What is more, much of the folklore found in pool and billiards seems to exist to enhance the unity felt between players, even if the other side of pool lore is manifest by more competitive individuals interested more in self-promotion. These latter types of folk just have a stronger desire to advance within their own, personally recognized, hierarchical environments. This does not necessarily mean that these types of individuals are more self-absorbed, they may just be more competitive with themselves, rather than being overly competitive against other players.
Below is a picture of "Scooters Scoreboard's" trophy display.
It is pretty obvious how a trophy is a ritual artifact, but one should also attempt to recognize the community aspect that such artifacts represent. For one, most of the larger trophies seen (similar to these) are awarded for exceptional team play (trophies for individuals are often of the small'ish sort, unless that individual has really accomplished something extraordinary). If a team does well enough, they will be honored with a very large trophy that states the names of players, the name of the bar that the team played out of, and what place the team finished in. Subsequently, the bars often house team trophies and thus, the honor of greater achievement is further transferred to the bar establishment in that manner.
Stickholder Symbolism
A good, specific example of both sides of the aforementioned coin...
the wider-unifying sort of folklore, but also the more individually competitive type... can be seen in the "ritual-object stickholders" that some teams and players use.
Primarily, the team stickholder that has numerous slots or holes (when it is used by and for a team) symbolizes a degree of team unity that otherwise, is not necessarily present. So many teams that don't have a collective holder do not represent this subtle unity, in any other manner. Perhaps, a team that wears identical team-uniforms, represents a more obvious form of unification. Yet oftentimes, in the absence of a stickholder, players may place their sticks wherever there seems to be a safe and open place. There is little creativity or community in doing just that. The only folkloric aspect that might exist in the absence of a stickholder, in fact, would be if the pool players actively monitored each others sticks, to prevent theft, etc.
Then, there is the highly individualized, smaller stickholder, which basically represents that this single player is very serious about his/her approach towards the game. This can be a very creative statement, but it may not be understood to be communal in any manner; especially if the player refuses to share the stickholder, or any information about it, either.
I would like to thank again, all the Cheyenne pool players who let me take pictures of their stickholders.
Certainly, stickholders, as seen above, can also provide a rich canvas for looking at the creativity aspect of pool. Still, the customization of specialized stickholders is more relative to an individuals want and need to express his/her creativity - and that may not be too folkloric, within this society. Still, the narratives that might ensue after other players see these specialized stickholders is definitely a type of folkloric material. I suppose it mostly depends on what the creator of such a customized ritual device is hoping to accomplish by making such a thing - how willing they are to share information about the object.
