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How Snooker saved my life

Postby Sickpotter

There's been a couple of articles regarding motivation and love of the game so I though I'd put up a bit about why I love the game.

Aside from the enjoyment of the game and the thrill I get potting I love snooker because it saved my life. :bowdown:

Ok, saved my life might be a bit over the top.....more accurately put, snooker or my love of it saved me from a few years of living hell and permanent disability.

I was barely 18 and lived at my local hall. First in, last out, 7 days a week. Rare was the occasion where I would elect to do something other than play snooker. Women, partying, etc. all took a back seat to my one true love.

One Friday night I was right where I always was, knocking balls around the table at my local hall. My roommate called me up at the hall asking if I wanted to come out to a party in the west end. Everyone was going including a couple of ladies who I really fancied and there was a place to crash for everyone. I was having a good session and didn't want to leave so I thanked him for the invite, told him no and said that I'd see him the next day when he got back to our place.

Throughout the evening I got repeated calls to head on out to the party. "Free booze and drunk women everywhere!", my buddy would slur to me over the phone but again I declined and went right back to practice. I know, I know, who in their right mind walks away from free booze and drunk women? <doh>

For the record, I'm not gay (not that there's anything wrong with it ;) ), I just loved playing snooker.

I went home when the hall closed and was up early the next morning to head on back. I noticed my roommate hadn't returned yet but it was early and I didn't expect him back until noon so thought nothing of it. Around noon my roommate's mom gave me a call at the pool hall asking if I knew where he was. She was kinda a hippy mom who had psychic premonitions now and then and she was certain something was wrong. I normally laugh that kind of stuff off but she'd proven to be pretty astute with some of her intuitions so I started calling around.

The more people I reached the worse I felt :( . Apparently my roommate had left the house party early that morning giving 3 others lifts to various locations but none had arrived. I went home so that I could receive/relay any information I got and the call came around 2pm. My roommate had been in a bad accident along with several others :scared:

Apparently what had happened was that on the way to drop a friend at work the car slid on some black ice and got hooked on the median. It slid along the median for about 40 yards until it encountered a street light which it promptly wrapped itself around. Amazing really how little speed is required for a car to collapse if it's hit in the right spot. The estimated speed at impact was only 20 km/hr and the car was destroyed.

Back then the seatbelt laws were a little more lax and it wasn't a requirement for those in the back seat. If they had been mandatory there likely would've been two tragedies that day. Never having been fans of back seat seat belts no one was wearing one so when the passenger side collapsed, the back seat passenger was thrown over onto the lap of the passenger on the driver's side. He suffered a fracture in the leg and a broken nose but nothing else.....absolute miracle :mosh2:

My buddy in the front passenger seat was not so lucky. He was trapped in place by his seatbelt and had his pelvis crushed. He spent 2+ hrs screaming and passing in and out of conciousness while emergency workers struggled to free him. He spent the next 6 months in the hospital with a catheter up his john thomas followed by 2+ years of rehab. To this day he's got chronic back problems and is on permanent disability assistance.

In what way was I spared this injury? Well as my roommate was the driver I would've been in the front seat on the way home had I elected to attend the party :eek:

This is a big reason I love and respect snooker so much. If I hadn't wanted to play snooker more than anything else my life would be very different today and not for the better.

Re: How Snooker saved my life

Postby SnookerFan

:bowdown: :bowdown:

What a story. Glad you made it out alive.

Was the partying worth it? Especially if you're mate kept ringing you to ask you, the one playing snooker to come. Snooker > Partying. :D

Re: How Snooker saved my life

Postby Roland

I hate to think how many accidents I avoided by playing snooker instead of driving somewhere else :redneck:

Snooker is our saviour. Can you imagine life without it? What would I do?

Re: How Snooker saved my life

Postby Wildey

Sonny wrote:I hate to think how many accidents I avoided by playing snooker instead of driving somewhere else :redneck:

Snooker is our saviour. Can you imagine life without it? What would I do?

go skiing <doh>

Re: How Snooker saved my life

Postby SnookerFan

Sonny wrote:Oh yeah! Skiing wins
:ski:


If it's snooker or skiing, you have probably saved yourself from many broken legs by playing snooker instead. :ba:

Re: How Snooker saved my life

Postby Roland

The perfect day would involve hitting the slopes early on, burning down some freshly bashed corduroy in the tuck position absolutely flat knacker and then when the masses crowd the lift stations, retiring to a snooker hall for the rest of the day with Eurosport HD in the background showing skiing and snooker, and drinking beer and winning a bunch of money off some Frenchies who don't know how to play before pulling the most stunning ski groupie and retiring for the day at her chalet with a nice fat one.

Re: How Snooker saved my life

Postby jojo

just read this story

bittersweet and heartwarming sad to hear about your friend and others being involved in the accident and suffering trauma but glad there werent any fatalities and you werent involved

either way people should never beat themselves up if they involved in an accident or their loved one involved in an accident saying things like if only i didnt go out or whatever fate is fate destiny is destiny no one knows whats round the corner

one of my favourite songs of all time is george michael a different corner simply because of its poignant meaning it so true in life

can you imagine all the different corners we took in life or our parents before us where would we be now but good story about snooker been involved in a road accident myself when the car turned upside down i and my friends were rescued yet a few moments later the car exploded frightening as buck i was 18 at the time and wouldnt get in a car for the next five years it took a lot of education and pshyocological input to eventually get over it

however miraculously i didnt break anything though had lots of cuts and bruises but on my friend wasnt so lucky he didnt make it he was sitting at the front where i was going to sit just goes to show how things pan out