4decadepro, you hit the nail on the head there. I have played
in all these frontons too and few more but I would rank them about
like that. I hated Hartford in the winter. Broke 3 cestas one
evening performance there. One of them just snapped at the end
of my fingers as I was throwing.
However I have to disagree on one thing. I believe we have more
insight/knowledge on all these frontons by having gone thru the
different eras and different players managers than the current
players do.
We have seen 6 balls go down to 4 to 3 and to 2 (one used and
lively and one new and dead). Of course if the game lasted long
enough the new one became used.
12 games to 13 to 14 and more.
Early, middle and late games players. Up and down system.
Mixed games.
Player manager making program to dice to computer.
etc etc etc....
To me the best system was, and someone will have to come up with
some unbelievable arguments to change my mind. If we could poll
all the players that played in the different eras, I strongly
believe they would agree with me. We called it the Berenson system.
12 games per performance.
All 7 points with the #12, straight points.
#4, #7 and #10 game singles of which #10 was the feature singles game.
12 games of which the first 4 games were early games players,
5 thru 8 middle game players and the stars 9 to 12. If you earned
moving up, you did. But it was tough.
I will never forget the first year I came to the US, playing the
first games in Ft-Pierce, driving to Miami as fast as possible
and catch the last 4 or 5 games there. What a thrill.
#10 chiampionship single: Asis, Javier, Joey, Alberdi, Salazar,
Uriarte etc...
#12 chiampionship doubles: same as above plus Marcoida, Irigo,
Guernica II and few more I cannot recall at this time. Sorry guys.
I still get chills from remembering those days, 18 years old,
wide eyed and thinking that maybe one day I would be there.
Since then we have seen:
Added games to the performance, added points to the game and added
players to the team.
Has any of you ever seen 3 against 3 plus 3 judges? What a circus.
Sometimes 2 against 2, we got in the way.... I let you imagine
3 against 3.
If ever I was lucky enough to be involved in a fronton management,
I would fight my hardest to have the system that worked the best
and that is the 'Berenson' system.
Sorry this got so long. Chalkies, call me old fashionned and set
in my ways but I know what worked and what could work again. At
least I think so.
Jai Alai, nere bizia.
