The Theatre of Dreams
With the World Championship looming around the calendar corner, it only seems right to pay homage to the Crucible Theatre and the monumental part it has played in the sport’s history. Snooker, pre 1977 was played in smoke filled working men’s club and holiday camps with only eight professional players on the tour. Untelevised and players scratching around for money, snooker was a dying sport that many considered to be a game, played for money or to get away from the nagging wife.
The creation of BBC2 and David Attenborough’s decision to commission Pot Black as a colour advert for the station, led to a boom in snooker, especially when the BBC started televising the World Championship at it’s new home, the Crucible in 1977. Although compact, the brainchild of Mike Watterson, led to players becoming household name. The likes of John Spencer and Ray Reardon led a marketing boom, adding their names to snooker tables and board games.
The Crucible holds so many memories for so many players. Those lucky enough to qualify, had their dreams made and dashed. The jawed black or missed blue, created a band of nearly men, White being one of them. It also crowned the likes of Reardon, Davis, Hendry and O’Sullivan as multiple champions. John Spencer won there on his first visit in 1977 and qualifiers Griffiths and Johnson bathed in glory in 1979 and 1986.
The confined arena meant that the audience could almost touch the players and the players could hear the rustle of Murray mint sweet paper.The 147 break came to life here and the streakers were shown in just their birthday suits. Like a vintage wine, the Crucible improves with age and really is the crown jewel of the snooker calendar. Fans take their holidays here, giving up their work leave to watch seventeen days of snooker instead of going to Ikea. Some have travelled from far and wide like the fan from Australia who has been coming here for over 40 years.
Like the Berlin Wall, the stage partition separates the two tables, boxing the players in and their cues with in touching distance of the screen and dodging the cameramen as they play. This venue produces snooker drama that is worthy of any Shakespeare play. This is snooker at its best and under no circumstances should the sport ever hold the World Championship anywhere else.
The creation of BBC2 and David Attenborough’s decision to commission Pot Black as a colour advert for the station, led to a boom in snooker, especially when the BBC started televising the World Championship at it’s new home, the Crucible in 1977. Although compact, the brainchild of Mike Watterson, led to players becoming household name. The likes of John Spencer and Ray Reardon led a marketing boom, adding their names to snooker tables and board games.
The Crucible holds so many memories for so many players. Those lucky enough to qualify, had their dreams made and dashed. The jawed black or missed blue, created a band of nearly men, White being one of them. It also crowned the likes of Reardon, Davis, Hendry and O’Sullivan as multiple champions. John Spencer won there on his first visit in 1977 and qualifiers Griffiths and Johnson bathed in glory in 1979 and 1986.
The confined arena meant that the audience could almost touch the players and the players could hear the rustle of Murray mint sweet paper.The 147 break came to life here and the streakers were shown in just their birthday suits. Like a vintage wine, the Crucible improves with age and really is the crown jewel of the snooker calendar. Fans take their holidays here, giving up their work leave to watch seventeen days of snooker instead of going to Ikea. Some have travelled from far and wide like the fan from Australia who has been coming here for over 40 years.
Like the Berlin Wall, the stage partition separates the two tables, boxing the players in and their cues with in touching distance of the screen and dodging the cameramen as they play. This venue produces snooker drama that is worthy of any Shakespeare play. This is snooker at its best and under no circumstances should the sport ever hold the World Championship anywhere else.
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