Live and Wired
Nothing beats the atmosphere and environment of a live venue and this weekend I have travelled to the Crucible in Sheffield for the World Seniors. Moving between the theatre and the player’s lounge, I have again experienced what it is like to see how a tournament functions front and back of house. It is very different to what you see on your television screens but works to a tight schedule with a multitude of staff, from a seamstress sewing sponsorship logos onto a player’s waistcoat to the press team typing away on their laptops as they create their latest piece for the national press.
I have been coming to snooker tournaments for over five years now and still nothing ceases to amaze me when I travel to various locations. It is daunting walking into a room where you are faced by players who you have supported for years and now you are able to converse with them face to face. As I write this, I have Reanne Evans, the Ladies’ World Champion being interviewed in front of me and Tony Knowles having a chat behind me. The door may open at any time and Jimmy White or Stephen Hendry could walk through the door. I have been lucky over the years to become friends with a few of them and it is so lovely to catch up with them at various events.
When you watch snooker, you don’t realise how the audience are engaged before the camera rolls with the crowd given a key word for when they should applaud before the players come on stage. The lights on the rigging above the table are hot and bright, in fact when I first went to the Masters at Alexandra Palace, I developed a pounding headache watching Ronnie O’Sullivan playing. Rather like a mobile circus, the set up is virtually the same but the faces and locations change. For me, this is what excites me, I love the buzz of the live environment and wherever you are, there is never a dull moment.
I get excited from the moment I first step on a train to travel Cardiff or Sheffield or board a plane to Berlin. This is my passion and has been for over thirty years and will not change. Snooker evolves but the essence of the sport remains the same, the cloth may be faster and the players faces change but a player still get those those nerves before walking out into the stage or the moment they take a shot and the pressure builds. Any snooker arena could be compared to a pressure cooker, a slow build up pressure that lead to an emotional explosion that either explodes or is contained. Such a feeling can’t be experienced until you actually are out there and might help or hinder your progress. Either way, this rollercoaster ride is here to stay.
I have been coming to snooker tournaments for over five years now and still nothing ceases to amaze me when I travel to various locations. It is daunting walking into a room where you are faced by players who you have supported for years and now you are able to converse with them face to face. As I write this, I have Reanne Evans, the Ladies’ World Champion being interviewed in front of me and Tony Knowles having a chat behind me. The door may open at any time and Jimmy White or Stephen Hendry could walk through the door. I have been lucky over the years to become friends with a few of them and it is so lovely to catch up with them at various events.
When you watch snooker, you don’t realise how the audience are engaged before the camera rolls with the crowd given a key word for when they should applaud before the players come on stage. The lights on the rigging above the table are hot and bright, in fact when I first went to the Masters at Alexandra Palace, I developed a pounding headache watching Ronnie O’Sullivan playing. Rather like a mobile circus, the set up is virtually the same but the faces and locations change. For me, this is what excites me, I love the buzz of the live environment and wherever you are, there is never a dull moment.
I get excited from the moment I first step on a train to travel Cardiff or Sheffield or board a plane to Berlin. This is my passion and has been for over thirty years and will not change. Snooker evolves but the essence of the sport remains the same, the cloth may be faster and the players faces change but a player still get those those nerves before walking out into the stage or the moment they take a shot and the pressure builds. Any snooker arena could be compared to a pressure cooker, a slow build up pressure that lead to an emotional explosion that either explodes or is contained. Such a feeling can’t be experienced until you actually are out there and might help or hinder your progress. Either way, this rollercoaster ride is here to stay.
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