PS: I especially laugh when your stacked team fails. :-P



[Lenny Erickson 2016-06-14, 23:33:55]:


Please, let's just keep it a bar league and have fun, and laugh when the stacked teams fail.

Oh, Mark!You're so cute when you try to talk smack!
Lenny Erickson

Lenny, I understand what you're saying: Let's keep it fun! (I think you wrote that word down more than 10 times...) And I've heard it over and over when teams are comparing teams.. (Oh that team is no fun they're too serious, this team is more fun... lol)I get it.The league needs to be fun. But that word itself is relative. (I personally think that might sometimes be an excuse for avoiding a higher level of competitiveness...just saying) What's fun for you isn't necessarily fun for everyone else in the league. I have "fun"! I drink (about 50-70,000 on average at my home bar every Wednesday, and so did my other teammates) yet I still care about winning and improving my game. (Yes those drills do help, whether we like them or not...)The truth is the bar league does have rules to help protect the game, to keep it competitive... There's nothing wrong with added guidelines helping the league encourage teams to manage themselves appropriately for the ultimate "balanced fun" in the game.... In my never-to-be-humble opinion, fun includes being competitive... it means practicing, working on your game, caring about winning, coming to your matches and being a team player. It's also about socializing and drinking... all of that comes together~ But there's always room for more "fun". I'm pretty sure if you asked the top 30 players in the league they would love to have an Individual League connected to the IPL... and yes, someone can do it on their own time.(I volunteer) The idea is to include it as part of the leagues idea of "fun" ... it isn't just a drinking league... Right now you have some very high talent in the league, probably more than ever before... there's nothing wrong with evolving into something greater while maintaining your original purpose. Don't be afraid of it Lenny.
As for "signing up to play in Itaewon" well obviously ... where else am I gonna sign up to play with such cool cats like Lenny. Go out to Songtan? Psshhht... There's no need to include pool halls... just bars with a good reputation and a decent pool table, not necessarily so far from Itaewon. Like I said, there's no need to fear expansion. It's a good thing and will involve more people. Now that's fun: more people!

No, Josh, clearly you don't understand what I am saying. I think the biggest threat to the league is pandering to the top 10% and forgetting that the vast majority just want to play and drink and socialize.
Lenny Erickson

The lack of ambition in this league disgusts me. We simply must expand to include all of Gyeonggi-do. If I can't play in Jamsil one week and Incheon the next, I just don't see the point in meeting up with my friends for beer and pool on a Wednesday night.
John Owens

Clearly you're not understanding me either brother Lenny~ I'm not saying take away from what exists, I'm simply proposing adding to what exists... There is no danger to the current format. Not everyone needs to be involved in what I'm proposing (and what I believe Mark is also proposing with an increase in tournaments and individual play...). And you don't even have to manage it...someone who wants to can... It's completely optional Lenny. Just like getting drunk on Wednesdays is optional. Or coming to tournaments is optional... It won't affect your definition of "fun" team play weekly in and out... If you just want to come and play a few casual games on Wednesdays and hang out with the fellas, so be it. But those of "us" (be it 10% or 40% - my guess it can end up being quite higher than 10%) who wish to take it a bit more seriously shouldn't be discouraged to do so while maintaining and increasing the good level of "fun" and business in local bars at Itaewon...We can discuss this more at the captain's meeting...
As for the idea of playing outside of Itaewon, it's just that: an idea. (One that's already been shot down a number of times from what I understand) If the majority wishes to avoid play outside of Itaewon for whatever reason, then that's that. But if you consider it more, there could easily be a cap on "how many bars" outside of Itaewon and "how far from Itaewon" we would play. If you cap it at 3 or 4 bars for starters, that means you would only actually have to leave Itaewon 3-4 times each season. The other 16 matches would be played in Itaewon. It would increase the league's membership, reduce the stress on some stacked teams, and perhaps simplify the schedule making process when up to 2 teams are being sponsored by some bars in Itaewon... Again, there are possibilities. Another alternative is making another league outside of Itaewon... say a Seoul Pool League which caters to these 10% you speak so nicely of... That could also be fun.