part of Sheffield’s
structure since 1977. And if back then hosting the snooker’s World Championship
at The Crucible Theatre meant just a change of venues, over the years this
place has turned into the centre around which snooker revolves.
A beautiful snooker love affair
 |
| John Spencer |
It was 1927 when
the first edition of World Snooker Championship took place but 50 years will
have to pass for this glorious and prestigious event to reach Sheffield
and be staged at the Crucible Theatre.
John Spencer was
the first player to conquer the title with the tournament being staged here and
although this was his third one (he also won it in 1969 and 1971), his 25-21
victory over “The Grinder” Cliff Thorburn is still remembered with great
pleasure by the snooker fans.
It was still not
sure that Sheffield’s love affair with snooker
was going to turn into something serious, but here we are 35 years later and
these two are still going hand in hand.
The relationship
has been cemented by the birth of the English Institute of Sport (EIS) in 2003,
a great facility not only for playing snooker, but also for other sports, this
actually being the place where UK’s
Olympic team has been training.
EIS became the
home of World Snooker Academy
where throughout the years the qualifying rounds for the snooker’s major
ranking events have taken place and if the walls of this grand and imposing
venue could speak, they would definitely thrill our ears with both amazing and
touching snooker scoops.
 |
| The English Institute of Sport |
After what Barry
Hearn took over World Snooker Ltd. and put his “snooker revolution” plan into
action, the Academy has staged not only qualifying matches, but also several
minor-ranking events, such as the Players Tour Championship.
The Lord Mayor
of Sheffield (Councillor Dr Sylvia Dunkley),
explains how important snooker has proved to be for this marvellous city:
“Since John
Spencer won the World Championship in 1977 snooker has become part of the 'DNA'
of Sheffield and is strongly linked to the
brand of the Crucible Theatre. “
“Each year,
hosting the Championships brings a direct economic impact of approximately £2.5
million through spending on overnight accommodation, food and drink, etc by
visitors from both the rest of the UK and overseas. The media exposure
through over 100 hours of BBC television coverage (much of which is syndicated
internationally) is also of tremendous value to the City.”
“Several years
ago we invested in the World
Snooker Academy,
which you mention, and this facility means that the snooker professionals are
playing here throughout the year, not just during the World Championships in
April.”
“In fact this
year, as the qualifiers for the World Championships are being held in Sheffield in early April, we will effectively be hosting
snooker for the whole of April and the early part of May!”
“Several leading
players base themselves here, to live or just to practice before the big
events, including Ding Junhui, Peter Ebdon and Ronnie O'Sullivan.”
“I think we can
therefore justifiably call ourselves the 'City of World Snooker'!”
Living the Crucible dream
55 Norfolk
Street – an address where if you are a professional snooker player you want to
go to and not just to watch others play, but to get on rocking around the green
baize yourself – this is where the magic begins, this is the Crucible Theatre.
Scotland’s Stephen Hendry holds the record for winning no less than seven
world titles here, closely followed by Steve Davis who has six.
The whole world
cried in 1982 when a tearful and extremely emotional Alex Higgins won the World
Championship for the second time, in 1985 Steve Davis and Dennis Taylor kept us
awake late in the night as the final’s faith laid on the final black, a year
after Joe Johnson broke any odds and won over a high favourite Steve Davis,
while in 1997 the snooker fans witnessed a fast and furious 147 made by Ronnie
O’Sullivan in just five minutes and 20 seconds.
And these are
just a few of the memorable moments that the Crucible holds.
With a name
clearly inspired by Benjamin Huntsman’s great invention of a form of crucible
steel process in the 1740s, the theatre has become synonym with top quality
snooker, the “The Mecca” of this cue sport, if you wish.
Year after year,
people from all around the world come to see their favourite players in action
and be part of this amazing snooker event that takes place once a year. With 17
days of pure, genuine snooker, one could think many will get bored with it, but
ask anyone and their answer will be “Not a chance, we want more”.
From the glassy
Winter Garden where BBC’s Hazel Irvine is doing her between-matches programmes along
with snooker legends such as Steve Davis, Dennis Taylor, John Virgo, Terry
Griffiths or John Parrott, to every coffee shop where people go in for a chat –
snooker flows in the air.
Ivan
Hirschowitz, spokesman of World Snooker says:
“Crucible’s size
and shape give it an intensity which can't be matched in any other venue. “
“Last year, when
John Higgins and Judd Trump came into the arena for the last session of the
final, the reception they got was extraordinary.”
“The venue has
so much snooker history attached to it simply by virtue of having staged the
World Championship for 35 years. It was recently refurbished which has made a
significant improvement to the facilities both for fans and backstage. The
Crucible is to snooker what Wembley is to football or Wimbledon
to tennis...the spiritual home of the sport.”
The Crucible though a player’s eyes
 |
| Joe Johnson after winning the 1986 World Championship |
Until now we’ve
seen how the Crucible Theatre’s magic touches the heart of a snooker fan, but
how does it feel to actually be there, in the arena, giving it 100 per cent in
order to fulfil your dream and lift that shiny trophy at the end?
We often look at
the players as mighty gladiators of the green baize, emotionless and impossible
to shake. But that’s not how things work.
Joe Johnson, the
1986 world champion who stunned the audience after winning 18-12 over Steve
Davis although he was far from being the favourite player (150-1), remembers
his first experience at the Crucible:
“I had my first Crucible experience in 1984
losing 10-1 to Dennis Taylor. I remember the
experience very well as I had played Dennis earlier that year and beat him
quite easily so I was expecting to beat him again at the Crucible on
my first time there.”
“Two things
happened on that experience. The first was that my mother, who I was very
close to, had an heart attack the day before I played. I very nearly pulled out
because of my grief at the situation but mother insisted I go as I had been
trying to qualify for five years. But when I started to play I found I couldn't
concentrate on the match as I was so worried about her.”
“The second
thing to hit me about the Crucible was I had watched lots of matches there as a
spectator but it was so completely different to be down in the pit as it
were with nowhere to hide. I felt the World closing in on me with each frame
that I lost and wished I could disappear out of that environment;
I was totally overwhelmed by the Crucible and didn't know what to do.”
“I never felt that way again, but I guess once
was enough”.
Still, two years
later Joe practically cruised towards victory taking down opponent after
opponent, starting with Dave Martin (10-3), continuing with Mike Hallet (13-6),
then the 1979 world champion Terry Griffiths (13-12), paired with Tony Knowles
in the semis (16-8), only to end with one of the best for the final, Steve
Davis.
“When I won
there two years later I knew I was on the top of my form and this time I was
already seeded as a Top 16 player so I was waiting for a qualifier who happened
to be a very good player called Dave Martin.”
“But although he
was indeed a good player he was not a top seed, so for the first time I felt
comfortable to be playing there at the Crucible. I went on to beat Dave Martin
and from that moment I knew I had a chance of winning the title.”
“So I went from
being totally intimidated by the Crucible to being totally
comfortable and in love with the place.”
The legacy goes on
 |
| Sheffield's Winter Garden |
We took a walk
down memory lane, but the history is far from being over. Sheffield
still has a lot of aces in its sleeves and so many more surprises for the years
to come for the snooker lovers.
Described so thoroughly
by its Lord Mayor (Councillor Dr Sylvia Dunkley), as ” a very compact, safe and
friendly city, that it is said to more trees per head of population than any
other European city, with a third of its area laying within the glorious
countryside of the Peak District National Park, with a strong tradition of
independence and radicalism and still associated all over the world with
metalworking and sport”, Sheffield’s involvement with snooker has such strong
roots that it’s almost impossible to think this sport could be cherished more
elsewhere.
“There's
something magical about Sheffield when it comes to snooker - even when you
drive past the exit for Sheffield on the
motorway you get a tingle down your spine!”
“The people of Sheffield love snooker so much; they are passionate and
knowledgeable about it. And the atmosphere throughout the city during the World
Championship, especially in Tudor
Square, where people watch snooker on the big
screen in the sunshine, is wonderful. “ adds World Snooker spokesman Ivan
Hirschowitz.
But that’s not
just the official opinion, many players describing this place and especially
The Crucible as “the best place to play snooker”.
Joe Johnson
reiterates: “I think that the Crucible should remain as the centre stage
for the game’s most prestigious event. I think of Wimbledon
for Tennis and associate the Crucible with places like that.”
“I hope with all
my heart that the World Championship remains for as long as possible
at the Heart breaking and Heart making, Sheffield Crucible arena.”
The people have spoken;
the city has agreed … the legacy goes on.
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