Ten years ago, Jamie Crombie was a controversial figure. Born in Vermont, he was raised in Calgary and turned pro while at the University of Western Ontario. But in 2002 he tried to play in the SL Green and thus sparked a nasty little tempest.
In November 1994 a young Michael Bamberger, destined to become known not just for his golf writing but for his blurb of Run to the Roar, wrote a hilarious, fascinating profile of Crombie in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Great stories of tournaments in Colombia, his housemates in Toronto and his evaluations of his billet’s goodbyes.
Bamberger has Crombie pegging the players on the PSA tour: the Germans are precise—when is the practice time? Italians take things personally. The Finns are big gamblers. The Brits are complainers.
Is that the case today, exactly eighteen years later?
http://articles.philly.com/1994-11-13/sports/25869315_1_professional-squash-j…
There is always a kernel of truth in national stereotypes, but it’s certainly not universal. Do Italians take things personally and are they emotional and fiery? Absolutely- I have personal knowledge thereof!What isn’t discussed is Crombie’s 1994 discussion of just how atrocious the life of an itinerant squash pro can be. Staying in terrible hotels, traveling relentlessly, scrounging for money and living like a nomad? Has that changed? Not much, really. . Naturally that begs the ANSWER to the question posed by Ted Gross on Thursday in DSR: " Where are all the 25 yr old women who were being developed to lead the USA in international competition? " The answer is self- evident. They have functioning brains so they are working for investment banks, consulting firms, banks, advertising agencies and they are not in France . Can you blame them? No. The guy slinging souvlaki on the corner of 54th St and 6th Avenue makes way more money than almost all female squash players, and he makes it in CASH. So now let’s take a walk down memory lane. USSRA blew up the hardball game- for what? The biggest amateur tournament in the year, SIlver Racquet at RTC in NYC didn’t even BOTHER to have a singles squash draw. Top collegiate graduate squash playhers like Callis, Chaudhry, the Domenick twins, Hartigan, Cipriano, Johnson, Ruth, they don’t play singles. Period. They all play doubles , and damned well . If somebody stepped back and actually thought about that, he would feel ill.