Wow , I love this ....

[Doug]

I get a 2nd chance

http://boards2go.com/boards/board.cgi?action=read&id=1260573515&user=tigerjaialai

I love the opputuny to toss the ball around, I'm in !!! At 46

 

[Doug]

Love, not "ove" !

I'm no pro at 46, been like 25 years since I tied a cinta around a cesta.

I LOVE the chance to see if I can still play, even though I'm legally handicapped ( Physically), but that;s BS..

Doug will give it a shot !

 

[gavin]

Doug, glad to see you get your wish

 

[Boxer22]

How does one even start playing that game?

 

[Doug]

How does one even start playing that game?

generally young, and/or living in Spain,France,Mexico,Florida, etc.

I got introduced to it in middle school ( 6th to 8th grade) in gym class. The gym teacher knew a former player or amateur, that guest hosted a gym class for him, must have been about 1976. The game was hugely popular and new in CT, then.

I liked the game, got my parents into going around then to gamble. I wanted to play the game. A former pro player started an amateur program starting at the New haven YMCA, built it to a real amateur facility near Milford jai alai, produced a fair number of pro players, played many of them.

Not a money sport for players, you'd make bus driver money today, maybe 100k 10 years ago, if you were a star pro.

Great game though.

 

[Doug]

It's a game that doesn't transfer to video well, you really need to see it live, and hear the game. Tickets are dirt cheap, like $2

generic sample

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/09L6_-hWy48&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/09L6_-hWy48&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

 

[Doug]

Some more extensive clips

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/LfByJcWY4r4&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/LfByJcWY4r4&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

It's like hockey, you have to be there, and it was always cheap to get in (real cheap), even for great seats.

Coming to Texas, so I hear !

 

[Doug]

Money for players is horrible...

http://rsbassociates.home.mindspring.com/flounders.htm

it needs to come from the betting handle. No handle = frontons closing, and remaining players playing for AA baseball money, or less.

It's bad, guys will throw at your head to win an extra $20 purse, now.

Jai alai in Spain, is like baseball in the USA. The national game, so to speak.

Now a top Spanish aspiring pro player can't come to the US and have hopes of making 100-200 K, so he drives a truck, decides to go to college, or something else.

Players are nowhere close to what was seen at Bridgeport around 1977, when they made fair money to play.

I probably wouldn't play today if I was top 10 in the world, well maybe for 100k ? , for the love of the game, but it would be a poor career choice.

 

[Doug]

How does one even start playing that game?

in the early days, a ballboy could get a chance to play with pros.

One guy in Milford, a ticket clerk , got some court practice time with pros, I think his name was Mark. He went pro, unremarkable player, but he made it.

One guy I played against often as an amateur was Wilfredo "Weef" Cruz , A puerto rican, played backcourt at Milford as "Cruz".

Weef got out of jai alai at about age 36, became a cop, before he was too old, timed it well, as jai alai was dying, getting too old to play pro much longer, smart move there. I don't know how is police career is going, or if he is still a New Haven cop, probably is ?

Cruz played pretty good, made the middle to late games at Milford.

 

[Doug]

I'm loving this !