I Got Snookered... and I Liked It

After our league team lost (ugh) on Thursday night, a teammate asked me to hang over a little while while she worked on some paperwork for the team.

I sat there about 30 minutes, taking in the sights and sounds - a few league members were matching up, friends were sharing their Derby experience with me, others asked me about my last tournament (which I need to write up still, lol, for this blog) and yet something else caught my eye - two guys playing snooker. At the time I didn't know if it was snooker or golf, but would find out later they were indeed playin' snooker.

11pm comes and goes, and my hour-long drive home is delayed as I walk up to the finished snooker game and watch a friend (we'll call him Cris) make some balls on the snooker table. He had just broke even (or was one game up) when the other guy had to leave. He's stays down well, bends over with a snooker stance, and makes balls in easily .... which what should be tough to make on these tables.

Photo from http://www.redbrick.dcu.ie/~pool/

One of my friends admits proudly, "I love snooker" as yet another friend walks up to the table pointing to the rounded corners of the small pockets, "this is why it's tough," adding, "see how it would be tough to cut a ball down the rail?"

I find myself drawn to the large, fast table with funny balls on it and want to so badly see if I can make a ball. I mill around, watching Cris make more balls as everyone else either goes home or moves to other parts of the pool room to talk or play.

Eventually, Cris tells me, "Melissa, go get your cue." I'm so excited, I don't even care that my name is Melinda!

I slip my cue out of my case and he shows me how to set up the balls; I rack, he breaks, and I found out how to play snooker!

He really takes his time stroking, but doesn't play slow. It was nice to watch such a great pre-shot routine. I made a few red balls and surprise myself (omg, I made some balls in the small pockets!), but of course the trick is not to force the balls in, but let them fall in or make them pure in the pocket. I shoot, prolly my 6th shot and he tells me to stay down. I get so excited he noticed that I start to ramble on about how that is what I have been AND need to still work on the most about my pre-shot routine.

So, we finish the first game and continue to talk about staying down while we talk about strategy... and I say, "can we play another?" He obliges and I try to stay down and I am making more balls and really enjoying myself. We finish another game and I ask, "again please?" Luckily he loves snooker and we played another game. It felt so refreshing to play, learning a new game, playing on a tough table, staying down, enjoying the time on the felt....

He finally said after the third game he had to go and by that time it's 1:15am in the morning and my long hour-drive seems longer cuz it's so late. But I fell asleep with an awe-feeling for some reason. I loved learning and playing what some might consider a tough, fun game!

Amanda and I at league that night