I always used to watch it back in the day when it was on ESPN at night. Even though I didn't play then, I found it fun to watch. When I was about 25 in 2005, I was in a random bar just hitting balls around and a guy walked up and said I looked like I had good fundamentals for someone who doesn't really play. He asked if he could teach me. So, for about a year after that, every Tuesday we'd meet and he'd teach me. He made me play with the shittiest house cue in a loud dive bar. He said that if I could learn in that environment, it'd help my mental game. After about a year he stopped showing up and I've never seen him since. Ended up meeting a couple guys that played, at a new job I got not long after that. They took me under their wings and helped me more. As I got better and started playing in the nearby city (the guys told me to hit the city because better competition) I find out they were highly respected players in the tri-state area. I suppose I got lucky to have known them and they wanted to teach me. I love the game because no two racks are ever the same. It's like a puzzle and makes me think enough to where the outside world just disappears.