Ranting Ronnie, the Trials and Tribulations of a Snooker Player
Many within and outside the world of snooker regard Ronnie O’Sullivan as a genius. I, personally see him as a gifted player but unfortunately he has a very loose tongue. I was spurred on to write this blog after reading a newspaper interview with Ronnie today, the contents infuriated me and so I felt I needed to put my words down on electronic paper. In the article, Ronnie exclusively speaks to Jeremy Wilson, a journalist from the Telegraph. Not content with having a general conversation, O’Sullivan launches into a “seismic” attack of World Snooker, his treatment and how he wishes to play in less tournaments, including a refusal to compete in the UK Championship, Masters and World Championship, the “Triple Crown” tournaments of snooker. I understand that Ronnie suffers from mental health problems and can empathise as my Mother had Bi Polar. It is true that like Ding Junhui, Ronnie’s life is constantly put under the media microscope and he is expected to win every tournament he enters. He describes how after recently losing to James Cahill in the first round of the World Championship, he refused to do a post match interview and instead went to his dressing room, smashed his cue and punched and kicked the wall. He subsequently spent several days in a mental health clinic.Ronnie now faces disciplinary action for not attending the interview and has lashed out, accusing World Snooker of unfair treatment.
I believe that although Ronnie has mental demons, he can’t use these to attack the sport in general. If the pressure is getting to much for him maybe he should seriously think about retiring and work part-time on the Seniors and exhibition circuits. We have all seen players like Alex Higgins and Tony Drago lose the plot in front of a camera but O’Sullivan pushes the boundaries and up to this point has got away with his media rantings. I can see that World Snooker must feel under pressure to act but know that they don’t want to alienate their greatest asset. However enough is enough and support for O’Sullivan is gradually draining away, the more these outbursts happen. Snooker is not a parody, it is a serious cue sport and so should be given the respect it deserves. As a fan and blogger, I don’t want to read about the latest “ Rocket” when snooker does occasionally make the headlines but instead want to read about the great talent, the Ladies game and Disability Snooker.
I don’t want to cover old ground as this is now the third blog that I have written on Ronnie but it is clear that this behaviour has to be nipped in the bud now and has in fairness gone on for some years. O’Sullivan used to bring his antics to the table but his sports psychologist, Steve Peters has managed to purge these from the green baize. However when Ronnie leaves the arena, it’s like he becomes a different person and gets his adrenaline kick from the act of ridicule. To O’Sullivan it maybe just a laugh but his words are hurtful and damaging. He must have a short memory if he can’t remember how low snooker had sunk prior to Barry Hearn taking over as the Chairman of World Snooker. There were less than ten tournaments in a season and professional players had use the exhibition circuit to subsidise their earnings, a leap back to the days of Ray Reardon and John Spencer, who travelled the arduous circuit of holiday camps and working men’s clubs to make ends meet.
Ronnie’s quotations from the article are bitter and paint the sport in a bad light. I am not going to quote them all but one that sticks out is his description of his relationship with World Snooker:
“It is like a broken marriage, they don’t like me and I don’t really like them.......We are living under the same roof, just trying to be nice and tolerate each other......but if they want to overstep the mark and make my life unhappy, I’m off. You are going to lose out because I am not going to come to your tournaments. I am going to lose out because I really want to play.”
Ronnie thought he could squeeze these headline shockers into his Telegraph interview because he felt he had free reign and had nothing to fear. However no player has ever matched Ronnie’s constant criticism of snooker. The man has mad millions of pounds from the sport but chooses to bite the hand that fed him. I had hoped that the Rocket would learn from his mistakes and I have given him ample leeway to atone for his comments but enough is enough. World Snooker needs to set the wheels in motion and give Ronnie some form of severe punitive action that not only affects his bank balance but dents the very personal pride that this player had for himself privately. It must be action that remains punitive and should not be deemed as malicious. A balancing act that any trapeze artist may wobble on but one worth achieving to retain the sport’s integrity.Ronnie is clearly not someone who accepts rules and is not a follower but now is the time for that ethos to be overturned and for Ronnie to become a follower like the rest of the snooker flock.
https://youtu.be/O0McvOZ8w2U
I believe that although Ronnie has mental demons, he can’t use these to attack the sport in general. If the pressure is getting to much for him maybe he should seriously think about retiring and work part-time on the Seniors and exhibition circuits. We have all seen players like Alex Higgins and Tony Drago lose the plot in front of a camera but O’Sullivan pushes the boundaries and up to this point has got away with his media rantings. I can see that World Snooker must feel under pressure to act but know that they don’t want to alienate their greatest asset. However enough is enough and support for O’Sullivan is gradually draining away, the more these outbursts happen. Snooker is not a parody, it is a serious cue sport and so should be given the respect it deserves. As a fan and blogger, I don’t want to read about the latest “ Rocket” when snooker does occasionally make the headlines but instead want to read about the great talent, the Ladies game and Disability Snooker.
I don’t want to cover old ground as this is now the third blog that I have written on Ronnie but it is clear that this behaviour has to be nipped in the bud now and has in fairness gone on for some years. O’Sullivan used to bring his antics to the table but his sports psychologist, Steve Peters has managed to purge these from the green baize. However when Ronnie leaves the arena, it’s like he becomes a different person and gets his adrenaline kick from the act of ridicule. To O’Sullivan it maybe just a laugh but his words are hurtful and damaging. He must have a short memory if he can’t remember how low snooker had sunk prior to Barry Hearn taking over as the Chairman of World Snooker. There were less than ten tournaments in a season and professional players had use the exhibition circuit to subsidise their earnings, a leap back to the days of Ray Reardon and John Spencer, who travelled the arduous circuit of holiday camps and working men’s clubs to make ends meet.
Ronnie’s quotations from the article are bitter and paint the sport in a bad light. I am not going to quote them all but one that sticks out is his description of his relationship with World Snooker:
“It is like a broken marriage, they don’t like me and I don’t really like them.......We are living under the same roof, just trying to be nice and tolerate each other......but if they want to overstep the mark and make my life unhappy, I’m off. You are going to lose out because I am not going to come to your tournaments. I am going to lose out because I really want to play.”
Ronnie thought he could squeeze these headline shockers into his Telegraph interview because he felt he had free reign and had nothing to fear. However no player has ever matched Ronnie’s constant criticism of snooker. The man has mad millions of pounds from the sport but chooses to bite the hand that fed him. I had hoped that the Rocket would learn from his mistakes and I have given him ample leeway to atone for his comments but enough is enough. World Snooker needs to set the wheels in motion and give Ronnie some form of severe punitive action that not only affects his bank balance but dents the very personal pride that this player had for himself privately. It must be action that remains punitive and should not be deemed as malicious. A balancing act that any trapeze artist may wobble on but one worth achieving to retain the sport’s integrity.Ronnie is clearly not someone who accepts rules and is not a follower but now is the time for that ethos to be overturned and for Ronnie to become a follower like the rest of the snooker flock.
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