Article in The Guardian

celticfc

Thanks to David Hendons SnookerScene Blog, I today noticed this article written by Simon Hattenstone in todays Guardian in the UK.

It's all snookered without Ronnie O'Sullivan

Ronnie O'Sullivan's Crucible defeat means the one possible reason for watching the dullest sport on earth has gone

If Ronnie O’Sullivan's not at the World Championships you might as well turn off the telly Photograph: Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Sportsphoto Ltd./Allstar

Poor BBC. Poor Betfred. And most of all, poor bloody viewers. With Ronnie O'Sullivan knocked out of snooker's world championship in the second round, the one possible reason for watching the dullest sport on earth has gone.

I must declare an interest here – I ghostwrote Ronnie's book. But not that much of an interest (before Ronnie, I only watched the snooker to keep pace with my dad, who was convinced that every year was going to be Jimmy White's turn). BBC executives must have gone crazy when Ronnie lost. They wait a year for another 17-day O'Sullivan orgy, and then he flumps out to a 23-year-old known as the Pistol from Antrim Town.

Never has one man dominated a sport like Ronnie has done snooker. Yes, Tiger Woods is far and away the world's best golfer but the sport can still grip in his absence or when he's not quite on his game (think of the recent US Masters, as Argentina's Angel Cabrera beat Kenny Perry in a sudden-death play-off). Although Federer and Nadal dominate tennis, a Murray–Djokovic final is a pretty exciting prospect. But snooker – if Ronnie's not there, you might as well turn off the telly. As so many of us have done.

The game is such an unfortunate sport. It requires a ludicrous degree of skill, stamina and mental strength to succeed and yet unless it's played by an ambidextrous genius with a penchant for flipping in public and a family life as exotic as Tony Soprano's, it's still deadly. Ronnie recently suggested snooker needed Simon Cowell to give the game a revamp and the sport has introduced a new short-format version to keep us awake. But Simon Cowell and shorter games are not enough to ensure the future of the sport. What we need is players we give a damn about.

When we watch Ronnie, we're not simply watching snooker (though he does play the game with astonishing vision and grace) – we're engrossed in an open-ended epic drama. Will he play with left or right hand, hands or feet? Will he bite his tip off in frustration? Will he shave his head mid-session, throw in the white hanky and announce he's quitting the game to dedicate his life to marathon running and the mosque? All real possibilities.

Whereas your choices post-Ronnie are somewhat more limited. Will Shaun Murphy beat Stephen Hendry while doing a passable impression of a lump of lard? Will Allen end up as lardy as Murphy? Will Mark Selby, aka the Jester from Leicester, ever do anything worthy of his nickname?

In truth, snooker personalities were always the exception rather than the rule. Steve "Interesting" Davis only showed that he was genuinely interesting after he retired. Stephen Hendry is yet to do so.

The game's few characters played fast and lived fast, and were feted for their flaws (apologies for the alliteration, it's a snooker thang) – such as Rocket Ronnie, Whirlwind White and Hurricane Higgins, who were interesting because they were combustible. Would White blow yet another world final, would Higgins hit the ref in an alcohol-fuelled fury?

Turn to the snooker website for the 2009 world championship and the only tab worth clicking on (forget Scores, Century Breaks, Draw, BBC Coverage) is the one that says: "O'Sullivan Out".

The fact that Ronnie has lost and might be watched by his dad at the Crucible next year is infinitely more interesting than knowing Hendry is through to another quarter-final and could win a record-breaking eighth world title. For the desperate truth is that there's only one significant question left in this tournament. Will anybody be able to beat Mark King and Stephen Maguire's record for the longest and most boring frame ever, set yesterday (75 minutes, seeing you weren't asking)?

From David Hendon:

So, a great day and a great finish to the tournament to come. And then you open The Guardian and are confronted with a stream of drivel from Simon Hattenstone, who I have long suspected has an obsession with Ronnie O’Sullivan that borders on the unhealthy.

His column is a predictable mishmash of clichés and in any case contradictory – he says the championship is no good without O’Sullivan having already stated he regards snooker as the most boring sport.

Fine, Simon. Don’t watch.

But those who do tune in are likely to witness one of the best conclusions to any World Championship you could wish for.

I couldn't agree more with this comment. It just goes to show how low some will go to sell their next rag.

rafa no 1

Unbelievable, makes my blood boil when you read crap like that, great return from Dave Hendon, this guy obviously does'nt have much to write about, what's all this about o' sullivan dominating the sport?? agreed he's world ranked number one, but that does'nt mean dominance, has he cleaned up this season? Answer... NO!

And the comment about the BBC excs going crazy when o' sullivan went out? total crap, snooker is the 2nd highest viewed sport on the BBC, more viewers than golf and tennis. So are all us guys and the members of the general public who love watching the game now going to switch off because ronnie's out?? Don't think so.

As Dave replied this years championships are probably going to have one of the best conclusions yet.

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

celticfc

That poll looks pretty concrete to me!

rafa no 1

Yes this so called continuing downward trend in snooker has had a knock on effect here, only tried 3 snooker clubs last night for a game, every one packed even with the football on!