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That old fandom meme, but for snooker
Wednesday, 22 May 2024 23:44I thought of doing this meme earlier today, and I even started writing something about it. Only, I decided to be a fool and click on some link as I was working, and it opened in the same tab I was already in. When I tried to go back, my text was gone from the text box. For the umpteenth time: Never type up a long text in an online text area. You will lose your work, as I did with this. Either way, the post I was originally working on was a bit more elaborate than this, because I didn't find the meme I was thinking of doing right away. Hence, I started making my own. Then, with my text lost, I went back to looking for what I had originally wanted, and voilà, found it!
I previously did these questions for some other sports way back in 2010.
Now it's definitely time to do them for snooker:
01. The first player I fell in love with:
I'm actually unsure if Ronnie was the first, but he was certainly one of the first and forever the most intense. So, let's go with the obvious answer: Ronnie O'Sullivan.
02. The player I never expected to love as much as I do now:
Ouch, maybe Stephen Hendry, because I don't have my own memories of him. The amount of love I have for him after I got into researching him is quite unexpected.
03. The player everyone else loves that I don't:
Mark Williams. I never managed to figure out why people love him that much, because I'm just indifferent about him.
04. The player I love that everyone else hates:
Not sure there is ONE answer to this. Just that I have a general soft spot for the Chinese boys unless they play some of my bigger favourites. I suppose that's a sometimes unpopular opinion.
05. The player I used to love but don't any longer:
Mark Allen. I used to like watching him for the crazy shots and occasional banging the balls everywhere. Now that he's actually playing generally better, the entertainment value of watching him is also less than it used to be.
06. The player I would shag anytime:
Stephen Hendry as he looked when he won his first World Championship title in 1990. No time machine, you say? Pity. There are players I love, but I tend to never imagine myself with my celebrity crushes.
07. The player I think I'm most like:
Maybe Neil Robertson, for his nerdy hobbies and gaming and ability to get into other sports, too.
08. The player I'd slap:
Is this even a question? Mark Selby when he drags out time and spends 6 minutes and 13 seconds to take a shot.
09. A friendship that I love:
I love seeing Ronnie and Stephen together; the communication and understanding they have with each other now is just so beautiful. I know it wasn't always like that, though.
10. A friendship that I hate:
None, I will never hate seeing real people get along well.
11. My five favorite players:
(Restricted to those who still play seriously, because that's the only fair way to do this)
1) Ronnie O'Sullivan
2) Judd Trump
3) Neil Robertson
4) Si Jiahui
5) Ding Junhui
12. My least favorite player:
Not a "least favourite" as much as a "player I love to hate", but Mark Selby. He is simultaneously Scarily Good, and Insanely Annoying. Not a good combo, seeing as he also knows very well how to use both of those skill sets in full against the players I love most.
13. My deep, dark fandom secret:
See question above. My feelings around Mark Selby aren't as one-dimensionally negative anymore. The way he played in his first match at the Crucible this year, and the interview after he got knocked out were things that really made me think. I spent days unable to forget that stuff. I actually, honestly blinked away tears that day. Then I started looking up more info than I've ever cared to know about him, and from there on my opinions started to change. I've even watched a couple of videos/interviews/stuff - things that I'd never even consider watching in the past. Suffice to say, he's a lot more interesting than I ever gave him credit for, and I really hope he chooses to continue his career and that he gets help with his problems.
I'll never be his fan, because he's still THE player with the greatest ability to stab my snooker fan heart most painfully. And he still does it often enough that it never completely heals. But I find that I care about him differently now, and it confuses me to no end. There, I said it. That's some secret, isn't it?
I previously did these questions for some other sports way back in 2010.
Now it's definitely time to do them for snooker:
01. The first player I fell in love with:
I'm actually unsure if Ronnie was the first, but he was certainly one of the first and forever the most intense. So, let's go with the obvious answer: Ronnie O'Sullivan.
02. The player I never expected to love as much as I do now:
Ouch, maybe Stephen Hendry, because I don't have my own memories of him. The amount of love I have for him after I got into researching him is quite unexpected.
03. The player everyone else loves that I don't:
Mark Williams. I never managed to figure out why people love him that much, because I'm just indifferent about him.
04. The player I love that everyone else hates:
Not sure there is ONE answer to this. Just that I have a general soft spot for the Chinese boys unless they play some of my bigger favourites. I suppose that's a sometimes unpopular opinion.
05. The player I used to love but don't any longer:
Mark Allen. I used to like watching him for the crazy shots and occasional banging the balls everywhere. Now that he's actually playing generally better, the entertainment value of watching him is also less than it used to be.
06. The player I would shag anytime:
Stephen Hendry as he looked when he won his first World Championship title in 1990. No time machine, you say? Pity. There are players I love, but I tend to never imagine myself with my celebrity crushes.
07. The player I think I'm most like:
Maybe Neil Robertson, for his nerdy hobbies and gaming and ability to get into other sports, too.
08. The player I'd slap:
Is this even a question? Mark Selby when he drags out time and spends 6 minutes and 13 seconds to take a shot.
09. A friendship that I love:
I love seeing Ronnie and Stephen together; the communication and understanding they have with each other now is just so beautiful. I know it wasn't always like that, though.
10. A friendship that I hate:
None, I will never hate seeing real people get along well.
11. My five favorite players:
(Restricted to those who still play seriously, because that's the only fair way to do this)
1) Ronnie O'Sullivan
2) Judd Trump
3) Neil Robertson
4) Si Jiahui
5) Ding Junhui
12. My least favorite player:
Not a "least favourite" as much as a "player I love to hate", but Mark Selby. He is simultaneously Scarily Good, and Insanely Annoying. Not a good combo, seeing as he also knows very well how to use both of those skill sets in full against the players I love most.
13. My deep, dark fandom secret:
See question above. My feelings around Mark Selby aren't as one-dimensionally negative anymore. The way he played in his first match at the Crucible this year, and the interview after he got knocked out were things that really made me think. I spent days unable to forget that stuff. I actually, honestly blinked away tears that day. Then I started looking up more info than I've ever cared to know about him, and from there on my opinions started to change. I've even watched a couple of videos/interviews/stuff - things that I'd never even consider watching in the past. Suffice to say, he's a lot more interesting than I ever gave him credit for, and I really hope he chooses to continue his career and that he gets help with his problems.
I'll never be his fan, because he's still THE player with the greatest ability to stab my snooker fan heart most painfully. And he still does it often enough that it never completely heals. But I find that I care about him differently now, and it confuses me to no end. There, I said it. That's some secret, isn't it?