"Snooker isn't a sport!" said one of my students, when I told her I wanted to rush home to see the world championship final in the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, on television yesterday.
"Ah, but it is," I replied. "At least in English. In most other languages, sport is about physical exercise, which to some even implies going to the gym. But in the English language, it means competition, skill and fair play." Therefore darts, golf and even chess could be considered sports. And if anyone had watched the final on TV last night, they would have said it could also provide us with just as much excitement as rugby, football and tennis. In the latter's case, a LOT more, but that's just my personal view.
Let me set the scene: this is the longest-running single event to take place in the same location in the world. Eighteen days in total. The Tour de France is the only other event which goes on longer, although it's not in the same location, unless you include the whole of France as a venue. During the rounds, many big names fell early on, except for John Higgins, winner once before, and Mark Selby, a 23-year-old rookie who needed to play qualifying rounds in non-descript box rooms at a holiday camp just to get to the televised stages. He defeated Stephen Lee, Peter Ebdon and Ali Carter to get to the semi final. Once there, he was not in front for any part of the match until the very last frame, where he won with a 64 clearance. He did it with style, humour and character, three words which have not always appeared together in sportspeople's descriptions.
Getting to the final in his first year must have already made him proud. But after the first day, he was 12-4 down, and needing a miracle to reach the 18-frame winning mark. He battled his way back in the afternoon session on the last day, taking all six frames, and at one stage was only one frame behind. His choice of shots was breathtaking, his communication with the crowd heart-warming and his strategy play impeccable. One frame lasted almost an hour. Where most people would have called it a night and headed off to bed, that one frame provided us with the greatest advert for the game. I doubt many viewers switched over. I had to get up this morning, but even I couldn't go to bed, despite knowing that if it went the full distance I would be there until possibly 4 in the morning.
However, just at the moment when he could have levelled the match at 14 each, he made what seemed a terrific safety shot. John Higgins could only reach one ball, and he was hampered by the edge of the table. But he managed to pot it and with it took the frame. Higgins went on to win 16-13, and although I was relieved I would get at least seven hours' sleep, I was quite disappointed the match finished the way it did.
During the ensuing interviews, John Higgins admitted he had to play the best snooker of his life. The winner on the night was snooker, and Mark Selby will have gained a lot of friends over the course of the tournament. When you're one mistake away from losing the final and you try a four-ball plant, you have guts. Selby's nickname is the "Jester from Leicester", but on that evidence he's the best thing to happen to snooker since the late Paul Hunter, and a welcome addition to the great characters which have graced the sport: Alex Higgins, Jimmy White, John Virgo to name a few. I wish him all the best and I hope he goes on to win snooker's most prestigious event in the near future.
The problem with people's criticisms of a lot of sports, especially snooker and cricket, is that they don't know the rules, nor do they know any of the history or events surrounding them. Before people claim a sport is boring or too complicated, I would just mention that many require not only those playing, but also the viewers, to have a good concentration span. Sports like curling are tremendous fun to watch when you realise that not all sports are about end-to-end action. I remember the 2002 Olympic women's curling final between Great Britain and Canada in Salt Lake City. It was the middle of the night, but millions stayed up to watch it. If only the detractors would see the wonder of the moment and not seek to take the romance out of it.
No comments:
Post a Comment