My last post wasn’t meant to be about any specific situation or about any specific person. With all the bullshit that goes on in pool there were plenty of examples of things being overly “exaggerated”.
I could have easily chosen any of Dragon Promotions’ (DP) press releases and ask how a person can be the #1 player in Guam when:
1) They’ve probably never set foot in Guam.
2) I can probably beat this #1 player in Guam and I suck.
3) The #1 player in Guam, who you would think is going to be at least of Guam descent, is suddenly a Filipino-American for a scotch doubles event that DP just held.
DP... maybe it should be TP for all the BS they spew. At least then those press releases would be useful.
I could have easily chosen people who put on their personal website “professional billiards player” when:
1) They don’t play on any professional tour.
2) Their main income isn’t from pool.
3) They haven't even been close to winning a qualifier for a professional tour.
Hey, just because you’re unemployed and play pool 24/7 doesn’t make you a pro.
And then there’s the Mary but that situation was already well covered...
so I chose a video that I recently watched with a good story in it.
I wasn’t trying to be specific which is why I left names and the website out but since Ms. Duddy outed herself by commenting I’d like to address a few things she brought up in her reply.
I don’t think I misunderstood the point of your story. The alcohol and getting drunk would have no relevance to the story you told if it didn’t play a role in you losing $500.
There is a difference between A set, one set, which you did indeed win, and a COUPLE of sets. It may be just semantics but it’s an example of an exaggeration.
Concerning your rules about taking pool seriously and not drinking while playing... I was at a JPNEWT event at Raxx’s in West Hempstead, NY and during a match between you and My Hanh Lac, you took a break in the middle of the set to go to the bar for a shot of alcohol. It was a pressure situation and I’m sure the shot of alcohol was to calm your nerves but I do think it breaks the ground rules that you set for yourself, no? Or is drinking okay just not getting drunk?
The video is at go4pool.net and the story starts at 34:09 of Ms. Duddy’s interview.
(If you have the time you should watch the whole thing. It’s a good interview. All the interviews are good and kudos to Jim Murnak for putting this together.)
Thanks for commenting and participating in the discussion. Ms. Duddy’s website is emilyduddy.com.
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So I’ve been really giving this exaggeration thing a lot of thought and one of the things I’ve been stuck on is why people do this. It’s truly bewildering to me as it’s easy enough to check the facts. And, when the skill doesn’t match the words, aren’t these people embarrassed? Isn’t it worse to look the fool than to tell the truth? I mean claiming that you’re this and that when the performances don’t match the stories?
This leads to “The Excuse” and it becomes a cycle of covering up words with more words and moving away from what actually matters – performance.
“I forgot to eat and got hungry in the middle of my match.”
“I just ate and was in a food coma.”
“My opponent got all the rolls.”
“If this wasn’t a handicap event I would’ve killed him.”
“He was so lucky.”
“The table sucked.”
“He no [insert skill level here].”
“I don’t know how I lost. I didn’t miss a ball.”
It seems that whenever they, the people who tend to exaggerate/make excuses, lose it’s never their fault but whenever they win it was all due to their superior skill. They based all their judgment of their abilities on the few times they had success and none of the losses rather than an overall average of the good and the bad.
I beat an A player last week so I must be like a B player now. Oh, that time I got donutted by a D player? I was hungry so it doesn’t count.
Isn’t it possible that when they won against a better player that player was hungry, didn’t get any rolls, was unlucky, etc.? You know the same excuses they make?
An excuse goes both ways.
I started to think that maybe the exaggerations aren’t for an audience to believe – maybe what they are really trying to do is convince themselves.
Aren’t excuses just things we tell ourselves to make ourselves feel better?
The people that I see around here, the ones who usually exaggerate, haven’t really gotten any better – not significantly at least. I guess they’re too busy marketing themselves with words rather than, you know, practicing? Beside, why do you need to practice when you’re already great?
Now I’m no saint and I’m sure I’ve used an excuse here or there. I’ve just come to realize that to get better, to really work on the things I need to work on during practice - I have to start taking responsibility for myself and my game and stop making excuses.
“I forgot to eat and got hungry in the middle of my match.” – I should’ve eaten something before my match.
“I just ate and was in a food coma.” – I should’ve limited my intake of food.
Rolls even out, luck evens out; the table is the same for both players.
What am I in control of? ME.
Who missed that shot? ME.
Who blew that safety? ME.
Without really looking at yourself and your game objectively..
How do you create a good game plan?
What are your percentages for making the shot over executing the safety?
What are your real weaknesses?
How do you plan for the skill level of the other player when you’re not honest to yourself about your own skill level?
Just some stuff to think about next time you think about using an excuse.
