GO FUND YOURSELF PLEASE

There is a growing epidemic in the pool world...and I can't hold my tongue any longer.  I'm so sick and tired of seeing GoFundMe-type requests from pool players who want to travel to tournaments and want me and everyone else to pay for it. 

I mean...this has to be a joke, right?  You want to travel and play pool in your "quest" to become a professional player?  You don’t want to get a real job because you think that pool IS your job...and that you're working to achieve your dreams by hitting balls all day and gambling occasionally?  And even more ridiculous…you want me to help you pay for it?  

I see these posts popping up all the time nowadays, and it’s truly mind-blowing that there are players out there expecting their friends and families and the general FB collective to help them basically be pool bums.  The problem is, they manipulate people into donating by telling the potential donors that they are "helping to fulfill a lifelong dream"...or "helping to launch their pool career"...blah, blah, blah. I’m sorry, but let’s face facts here...there are only a handful of top pros, male or female, who have made or can make an actual living playing tournament pool and for the rest of us...it's a glorified HOBBY.  If you can’t afford your hobby…then you need to figure out a way to A) fund your pool travels on your own, B) find an actual sponsor, or C) you need to stop traveling to tournaments.  It’s that simple.

Not to blow my own horn...but at one point in my career, I was ranked #10 in the WPBA.  I only mention it because I managed to achieve that status while working a full-time job (for those of you unfamiliar with the term "job"...see definition below).  Some of my travel was funded by various sponsors, sure…but sponsorships are business agreements in which both parties benefit.  Companies aren’t typically in the business of just handing out freebies with nothing in return!  

I actually saw a GoFundMe request today for $3000 to travel to the WPBA Regional Tour Championships.  MY JAW DROPPED!  Words cannot even express the incredulity and disdain I have for this request.  $3000…really?  Is this chick insane?  There is absolutely NO way that it costs 3 Gs to travel to Florida for 4 days…from anywhere in this country.  Let me break it down for you:

•  The entry to the tournament itself is most likely $100-$150
• A flight should cost approximately $500
• A motel for 3-4 nights could cost anywhere between $200-500   
• And maybe a rental car, if needed, which you can get for $150 max if you stay with an economy or compact car.

That’s $1300 max for the trip!  But to be thorough, I went ahead and priced it out today…as if I was making this trip for myself…and guess what?  I could make the trip for less than $1100...and could make it even cheaper by sharing a hotel/motel room and car rental costs.  (Hell...even when I had a sponsor, I would share rooms/cars in order to try and keep expenses down!)

So why the F would this person be asking for $3K????  There are so many problems with this…I don’t even know where to start!  First of all, she’s asking for way too much money, so either she wants to travel in style or she’s greedy and wants some extra cash in her pocket for later.  Second, it’s obvious that she isn’t spending any of her own money to get to this tournament…instead she’s asking everyone else to fund it completely.  Why would I want to help someone who isn’t even willing to spend her own money to get to this "super important" event?  Third…let’s face it…this ain’t the US Open.  It’s the Regional Tour Championships for the WPBA.  This used to be a tournament of some importance in a player's career, because the winner would have an opportunity to play in all the WPBA events the following season…and she could use that chance to earn her Touring Pro status.  Nowadays, the WPBA is close to defunct…with 1 event per year…and so the RTC is not a player’s "big chance" anymore.  It’s just another tournament with a fairly big field.  

I know, I know…I sound callous and jaded and mean.  Whatever.  Those who know me know that I’m completely willing to help fund a situation like a junior player who has earned an invite to Junior Nationals or Junior World Championships.  I’m certainly willing to help fund someone’s dream…as long as I can see that they are trying for self-sufficiency and maybe just need a helping hand because they are falling short.  I’m especially willing to help fund someone’s dream if they are creative and constantly trying to figure out ways to give something back to their donors as a show of appreciation. 

But when anyone just wants to play pool and travel around to tournaments, AND they want everyone else to pay for it???  Well, those people can't have my $$$$, and they really can't have my respect. 

(And for those of you who might truly feel like I’m out of line here…then please let me know and I will send you a request to help me fund my next vacation.  But be warned…I’m going to expect you and all your friends to pay for it completely…and I’ll probably choose an all-inclusive resort because that’s my "next big dream".)

Rant over.