The Strickland Story ᴴᴰ The Greatest Ever ⁷²⁰ᵖ
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ＬＩＫＥ | ＣＯＭＭＥＮＴ | ＳＨＡＲＥ | ＳＵＢＳＣＲＩＢＥ\r
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For those who know very little about Strickland, the documentary succinctly charts his biography, from learning to play billiards at the age of 8, when his father first snuck him into a pool hall in North Carolina to becoming the best player in Houston by age 19 to entering tournament play and winning five US Open Nine-Ball Championships (more than any player in history) to participating in the Mosconi Cup. Some criticized the film for not including the Million Dollar Challenge or the Color of Money match against Efren Reyes, but with more than 50 titles and achievements to Stricklands name, it would have been impossible to hit on all the highlights.\r
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The film also effectively weaves in interviews with Strickland, sports event promoter Barry Hearn, and pool legends Johnny Archer and Rodney Morris, among others, to present the complexity of Stricklands charer. As Archer says, He is not understood well. I think he is a genius on the pool table.\r
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Those interviews reveal Stricklands obsession with the sport (Pool has taken over my mind, my soul, everything. I eat, sleep obviously, but other than that, I go to the pool table. Its almost like a drug, I got to have it.); his volatility (hes borderline mad); his antics (i.e., jumping on the table after his win in Cardiff and declaring, Im king of the world.); his occasional aggression to the fans (i.e., threatening them with a cue stick and later breaking it at the Mosconi Cup); and his intensity (You think its some kind of game or something. It aint no game. Im dead serious. Ill shoot your liver out and hand it to you.).\r
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But, The Strickland Story is equally enlightening for those who sought more than the biopic headlines. For example, it delves into his bipolar personality, or what Barry Hearn calls his Jekyll and Hyde charer. The film also reveals how the same fans he has been known to chastise are the ones who enabled him to pivot from a career as a gambler to a career as a professional player. (People dont clap for gamblers. I felt something inside of me when people clapped. Someone asked me for my autograph. I changed just like that…a better life where I was appreciated.)\r
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Regardless of ones familiarity with Strickland, it is impossible not to be moved by the documentarys ending. Blaming both himself (I made bad decisions. Its not pools fault.) and the general public (Years ago, I would have been proud of who I am. That doesnt exist anymore. You stripped me of that.) for his pecuniary condition, he laments the state of pool today, including the lack of respect and financial options available for players:\r
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I have to live in a city of 30 million to make some money…exhibition are gone…Im lucky I still have a name…every time we get some hope, it gets dashed…we have no hype, were all broke…I dont understand how you could desert this game, how could my country desert this game…I am here to protect and preserve this game the way I found it…if pool deserves to die and not get us respected and make us millionaires, then all sports deserve to die.
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ＬＩＫＥ | ＣＯＭＭＥＮＴ | ＳＨＡＲＥ | ＳＵＢＳＣＲＩＢＥ\r
\r
For those who know very little about Strickland, the documentary succinctly charts his biography, from learning to play billiards at the age of 8, when his father first snuck him into a pool hall in North Carolina to becoming the best player in Houston by age 19 to entering tournament play and winning five US Open Nine-Ball Championships (more than any player in history) to participating in the Mosconi Cup. Some criticized the film for not including the Million Dollar Challenge or the Color of Money match against Efren Reyes, but with more than 50 titles and achievements to Stricklands name, it would have been impossible to hit on all the highlights.\r
\r
The film also effectively weaves in interviews with Strickland, sports event promoter Barry Hearn, and pool legends Johnny Archer and Rodney Morris, among others, to present the complexity of Stricklands charer. As Archer says, He is not understood well. I think he is a genius on the pool table.\r
\r
Those interviews reveal Stricklands obsession with the sport (Pool has taken over my mind, my soul, everything. I eat, sleep obviously, but other than that, I go to the pool table. Its almost like a drug, I got to have it.); his volatility (hes borderline mad); his antics (i.e., jumping on the table after his win in Cardiff and declaring, Im king of the world.); his occasional aggression to the fans (i.e., threatening them with a cue stick and later breaking it at the Mosconi Cup); and his intensity (You think its some kind of game or something. It aint no game. Im dead serious. Ill shoot your liver out and hand it to you.).\r
\r
But, The Strickland Story is equally enlightening for those who sought more than the biopic headlines. For example, it delves into his bipolar personality, or what Barry Hearn calls his Jekyll and Hyde charer. The film also reveals how the same fans he has been known to chastise are the ones who enabled him to pivot from a career as a gambler to a career as a professional player. (People dont clap for gamblers. I felt something inside of me when people clapped. Someone asked me for my autograph. I changed just like that…a better life where I was appreciated.)\r
\r
Regardless of ones familiarity with Strickland, it is impossible not to be moved by the documentarys ending. Blaming both himself (I made bad decisions. Its not pools fault.) and the general public (Years ago, I would have been proud of who I am. That doesnt exist anymore. You stripped me of that.) for his pecuniary condition, he laments the state of pool today, including the lack of respect and financial options available for players:\r
\r
I have to live in a city of 30 million to make some money…exhibition are gone…Im lucky I still have a name…every time we get some hope, it gets dashed…we have no hype, were all broke…I dont understand how you could desert this game, how could my country desert this game…I am here to protect and preserve this game the way I found it…if pool deserves to die and not get us respected and make us millionaires, then all sports deserve to die.
Category
📺
TV