Life on the snooker trail
Recently, I have been able to start following my passion for snooker by attending tournaments I have only been able to watch on television. Having been a fan for over 35 years, I first came across snooker when I flicked to BBC2 in 1984 and saw a UK Championship match. I didn’t understand what was going on or how the game was played but became engrossed from seeing that first shot played.
At that time, snooker coverage was only on the BBC and ITV, two of the four channels that existed at that time and you had to buy the Radio and TV Times to find out when it was on or search for news of it on Ceefax or Teletext. I got to see players that have long since retired and the epics battles of Jimmy White in his final Crucible clashes that caused me angst and heart palpitations.
I first watched snooker live when I went to see some Sky Premier League events in Guildford. The atmosphere is very different to watching it on television. A Master of Ceremonies tells you when to applaud the walk of the players and gives you the word that you should start clapping on. The tv lights above the table are hot and bright, giving you a pounding headache before you get used to them and you strain your neck upwards to catch a shot on the tv monitors above the table. Often the audience stage creaks under foot when you walk to and fro from your seat and the seats make your bottom go to sleep. One tip is to always bring a cushion and invest in a radio earpiece so you can listen to the commentary.
Having been lucky enough to experience life in front and behind the scenes, I now have an understanding of the snooker family and have been lucky enough to make friends in this sport. It is lovely now to go freely into the player’s lounge and be recognised. I can sit with a player or pundit and have a chat about what I or he/she has been doing over a coffee.
Having recently been to Berlin and Cardiff, I have witnessed how the game adapts to each venue bit at the same time is unique to its environment. The crowd may be vast or small and the table configuration different. Yet the common jigsaw piece to all these differences is snooker.
At that time, snooker coverage was only on the BBC and ITV, two of the four channels that existed at that time and you had to buy the Radio and TV Times to find out when it was on or search for news of it on Ceefax or Teletext. I got to see players that have long since retired and the epics battles of Jimmy White in his final Crucible clashes that caused me angst and heart palpitations.
I first watched snooker live when I went to see some Sky Premier League events in Guildford. The atmosphere is very different to watching it on television. A Master of Ceremonies tells you when to applaud the walk of the players and gives you the word that you should start clapping on. The tv lights above the table are hot and bright, giving you a pounding headache before you get used to them and you strain your neck upwards to catch a shot on the tv monitors above the table. Often the audience stage creaks under foot when you walk to and fro from your seat and the seats make your bottom go to sleep. One tip is to always bring a cushion and invest in a radio earpiece so you can listen to the commentary.
Having been lucky enough to experience life in front and behind the scenes, I now have an understanding of the snooker family and have been lucky enough to make friends in this sport. It is lovely now to go freely into the player’s lounge and be recognised. I can sit with a player or pundit and have a chat about what I or he/she has been doing over a coffee.
Having recently been to Berlin and Cardiff, I have witnessed how the game adapts to each venue bit at the same time is unique to its environment. The crowd may be vast or small and the table configuration different. Yet the common jigsaw piece to all these differences is snooker.
Where can I buy tickets to the Indian Open?
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