Monday, February 21, 2011

What I'm Suppose To Do

I don't know if you have been through this a lot like I have, but I have entered many-a-tournaments that I "should" win.

I have been told at many bar-table women's tourneys after the field is known, "you should win this."

Oh yeah?

I should?

Hmmm....

But will I?

Do I?

How often, really, do I enter a tournament I should win but don't?  Too many to count.  Too many to share with you my own disappointments of the tourneys I let slip away. 

I'm talking about bar table women's events, either 9ball or 8ball. 

I'm talking about tournaments without champion players, no masters.  Those are the tourneys I really should win. 

So I've been told.

So I, also, believe.

Some of the tourneys I enter I have a good chance to win when I look around the room at my competition.  The ones that stick out most are the ones where a title is on the line (like the BCAPL State Tourneys) and also little bar table tourneys around town have that similar feel - I feel I really am the best player... but will I win?

Although I wasn't itching to play pool on Friday night, at the last minute I went to a cool new place called Diamond Jim's that had a big band/dance area and plenty of sitting tables, but in the back were 8 cozy bar tables, waiting specifically for me and my new pool partner, Brian. 

I signed up and noticed the women played in a separate event than the men.  Score!  I love these type of tourneys.

All of a sudden my non-desire to play turned into excitement to play!

Brian tells me as he looked around the room, "you should snap this off."

"Well," I sigh, "I suppose I should, but we shall see."

I worried that this would be another tourney I am suppose to win but don't.  It crossed my mind more than once that night, unfortunately. 

I admit I played quite well the lovely chess game of 8ball against my opponents.

However, never let up.  Don't get too cocky. 

And then it happened.  I made a few too many mistakes in my 3rd match and the girl made it 1-1 in a race to 2 (my first two matches I won 2-0).  At that point, I was wondering if I would find myself on the one loss side. If this woman played a "tad" better, she would have taken advantage of my miss-before-the-8 that I slow-rolled.  But she didn't get out and then I won that match... and my next.

I didn't know where I was on the brackets until the Tournament Director said, "You and Cindy on table 4 for the finals."

What?  Finals?  Me?

It went hill-hill the first set, but I won the last game and won the tourney 2-1!

OMG.  I won a tourney I was suppose to!

I asked the Tourney Director if I could have the brackets.  Cindy joked with me she could sign her name, lol!

I walked it over to Brian and Amanda and they hi-fived me as I repeated myself over and over for the rest of the night, "Hey, guess what?  I won a tourney!"  They would laugh each time I said it, but I think they only appeased me because they couldn't believe how giddy I was as I waved the bracket sheet up in the air a lot!

This isn't the first tourney I have won that I should.  But I didn't let THIS ONE GET AWAY like so many other times. 

Go me! :)

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Question: What's the hardest thing to do in sports?
Answer: Win when you are supposed to.

The best player doesn't always win. If they did, there would be no need to hold tournaments. The player who plays best is the one that wins.

For a long time, I have been one of those who "lets them get away." Usually, I end up in 2nd place, just to add insult to injury. I finally decided, what's wrong with second place? Why should I be disappointed? All I am doing is adding more pressure to myself. And who needs that?

Congratulations on the big win!!