Re: Alan Goerhing
TStone,
The one real problem I have with your post (and the mentality that follows it) is that for some reason, you (and a lot of you 10000 post colleagues) are unwilling to let people be fans of the game. They play poker, like poker, wish they were better at poker and hold a lot of respect for the people they see playing it better and bigger on TV.
I think Babe Ruth is greatest player in baseball history. I never had the pleasure of watching him play, but it's not the label that makes fandom fun, its the speculation. It makes the game more interesting to watch and lets the 50 mph-throwing all-star vicariously be on the field. Declaring Ruth the greatest then arguing with Cobb, Mays, Bonds et all supporters is good times. Does that declaration make it gospel? No, it's just a voicing of opinion. Amazingly, I've never gotten a call from a minor league manager screaming about my ignorance on the subject.
Poker's gotten big enough that some people want to celebrate it that way. They have jobs and families and exams and don't have the time to put into it what you have. They still like the game and the big money flying around and can't afford to play at that level so they watch and enjoy it. Like with any other televised game, they pick their favorites to live through, at least until some bully comes around trying to stomp them out
The thing that strikes me as stupid is that these speculations are the best thing in the world for you; they underestimate the online masters because they aren't seeing them on TV; the all-in fest of tv makes people play poorly; the rush of fans to the table gives you more fish to feed on. It loans to the continued growth of the game (when some of your colelagues seem to be in a hurry to end it already), both as a competition and cultural phenomenon.
I can't see a single thing that your post accomplishes. Congratulations, you've shut up fifty people in the gossip forum who want to enjoy televised poker. You're older and wiser and more knowledgeable than most of the three-digit posters, so try acting that way; sit back, let them have their fun, smile at their innocence and be content with knowing you know better. You're biting the hand that feeds you.
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