The monkey shot has ruined the game of foosball, and it should be eliminated from tournament play. I don't expect everyone to agree (particularly monkey shooters) but please read on and I'll explain...
First and foremost, the best foosball players are to be respected for their dedication, hard work, mental prowess, and incredible accomplishments. They would find a way to win no matter what the shot or the rules. My goal here is simple; Make the game of foosball as good as it was before, better than it is now, and the best that it can be.
Over the past few years there have been incredible efforts by many to move the game forward. Unfortunately the overall results and forecast remain dismal. Tournament event are incredibly expensive with almost no chance of most participants making any real money. The events entry and other fees are higher, payouts are lower, and only a very few players make any real net profits.
One very simple and important step to move the game forward; Eliminate the monkey shot from tournament play!
The monkey shot is checkers, not chess. I believe that it’s a big reason why the game has not moved forward, and in fact has gone backwards.
If they are being honest, even the best of players will admit that the monkey is “no brain” shot. I believe they call it a "snake" shot now because a monkey shot sounds stupid, oh well... Players mostly do the monkey shot for 3 reasons;
A. It was declared as legal / allowed, at very least not yet disallowed
B. It scores a very high percentage, with minimal effort or intelligence required
C. Everyone is doing it, so you also need to do it to be competitive and win
A basic premise of quality sports competition is that both offense and defense should have a similar balance or potential for success. The monkey shot greatly tilts the balance of success heavily in the favor of the 3 bar offense. Even the best of players seem resolved to accepting a low percentage of monkey blocking defense. The player with a monkey shot knows that they don’t need incredible amounts of intelligence or stamina, just a mastery of slapping the ball on goal. That is what I meant by the “monkey is checkers, not chess”. The monkey shot exploits weakness in the design of both the table and the rules. Neither was meant for this mutation of a shot.
Even when the defensive 2 rod is pulled or pushed against the bumpers, the ball can easily clear the 2 rod without touching the defensive 2 man. The offensive monkey shooter knows this and works both sides to extremes, beyond where the 2 rod can go. This causes defenses to be stretched both ways, allowing big gaps up the middle. This makes the “flip” straight in, or inside middle shots extremely indefensible. Yes I know that some players have figured out ways to slow it down, but that in itself does not validate it.
From a spectator’s viewpoint, the monkey shot is just not compelling to watch. Once you know that the shooter is mostly sitting “pinned”, really doing nothing but running the clock, rocking side to side like a mental patient, wearing out the defender, and then basically guessing… it gets boring. It’s just a high percentage shot, not brilliance. The game of pool has many trick shots that are equally interesting, but only allowed in “artistic” or “trick” shot events… That is where the monkey belongs, trick shot or specialty events only… or outright illegal and banned.
Some potential solutions to improve the game; Make the monkey what it really is, a “novelty” or “trick shot”, and disallow it from open tournament play at all levels. Get back to basics, when foosball used to be a real chess game, i.e. the pull shot, toe shot, heel shot, 2-3 man kick shots, sliders, dinks, cuts, banks, etc… These shots require more “chess” like thought, strategy and skills. The monkey shot is a mutation that grew like a weed and now should be eliminated for the better of the game.
And last but not least, the best monkey shooters do not even have their hand on the handle to start! What game or sport that involves a handle allows the player to hold something other than the handle? Baseball… No, Tennis, No… Racquetball, No… Pool, No… In order to grow the player base, the game needs to be easily played by beginners. So now you take a brand new potential player, and don’t grab the handle, but place the handle way up on your wrist and forearm! Are you kidding me, most people will run away from the game and never touch it again! This is partly why the player base is diminishing, not growing exponentially. Not counting the family, kids and friends of players, outside growth is almost zero.
Last, on the legality of the monkey shot; I deem it illegal for this reason, the 360 rule is not applied fairly and equally to all players shots.
Example, if you set up the ball on the heel, or either side of the foot, you are allowed only a single 360 degrees after contact. Anything more is considered a illegal spin. Now, you put the ball under the toe and you are allow 2 complete 360's (1 before and 1 after). Keep in mind while the ball is in the toe position you are contacting the ball. The ruling that has allowed the monkey to be legal says that you get a 360 before AND after contacting the ball. That is the problem, the rule should state that you are allowed only one 360 before OR after contacting the ball, not both. Almost every monkey shot has follow through that extends beyond the point to shot release, and anything over 360 from original point of contact should be illegal. If you do a pull shot or kick shot, controlled or not and the rod rotates any degree beyone a 360 it's illegal. This is an easy rule to fix and be applied fairly to all players and shots, regardless of starting position; You get ONE 360 degree rotation either before OR after contacting the ball PERIOD, not both.
Regardless if the ruling changes anything, the monkey shot should be banned because it bad for the game. It's boring to watch because the strategy is mostly guesswork. You might think this will lose players but I believe they will change and adapt to more conventional shots. And last it's a safety hazard, and I'm surprised that no one has got an eye put out yet. Seriously, love the players, but hate the shot! Get rid of the monkey and lets get foosball back on track for greatness!
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