World Snooker Championships 2019 is Underway

Given this abomination of a film, one can appreciate the impetus for my original question about what else can be accomplished in 85 minutes.  It turns out a whole helluva lot.  In theory, 85 minutes is not a significant amount of time.  After all, a typical day can be divided into almost 17 consecutive 85-minute blocks of time.

Keeping with the cinematic milieu, a far better use of 85 minutes would be to watch Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead (1981); the gut-busting mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap (1984); Gary Cooper in High Noon (1952); or Fruitvale Station (2013), the racially charged film by Ryan Coogler based on the real-life subway shooting of Oscar Grant. Or, if music is your thing, spend the 85 minutes listening to Arcade Fire’s album Reflektor.

History can, in fact, be made in 85 minutes.  In 1908, the Tigers lost the final fifth game of the World Series to the Cubs in a game that lasted 85 minutes. A leatherback turtle set the world record for a marine dive by holding its breath for 85 minutes.

So, whether it’s the amount of time it takes to make an LL Bean Boot, the amount of time one person needs to make seven kid-friendly freezer meals, or the amount of time a quintet of British rotary clubs spent preparing 12,000 meals as part of a Stop Hunger campaign, the evidence is everywhere that the time could have been better spent.

Born the fifth of nine children in Pampanga, Philippines, Mr. Reyes grew up dirt-poor.  He got introduced to billiards at age 5, when he was sent to work in Manila at his uncles Lucky-13 billiard hall.  The pool table was literally his bed. Like an innocent moppet, he watched money trading hands at that pool hall, and so began playing pool “so people would hand over money to [him].”

Fast-forward and the young Reyes, who originally had to stand on stacked Coke cases to reach the table, became a formidable hustler for his uncle.  By his early 20s, a larger audience was taking notice, especially after he was profiled by an American sportswriter. He won his first tournament in 1985 and earned $10,500.  Three years later, he beat the reigning Philippines billiards champion Jose “Amang” Parica. In 1996, he beat Earl Strickland in The Color of Money tournament, a race to 120, for which he won $100,000, the largest single-winning purse at a pool event at the time.

From there, his biography only goes north. In 1999, he defeated Chang Hao-Ping to win the World Professional Pool Championship in Cardiff, Wales. It was the first time the championship had been broadcast globally, and Mr. Reyes returned to his home country a national hero and helped turn billiards from a “game for people who fool around and have nothing to do, according to the elders,” to a recognized sport that led to a boom for the country’s billiards industry.

Other honors and accolades followed.  He received the Presidential Medal of Honor. He was inducted into the Billiards Congress of America Hall of Fame. He starred in the billiards movie Pakners. He was featured as one of 60 Asian Heroes in the 2006 Time Magazine cover story.

And yet, throughout all his fame, he retained an unprecedented modesty, humility, and generosity. Regarding the Time Magazine profile, he asked, “Why me? I have done nothing for Asian life.”  Flush with cash from his winnings, he has still never invested in dentures for his toothless mouth. He looks after his relatives, sending them to school, providing them with housing and food. He describes how his earnings over 30 years do not even amount to what boxer Manny Pacquiao – the Philippines other famous athletic son – earns in one match, but there is no anger in his voice.