Eric Stone and myself are officially on watch 
8 Likes
ā¦can I say āBAD BAD, BAD BAD BADā the next time I mess up order of operations on WPT still? 
1 Like
I recognize that this sort of thing is largely reflexive and involuntary for those whoāve been doing it a long time, but Iām glad to see it being taken more seriously with warnings issued. I can tune out most of my surroundings while playing, but when someone is screaming nonsense I have a hard time ignoring it.
8 Likes
Uh oh, Iām in trouble too. I call myself an idiot all the time while playing pinballā¦ 
2 Likes
For real? He said āStupid, stupid, personā? In the pinball world thatās like Praying the Rosary!
7 Likes
I always yell at myself. āErik Robert!ā Haha.
What little I know of sports psychology suggests that you should not do that (call yourself bad) anyway and that it will only make your performance worse.
Read: The Inner Game of Tennis.
As long as we donāt broaden the scope of this rule to include āNOT LIKE THISā, then I think Iām fine with it.
6 Likes
I have read it
Sounds like heās had a history of shouting in appropriate things and was even warned earlier in this event so he kind of had a precedent set and seems like they cut him off when insulting himself before he had a chance to take it any further.
Luckily pinball meltdowns havenāt reached the level of tennis meltdowns 
!
3 Likes
Not so sure. Iāve seen a player (actually, a TD, no less) push a machine after a drain, throwing it up and forward such that the front legs were easily four inches off the ground. Probably the wors5 case of machine abuse Iāve seen. He did not disqualify himselfā¦
2 Likes
Picked an odd time to enforce that penalty. I understand wanting to set a precedent, but if itās going to ultimately decide the fate of a match (especially a big one) do you still make that call? Earlier in the match were there warnings given?
It said he was warned earlier in the event
He had taken a point penalty only a game earlier for berating a line judge. The chair thought that the āstupid personā shout was directed at the judge, so the next level of penalty (instant game loss) was imposed.
It also said he racially abused an opponent previously. Iād rather have someone drop an F bomb in front of a kid, or throw a game around, than go racial. Iāve never heard anything racial in pinball, although it is an awfully white sport.
Suggested new IFPAPA rule:
If you go racial, you are immediately banished to the pro tennis circuit.
3 Likes
Also known as the Coffin Drop
I beg to differ. LOL. I called myself a dumbass while playing in a finals and won a first place trophy.
I hope that Tournament Directors will be more attentive to players acting out. If there is one thing that drives away new tournament players more than anything else, itās when a good player storms off cursing and pouting.
Because I focus a lot on recruiting new players into tournaments, I always notice how terrible it looks when a player throws a tantrum, especially when s/he is far ahead anyway. Poor sportsmanship. Experienced players will just roll their eyes behind the playerās back, but new players simply donāt come back next time.
Because I travel a lot for tournaments, I notice that there is significant regional variation in how much misbehavior TDs tolerate. Some areas are quite restrictive of behavior. (The Scandinavians fine players for swearing, I found out.) But other places allow all sorts of bad behavior, and even rage tilting barely gets a warning.
Thatās not to say that I myself donāt get angry. It takes work to keep emotions under control, especially after the third house ball in a row. But I always try to remind myself to āBelsitoā my reactions. Itās just pinball, after all.
19 Likes
1 Like
Just a note that the IFPA14 yellow card seems to have had a dramatic impact on Eric Stoneās outbursts. Heās still a passionate (and fantastic) player, and still talks/shouts/grunts. But very little foul language anymore. Bravo!
3 Likes