Celebrations Revisited
I am pleased to report the level of behaviour during the WPT event at the Borgata was very good. I didn't see much, but what I did see was pleasantly surprising. I didn't see one action that I could even consider bad sportsmanship. Handshakes and respect seemed the order of the day. Perhaps, the participants realised what arses they were making of themselves and how unprofessional they appeared on tv.
But, sadly in a $200 no limit event at the Taj the same could not said. On my table there were trainee versions of Matias Andersson and Josh Arieh! One who celebrated remorselessly every time he won a pot and one who criticised his opponents play shamelessly. Thank God we didn't have an amateur Phil Laak! It reminded me how important it is for players who appear on tv to behave well. Young, impressionable guys think it is the "done thing" to behave this way. Learned behaviour is the order of the day.
On a related point I was watching a bit of football at the weekend on tv.
Two goalscorers really came to my attention. Andy Johnson scored for Crystal Palace at Aston Villa. Now I know Palace don't score many goals, but his celebration was bang out of order. He ran in front of a huge bank of Villa supporters (it was probably the Holte End) and basically provoked them: making signs and taking the piss. A few players have been yellow carded recently for over celebrating in front of their own fans, well Johnson deserved a straight red because he could have caused a riot. Compare his actions with those of Marlon Harewood who scored for West Ham against Notts Forest during the Clough tribute match. He just shook a couple of teammates hands and trotted back to the centre circle. He understood making a spectacle of himself on this particular day wold have been inappropriate and acted in classy manner. Maybe being a former Forest player meant he was more acutely aware of the situation. But, regardless, he acted in a professional manner and my hat is off to him.
But, sadly in a $200 no limit event at the Taj the same could not said. On my table there were trainee versions of Matias Andersson and Josh Arieh! One who celebrated remorselessly every time he won a pot and one who criticised his opponents play shamelessly. Thank God we didn't have an amateur Phil Laak! It reminded me how important it is for players who appear on tv to behave well. Young, impressionable guys think it is the "done thing" to behave this way. Learned behaviour is the order of the day.
On a related point I was watching a bit of football at the weekend on tv.
Two goalscorers really came to my attention. Andy Johnson scored for Crystal Palace at Aston Villa. Now I know Palace don't score many goals, but his celebration was bang out of order. He ran in front of a huge bank of Villa supporters (it was probably the Holte End) and basically provoked them: making signs and taking the piss. A few players have been yellow carded recently for over celebrating in front of their own fans, well Johnson deserved a straight red because he could have caused a riot. Compare his actions with those of Marlon Harewood who scored for West Ham against Notts Forest during the Clough tribute match. He just shook a couple of teammates hands and trotted back to the centre circle. He understood making a spectacle of himself on this particular day wold have been inappropriate and acted in classy manner. Maybe being a former Forest player meant he was more acutely aware of the situation. But, regardless, he acted in a professional manner and my hat is off to him.
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