100th Episode Show - Part 2 (The Stories That Built Cue Sports)

Mike Gonzalez 0:13

All right, let's flip it back to the fun side again. Best storyteller who comes to mind.

Allison Fisher 0:19

Well, I think Billy, like you said, was a great storyteller. Billy and Cologne is a great story. You can be in the moment. You can picture everything about him. When he tells a story, you can be right there. Like you're in the story.

Mike Gonzalez 0:32

Yeah, he takes you there, doesn't he?

Allison Fisher 0:33

Yeah. Love that.

Mike Gonzalez 0:34

Yeah. How about Mitch Lawrence? I mean, he's a very smart, clever, articulate guy, had some great stories about his acting career, uh, you know, how he got involved with the original Saturday Night Live show as Lauren Michael's sort of gopher in year one of the program, and then kind of grew into uh eventually having roles in skits and so forth, you know, just talking about moving out to Hollywood. And so Penny Marshall just offered to have me live in her, you know, her guest house. Okay.

Mark Wilson 1:03

And then more importantly, uh, for a birthday present, got him a SAG card to get him into TV and movies, which is almost impossible to get.

Mike Gonzalez 1:12

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, he had uh he had some great stories about his acting days. One of my favorites is Mary Keniston. She had a lot of great stories. Of course, she knew Buddy Hall pretty well, and and uh they traveled on the road together. And I remember one time her approaching uh Buddy about going out on the road, and and Buddy says, uh, yeah, I'll go when my fish bowl is emptied. And what was that bowl of? And his fish bowl full of joints. Oh man, you could just again, you could just kind of imagine being there, you know, with with with with Buddy kind of sitting back and big lazy boy, you know, just kind of having a beer and yeah, I'm not quite ready to go out on the road yet.

Allison Fisher 1:58

That's what I like about reflecting on the older players, too, the stories, because we're talking about Billy and Cadona being in that era of great characters, you know, they're the storytellers and and what happened at Johnson City and all these different great places, venues, and uh the old school of players. You do not want to miss these stories because they are the characters of the game, and if it wasn't for the those the forefathers of the sport, none of us would be here. And it's so important to capture that, I think.

Mark Wilson 2:29

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I agree. The you know, one of the things that gets lost is that this is from old guys' perspective. When you have cell phones and video and YouTube, there's no need for being a great storyteller anymore. And those guys lived an era that required that. And so and you were kind of uh you were that that's where you got your stature from, was what who you knew and what they did and explaining it made for much more interesting times. Truly. There's been some great, great ones in Pool. And you know, Nick Varner, too. Uh him, his history and his ability to tell a story from back in things that are generations and a half earlier than me. And I consider myself the youngest old guy in Pool, meaning that I go back, I know Lassiter and I knew Moscone, and I knew Greenleaf, uh well, not Greenleaf, but Crane. And and so, but I knew people that did know the people that were before me, and I tried to bring that forward whenever possible, just because those guys don't get the attention, there wasn't media like it is today, and so that's where Billy comes in and really, you know, looking forward that hope someday that we can get some of those, even the people that have passed away on in some way.

Mike Gonzalez 3:45

Yeah, yeah. You you make a good point about storytelling, Mark, because and and I don't think this is going to change. I think this will continue. History has shown that great leaders and people that are able to command respect are always wonderful storytellers. It's just the way it's been. Yeah. Somehow you're drawn to those kinds of people. And uh many of our guests have told some beautiful stories. Let's talk a little bit about some of the more poignant moments we've had. Um, without going into details, I know each of you had a very, very poignant moment in your stories that you shared with our listeners, but there were several others that come to mind. Uh at least one's been mentioned, I think. Well, no, actually, we talked about Sean Murphy, but Sean just talking about what he does when he returns to the venue of the Snooker World Championship.

Allison Fisher 4:41

Yeah, that was lovely to hear.

Mike Gonzalez 4:42

What did he share?

Allison Fisher 4:43

That was lovely to hear his reflection. That every time he's gone to the Crucible, as a kid, he he went there with his dad when he was a kid, and he sat in that audience, you know, wanting to be the player in those chairs, as it, you know, when he grew up. And he used to sit there with his dad watching it at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, which is an iconic venue in Snooker where the world championships are played every year. And then to be the player actually out there, but but Sean has done it twenty two years in a row out of twenty four. And he he won the world championships, and every year that he goes back to the crucible, he sits in that same chair when nobody's in there and reflects on his life and what it was like back then with his dad sitting there.

Mike Gonzalez 5:29

Yeah, yeah. Sits in those seats that he and his own.

Allison Fisher 5:32

Yeah, to listen to that.

Mike Gonzalez 5:34

Yeah. Mark, anything come to mind for you in terms of poignant moment?

Mark Wilson 5:39

Uh Well, I don't know if this is poignant, but Pat Fleming sitting on a fire hydrant counting cars, that that led to his career. That that one was interesting to me because I should have known that that would be Pat. He's meticulous like that. And then maybe uh just the the serendipitous life that Lori John has had where everything just turned up roses, even even though you know she might make the wrong turn, she might go the wrong way, but somehow she ends up getting a grand prize every time.

Mike Gonzalez 6:08

So yeah, yeah. You know, oftentimes we've talked about dips in careers or dip, you know, uh sort of gaps in in a player's record. And generally it always comes down to life kind of happened then. Something happened outside the venue that outside the ropes that that affected their their psyche, their play, their physical ability. And and so I remember asking George Ashby about oh, I was starting about 1990, you know, what happened? I mean, it's world championship this, world championship that, and then all of a sudden we don't see ya. He says, well, he says, I got real good at becoming an alcoholic. Mm-hmm. And shared that with us, and then his struggle to kind of get his life back and and the people he credited and and AA crediting, you know, he credited with staying clean now for many, many years. I just that that that sort of hit me. And then, you know, Billy at the end of our interview talking about family and particularly talking about the loss of his son. Yeah. And then and then kind of living life now for his grandson, who is is really embodies his son and what he remembers about his son. That was, I thought that was quite emotional as well.

Allison Fisher 7:26

Definitely.

Mark Wilson 7:27

Yeah. And then the shift in Mary's career, too, when she was in the hospital. She didn't play as well when she came back from that terrible stint, but then she's still stuck at it and still got the fortitude, still has the passion, even today when we interview her, even though she's long past her playing career. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

Allison Fisher 7:43

She's a great character too, man.

Mark Wilson 7:44

Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Allison Fisher 7:45

And she keeps it, you know, Paul alive by archiving all these photos that we see on social media from yesteryear, that, you know, from all these years ago, she was around these great characters and she's showing it online. And I think that's fantastic, keeping the sport alive.

Mike Gonzalez 8:02

Yeah through through pictures. Yeah, we're kindred spirits in that way, aren't we, with with Pat uh Fleming with what he's done preserving the video side of things, and then Mary becoming the de facto photo archivist for the sport. Yes. You know? Well, I hope our listeners are beginning to understand that this show, this program, this podcast is not just about Q sports. It's about preserving voices and experiences that otherwise would disappear. And so I think uh I hope people appreciate the fact that these stories are being captured before we're no longer able to hear them anymore. We're trying to create an oral history of Q sports for future generations. And I think I hope people appreciate the importance of honoring the pioneers of the game because we've certainly heard lessons, gotten lessons from our guests that that really transcend the sport and and and lessons around um a number of themes, uh in no particular order. Resilience, discipline, drive, work ethic. I think that's one thing that's I've taken away from these discussions, the fact that that to get good, none of these folks were born with it. They worked hard.

Allison Fisher 9:13

Yes, you have to. Yeah, but but initially it's a love, it's a passion for the game. You fall in love with this game. And once you're hooked, it's hard to let go. And so I think it becomes easier to do your work then. You you become you the discipline becomes easy, the drive becomes easy, the work ethic becomes easy if you're doing something you love. And I think most of our guests have found that passion and love for something, and uh it's taken them places they never would have thought they could have got to. It's an it's been it's an amazing sport, and it's a great big family, and I think that's what's beautiful about it.

Mike Gonzalez 9:49

Yeah. You know, for those that have listened to our program and are familiar with the format, they will know that uh one of the things we started with interview one was finishing with three final questions. And I'm glad we've done this because we now are able to compare and contrast the various responses we've had. But we asked, we asked three questions. The first question being if you were 20 but knew then what you know now, what would you have done differently? That was question number one. Question number two uh more for players, but we're gonna give you one career mulligan, one shot to do over a particular shot that would have mattered. Uh, can you come up with one? Uh and then the last question, you know, how would fill in the blank in terms of name, how would you like to be remembered? And uh at some point we'll probably put episodes together that just strings those responses together so we can kind of reflect back on those those answers. But we've had a multitude of different, very, very thoughtful responses to that. I would say that on the last question, how would you like to remember, be remembered? The people that have thought about that before pretty obvious. Those that haven't given a lot of thought, perhaps the younger folks, maybe that that think that this is pretty far off before I have to deal with this. Maybe not quite as eloquent. What are your reflections on what we've heard from from our guests on those three questions?

Mark Wilson 11:13

I would say that uh when you talk about poignant moments, a couple of times we heard that I wish I would have been a better father, and that that kind of broke my heart. So but I've I I've enjoyed the answers universally. Some of them are very short, some of them are extended, and so I I found that interesting how some people would kind of go on and some people were just trying to get through it.

Allison Fisher 11:37

I've found it a little shocking too sometimes when you're saying the the obviously being having being better at home, better family life or whatever. Some people have said we wish we got jobs. And I think a lot of people have struggled with that. So some people wish they'd got educated and got jobs. Some regretted the time they'd taken away from family, which was very sad. And but for the I think most people didn't regret much. I think they've enjoyed their lives and didn't have regret, you know, and they were probably grateful that they had the opportunity.

Mark Wilson 12:20

That goes along with maybe they got into the sport for the wrong reasons and were trying to skip work or or that they thought, I'll never forget this. Bill Cress, who was a famous pro and he grew up in the area around me, and he said this, you know, pool began as my passion, it then became my job, and today it's my sentence. And it was the most heartbreaking. I thought I'll never allow myself to get to that stage of but it's because he started off with the wrong idea. You know, uh for me it's always been about pure love of just the sport and see if I could accomplish something in it. Yeah. And uh but it became too much about money for some. And that's where, you know, the underhanded dealings and the disrespect for the sport and and that's where that's lost, and that's a kind of a a departure from what it should be. They didn't understand it that way.

Mike Gonzalez 13:09

Yeah. Yeah. Well, having had an opportunity now, guys, to sort of reflect back on what's happened these first 100 episodes, let's take a minute to look forward a little bit, just thinking about where we're headed. What comes to mind in terms of what you'd like to see us accomplish going forward? Are there some things we haven't done you'd like to see us do? Um, you know, one of the things I always like to ask myself is in five years, ten years, what does success look like, right? If we were to look back on our entirety of of our body of work, what would we have hoped to have accomplished? Where would we hope to be when we finish with this project? Mark, what comes to mind?

Mark Wilson 13:46

Well, uh I love the fact that we get the people in their own voices and it's not about us, it's about them to share their perspective and and you do a good job of keeping them on track so that if we did 300 episodes, we'd really have some kind of base that would add to the sport's proliferation and respect, I suppose.

Allison Fisher 14:10

For me, I'd still like to honor the ones that we've lost that we didn't get to interview. I think that's something it would be really nice to do. So those characters that have passed away that we can somehow talk about and bring their memory back.

Mike Gonzalez 14:26

Yeah, yeah. For for me, I guess in terms of what we want to accomplish or what does success look like. You know, we have, and and many of our uh listeners may not know this, but we have video of all these interviews. And they're fantastic. Unfortunately, only recently, within the last maybe eight or nine interviews, have I really learned to do video editing. But uh one of our hopes and plans would be to uh use the YouTube channel we've created and start creating some video output, whether it be the full interview or just simply some of the best of stories that people would enjoy, short little hits, which is more geared toward the TikTok generation, I guess, is something I think we could do. We have a very steady growing base of listeners. Justin Bergman, by the way, recently just set records for best day, best week, and very quickly will be our most listened-to episode ever, his part one, having only been out there a few weeks, which is sort of amazing. But uh I think we want to do everything we can to just find a broader audience for nothing more than just making sure that these stories get to as many people and they can enjoy them as as possible. And then the other thing is, you know, we've talked about at some point, where's the appropriate home for this content longer term? Where does this fit? Um in 50 years, when we're all gone, we want people to be listening to these stories. So who's gonna be the keeper of the flame that keeps these stories alive in perpetuity? So we're we're we're thinking about that in terms of where the forever home might be. It might be a pool governance organization of some sort, could be a Hall of Fame of some sort. That's something I think we gotta we gotta kind of work out. Who's your dream future guest? Who do you really, really want to get on the program?

Allison Fisher 16:17

Joe Rogan.

Mark Wilson 16:19

I would say Joe Rogan would be a good one. That would bring us a lot of attention and very that works, yeah.

Allison Fisher 16:26

Yeah. I would love to hear Ephren, I think, on the podcast.

Mike Gonzalez 16:30

Yeah.

Allison Fisher 16:31

I would love to hear Ronnie O'Sullivan. There's quite a lot of snooker players I'd love to have on. But like the the Joe Rogan one. What about you, Mike?

Mike Gonzalez 16:39

Jean Belukas. I'd like to get Jean on the program. I think she'd be a good one. You know, we've we've had some outreach to Ray Kulimans on the three cushion billiard side. I don't think there's anybody that's been any better than him than, you know, in terms of the I don't know, 22 world championships or something like that.

Allison Fisher 16:55

Someone's in a sport, yeah.

Mike Gonzalez 16:57

Yeah, yeah. So there's plenty of folks that we want to do. As you mentioned, Allie, there's stories we want to tell about those that have passed that we didn't get a chance to interview live. But I think there's some opportunities to bring them to life for our listeners. And at some point I think we're gonna do that. Just mention some of the upcoming guests that people should expect to hear after after they hear this episode and we get to the next 100. We've got a nine-part series with Jeanette Lee coming up, uh. Three set-downs with her. We're gonna have we're gonna have Jorgen Sandman on the show. He was just our most recent guest. Jorgen probably has done more for pool governance globally than any person alive, including being a founding member of the WAPA and the and also the uh the organization that governs all Q sports across the world and interacts with the International Olympic Committee to determine how Q Sports might be represented there. Darren Appleton's coming up. We've got Alan McManus, Snooker Great Jimmy White is going to be with us. So we've got a lot of fun guests coming up in the coming weeks. There's other topics we want to pursue beyond just talking to some of the greats of the game, because uh you know, there's famous venues, there's famous tournaments, uh, and we've talked about some of these things just in passing, but you could almost do a show around things like a Johnson City, couldn't you, Mark?

Mark Wilson 18:24

Well, I wasn't there, but uh assuming from everybody's language, that's always harken back to that era. So I would love to hear firsthand stories from there, but there's not very many people left. It'd be Billy, Nick Varner, and then it starts to fall off pretty dramatically for people. You know, I wish we could get Dallas West, I wish we could get Jim Rippy, but their health won't permit. Yeah.

Mike Gonzalez 18:49

So But even through photos, videos, there there there's there's stuff out there that we could piece together and and and and tell a story. You know, certain certain venues like the Crucible Allison. I mean, Yeah.

Allison Fisher 19:04

That's uh like I said earlier, the iconic place for Snooker is the Dream Arena, isn't it? I think if you're in there, because it's the two tables set up in a theatre in Sheffield and then when it gets down to the semifinals, it becomes I think it's semifinals. I think it becomes one table. That little lift comes up in the middle and uh it goes down to one table, and I can't even imagine the atmosphere when it gets to that stage and how the players feel.

Mike Gonzalez 19:31

Yeah.

Allison Fisher 19:31

But I that is the most amazing place to to play in, I think, and and be a spectator in too.

Mike Gonzalez 19:37

Yeah. Just telling the story of the Moscone Cup, uh, the first of which you two both participated in, right?

Allison Fisher 19:43

I mean that ironic that here we are in 1994.

Mike Gonzalez 19:48

Yeah.

Allison Fisher 19:49

It's amazing, isn't it? In the 1900s, Mark and I played in the first Moscone Cup.

Mike Gonzalez 19:54

Yeah. Uh talking about some of the great pool halls. You know, like we Ben Singers has come up a lot in Chicago. And there's I mean, there's they're all over the place. Uh there's there's plenty of brands that have been with the game for years and years and years, like your sponsor, Brunswick Alley, that uh I think we could do some some shows around.

Allison Fisher 20:12

Definitely.

Mike Gonzalez 20:13

There's some key promoters of the game today, right? That are really helping elevate the game and people like Matt Shroom and Predator.

Allison Fisher 20:21

Yes.

Mike Gonzalez 20:21

And then there's there's certain Q sports that uh we've not really talked about much, but they're getting a lot of play. There's a lot of money behind them. Uh they're very popular in in parts of the world other than the U.S., things like hay ball in China, right?

Allison Fisher 20:35

Massive in China. They have million million nearly million dollar purses, seven, you know, 700,000 to the winner. Crazy purses over there. So it's a hybrid game of snooker and pool. It's on a nine-foot snooker table playing eight ball or hay ball, they call it. So, yeah, great game, actually, to bring the two games together, I think.

Mike Gonzalez 20:58

Yeah, yeah, I think so. Well, let's uh let's uh thank a few people. I want to thank uh our podcast sponsors and our listeners may say, well, what's a podcast sponsor or supporter? For those that that don't know, we just sort of self-fund this project. We don't take on any sponsors or anybody that gives us money. We don't monetize this podcast in any way, but people that would like to support our podcast uh can contribute as much as or as little as $3 a month. And there are links either on our website, there's a link podcast supporters, there's a link on how to support our podcast as part of the show notes of each of our episodes. So if you listen on Apple or Spotify, you can you can see that. And I'll just list off some of the folks that have been supporters of ours, including Mark K, Michael S, Stephen R, Ira L, Eleanor K, Jim R., Russell W, Joel P, Brian J, and John N. And we thank you very much for. For your support. Guys, we went back to our guests and asked them if they wouldn't mind for this show, reflecting back on some of their experiences on Legends of the Queue. And we heard from a lot of them. And so some of them came via email, some of them came via recorded message. Let's just go through and highlight some of the emails we received from our guest. Allie, why don't we start with you?

Allison Fisher 22:26

Yes, I've got one for here from Mary Keniston. And she says, it was a pleasure to share my memories and to hear the stories of my peers from what may many consider to be the most exciting era of our sport. It's wonderful to be recognized as part of the history of the game and as one of the legends of the queue.

Mike Gonzalez 22:45

Got one from Keith McCready. Keith said, It has been quite an honor to be part of Legends of the Q. Many of the memories that resurfaced during our podcast were some of the best moments of my life, including a few I had long forgotten over the years. It was a truly special experience and one I will never forget. I hope listeners will enjoy the ride as much as I enjoyed revisiting it.

Mark Wilson 23:09

Very cool. Here's one from Billy and Cardona. I am honored to have been included as one of the legends. It means so much, particularly at age 82, reassuring my questionable relevance. And that's freaking cool. These legends built the foundation of Q Sports. Their grit, matches, and charisma are exactly what Legends of the Q aimed to preserve through its in-depth interviews with Hall of Famers and Legends of the Game. Doing these interviews ensures the soul of the game continues to thrive for future generations.

Allison Fisher 23:41

I love that. And here's one from Kelly Fisher. I have to say that I've loved every minute of being part of Legends of the Q. Not only did we go into depth about my career and life behind all of that, but we really did have so much fun, which I feel so many fans enjoyed. Legends of the Q have created a significant presence in the billiards world, preserving the history of Q sports.

Mike Gonzalez 24:06

Here's what our first guest, Nick Varner, had to say. I truly enjoyed my interview. It was more than just talking about matches and tournaments. It felt like a chance to reflect on the people, moments, and experiences that shape my career and the game itself. So many stories in Pool have been passed along verbally over the years, and projects like this help make sure those memories are preserved for future generations. The respect and passion you all bring to these interviews really shows, and that's what makes the project special. Congratulations again on reaching this milestone. I'm honored to have been included as part of it and look forward to seeing the project continue to grow. Here's one from Pat Fleming.

Mark Wilson 24:49

From the moment you announced your hundredth episode, I knew I wanted to write and express my heartfelt appreciation, not only for inviting me to participate, but for the tremendous contribution that Legends of the Q has made to our sport. What you have created reminds me of what Acustats accomplished through its videos. Because of that effort, a rich part of our sport's history will live on long after all of us are gone. Congratulations on reaching 100 episodes. It's a remarkable achievement and one that has given an invaluable gift to the pool community.

Mike Gonzalez 25:24

So the other thing we did, guys, is uh we did receive a lot of recorded messages from our guests. And so I thought I would excerpt some of those and uh and let's see what they had to say. All right, one thing we got, guys, is we got a lot of uh audio messages from our guests, and uh this is the order you'll hear them. You'll hear from Mitch Lawrence, Mark Kendall, rock star, Lori John, Sean Murphy, the snooker guy, Mike Massey, Mr. Artistic Poole, Gerda Hofstetter Gregerson, Mike Pinozo, Eva Mattia Lawrence, and Jerry Bryseth. Here we go.

Mitch Laurance 26:01

I couldn't have been more proud to be on the show. Uh, because it's not just about when somebody's on, it's not just about their particular attachment to Q Sports. It's literally the story of a life's journey of the guest. And unlike everything today, where we're used to quick hitting clips uh and really short bursts of things that uh people are supposed to be interested in, Legends of the Q is a real journey. You take the journey with the guests uh and find out much more than you probably bargained for when you decided to listen, all of it worth it, and with three of the classiest people running the show that you could ever find. So I heartily say listen to everyone you can get your hands on, sit back, relax, enjoy it, learn something, and I know you'll be happy that you did.

Mark Kendall 26:57

Yeah, the pleasure uh You guys are great. Uh thanks, Mark, and thanks, Elison, and thanks, Michael. Uh this is a different thing than I normally do. Uh but it's fun for me because I do have a lot of love for the game uh that Elison plays and Mark plays.

LoreeJon 27:18

I absolutely loved being on Legends of the Q and I would do it over and over again. I think doing this again and again and again is just so very important. I absolutely love what you're doing, and again, if you would love me on the Legends of the Q, invite me again and ask me some more questions. Thank you.

Shaun Murphy 27:41

It's been a great privilege actually to come on and talk to you. I've enjoyed it immensely. Um it's been really good fun.

Mike Massey 27:48

Hello, this is Mike Massey, and I'd like to say that the podcast that I was involved in with Mike Gonzalez, Allison Fisher, and Mark Wilson is really a great experience. They're very professional, and um I just wish them the best, you know, because we need to know more about the the players, of course, not just the Hall of Fame players, but a lot of the named players from the past. And um so to get a chance to uh listen to some of their podcasts, you need to, because uh they do a great job, real professional.

Gerda Hofstatter-Gregerson 28:28

Thank you guys so much. It's been a huge honor. I really loved it.

Mike Panozzo 28:35

Just a quick note of congratulations on your hundredth episode of Legends of the Queue. I was honored, although a little bit perplexed, uh, to be included as as one of your guests on the Legends of the Queue. Uh had a lot of fun doing it. And of course, what you're doing in efforts to preserve the history of the game through all these conversations and discussions and recollections uh obviously very much fits in line with what we've tried to do at Billiards Digest since 1978. And preserving the history of the sport is such an important thing. And so we thank you uh for doing this on behalf of the sport. So thanks again for having me on the show, and again, congratulations on the hundredth episode.

Ewa Mataya Laurance 29:24

I really love what you guys are doing, uh that you're taking the time to to care and to bring it to people who you know, without this, may never have a chance to get to know all the different players, but not just that, but the stories. It's not just the individual player, but the stories behind it all is it's kind of a cool thing. So we appreciate you guys.

Mark Wilson 29:48

And I could never repay you, Jerry, as my mentor and still an inspiration to me all these years. I remember from you know we've been 51 years together, so thank you very much.

Jerry Briesath 29:59

Thank you, Mark. It's uh goes both ways.

Mark Wilson 30:02

I love you like a father.

Jerry Briesath 30:04

Love you too. Bye-bye.

Allison Fisher 30:12

Lovely testimonials.

Mike Gonzalez 30:14

Yeah.

Mark Wilson 30:16

Yeah, and from quality people that you respect and be proud to be associated with, too. Yeah.

Mike Gonzalez 30:22

All right, so guys, before we put a bow on this one.

Allison Fisher 30:26

You and your bows. You should have oh, you got your bow tie on. You should have put well mo multiple bows.

Mike Gonzalez 30:33

Yeah. Anyway, final thoughts, Mark?

Mark Wilson 30:38

Boy, it's uh really been an honor and privilege for me to be part of this and uh just to hear the different people and be able to bring that forward, uh, what all we've accomplished. Uh I didn't know it was gonna go like this, but I'm so glad to be part of it. And I love the part that it's philanthropic effort because that's pure. You know, you're you're doing it for a purpose rather than for money. So uh it's a great thing.

Allison Fisher 31:06

I think first of all, I love doing this with you guys. I think it's been a privilege. Um it's always a privilege to sit down with you and discuss the stories of everyone else. Um I wouldn't wish for any two better people to do this with, first of all. And it really is eye-opening as a player and somebody listening to all these stories, we it it's just gives you new perspective, doesn't it, to look at other people's lives and understand, I think, a bit more about where they come from and what makes them tick and who they are. And so I think and when you get the emotion from them, that's a privilege too, I think to be a part of that and to listen to that.

Mike Gonzalez 31:50

Yeah.

Allison Fisher 31:51

Um, to engage. So I enjoy it from all those aspects and for the people's time they're giving us as well. And just to to know that this will live on through us all and through the people who've given their time and uh graced us with their presence.

Mike Gonzalez 32:11

Yeah. Yeah. Uh I hope this becomes part of uh an important part of both of your legacies as uh you know you leave your mark on the on the world of pool. I've got to say for me personally, I've loved this. I love both of you. I love working with you. Uh it's been a real treat for me. I hope we keep going for a long, long time. And uh, you know, for everyone who's listened, shared an episode, or supported the preservation of Q Sports history, we thank you for helping us reach 100 episodes. Uh, Allie and Mark, here's to the next hundred. Cheers. And uh we're gonna leave it to Billy in Cardona for the final words.

Billy Incardona 32:54

Legends never die. Legends never die. Legends never die because of people like you.

Allison Fisher 33:02

Thank you for listening to another episode of Legends of the Cube. If you like what you hear, wherever you listen to your podcast, including Apple and Spotify, please follow, subscribe, and spread the word. Give our podcast a five-star rating and share your thoughts. Visit our website and support our full history project. Until our next golden break with more Legends of the Cube, salon everybody.