A live snooker euphoria
The friends of this blog
know that I am utterly, totally and hopelessly in love with snooker but also
the fact that up until a few hours ago I was still untouched by the magic of
seeing professional snooker players in action LIVE.
The spell has been broken
as I was given the chance "to taste" how Ronnie O'Sullivan and Stuart
Bingham play, in front of me (and some other 1800 people) at the Circus Arena
from Bucharest, Romania.
If you follow me on Twitter
and Facebook (if not, you should), then you might already be acquainted with
the story in pictures, but here is the one put into words. My own words, soft
and extremely obnoxious on how my first LIVE snooker experience was.
Although it was an
exhibition match played on the best of 9 rule, things were pretty serious for
me. I took my job very seriously when I wrote down the scoreline, or when I
waited in line for an autograph from Ronnie (while trembling like a silly high
school girl).
But let's begin this
properly. I arrived at the venue on a weather that seemed inspired by the
made-in-UK guys who were about to perform for us. It was raining, but the people
who organised the event let us in quickly and I was seated quite soon in an
area which I believe was very fortunate.
People started gathering,
minus the ones who had VIP tickets because they didn't care for all the noise
and crowd since they already had special seats. They were the last one to
arrive. Very nice!
I was sitting in the back -
the cheapest tickets won't buy you a front seat - but I was happy with my
position and also happy by default - I was about to see live snooker.
All of the sudden I see
Monique Limbos with a gigantic backpack entering the arena and heading
backstage. She arrived at the venue and was going to get everything in place in
order to take those amazing shots.
I can’t help thinking that
she looks so tiny, yet so strong and determined. I like how professional she is
and how she manages to almost pass unseen for an untrained eye. I think many of
us have much to learn from her.
The MC is the Romanian
EuroSport commentator Marius Ancuta and he tries to get his feet wet for his
first LIVE appearance. Tonight's match is being broadcasted apparently. He
looks very nervous, which makes me smile. It seems I am not the only one.
The people are taking their
seats and things get moving. This is it. Monique gest her huge camera ready.
Ladys' first - Michaela
Tabb which may I add she's more beautiful in reality then at the telly - is
followed by Stuart Bingham and Ronnie O'Sullivan.
Needless to say that the
audience is on its feet, feverishly clapping their hands, while on a closer
look at detect goose bumps on my hands. This is real!
The match starts and the
first two frames go Bingham's way, but Ronnie catches up with a top break of
118 to make the scoreline go 2-2.
Although I adore the public
enthusiasms I would very much like to not hear them applaud after each shot.
It's not the proper way and the players, although probably unbothered since
this is an exhibition match, do tend to lose their focus at noises.
A few laughers here and
there when Ronnie stretches out on the table and lifts one of his legs almost
hitting Michaela with it, or when a fly keeps on messing with Bingham's
strategy.
One thing that hits me from
the first moments of the match is: how the balls seem bigger than on the telly
and how the players seem smaller. It’s so insane!
I can't see the balls'
trajectory very well (especially since I have a mammoth-head person sitting in
front of me), but I do see how well the players' control the balls. This is
something that I haven't spotted on televised snooker - the balls' behaviour
especially when they brush the cushion and land in the pocket. Amazing stuff!
After a 10-minutes break
the players return, Bingham hitting a 67 to take control of the match for a few
minutes, until Ronnie's runs of 70 and 72 win him the match at 5-3. However,
because everything happened so fast the guys agree to play two more
frames.
You can clearly see that
with nothing at stake this is purely an entertaining match, but it does carry a
lot of great and genuine shots, that's for sure.
The public is on its feet
as the MC gives his thanks to the organization party and to the three snooker
titans (Tabby included) for saying yes to the Romanian invite.
O'Sullivan re-states his
intention of playing in January's Masters championship and assures the Romanian
fans that he will be back here if invited and that he can't wait for the first
edition of the European Championship, that will be held here next year (not
much information on that one, I'm afraid).
People are still applauding
frenetically, as the three musketeers leave the arena to go and entertain the
VIP guests.
Monique vanishes into thick
air and so does the MC. The only ones left to breath are the colourful snooker
balls … they are yet to be collected from the table and carefully packed for another
future game.
I, for one get lost in the
rain while remembering each detail of my first live snooker experience. It
wasn't to be a "real one" but I am sure it will come in no time. For
now, this is more that I could have hoped for because who gets to see O'Sullivan
and Bingham as his/her first ever professional snooker match?! And refereed by
Michaela Tabb?
I wouldn't trade this for
anything! Not even for a VIP session after the match - for me snooker has
nothing to do with a private meeting, although I do understand its purpose and
I do like the idea.
I feel privileged and
extremely happy because I got to see live snooker played by genuine
professional players in a venue packed with people who were absorbing each
shot.
In the end I would just
like to give my thanks to Alexandra for helping me get a better
"seat" as I was waiting in line to get my book signed by Ronnie and
all of you from Twitter and Facebook who shared your thoughts and comments with
me – I felt like you were there with me … honestly!
Here’s for the next snooker
encounter!
P.S. As I said on Twitter the pictures are not very good so SB take notice! You have a real opponent for #CrapPhoto of the Year award :-))
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