the sport/game of pool has effectively "painted its self in a corner".
Sorry to get back on topic, but I'll try anyway.
Football players used to have to work in the off season wherever they could find work.
Baseball players used to do the same.
And on and on and on.
Until their sport got the fan base, marketing, and TV deals.
Maybe it's me, but I don't think there are 5 American pro players that don't do something for a living besides pool. Am I wrong? Here's who I can come up with. Who can add to the list?
Shane
Earl
Johnny
What about Corey? Dennis Hatch? Rodney Morris?
I also don't know their personal finances. If someone is independently wealthy for a non pool playing reason and don't work, that shouldn't count. I'm asking for a list of pros that make their money from shooting pool and pool related ventures (sponsorship/lessons, etc).
The way professional tournaments are stuctured 75% of the players lose an average of $1000. a tournament (entry fee plus expenses). Out of the 25% that actually "get in the money" only about half of them make a profit over and beyond entry fee and expenses.
That leaves approximately 12.5% that finish "in the black" and make enough to support their life styles for the next week/month/3months.......this is an impossible situation.
People are talking about how bad Bonus Ball was for paying ALL the players for many weeks, then not paying them for 4 weeks, however the regular tournaments are much worse than that......how can you possibly like "those apples".....they're pretty sour.
In the 90s we were on ESPN and Prime Sports so we could get sponsors, but these days, with "free" streaming broadcasts (that are only seen by "hard core" fans) there's no chance for Pros to get sponsorship that actually pays more than $500. per month.....this is down 90% overall, so the sport/game of pool has effectively "painted its self in a corner".
The entire industry is down almost 50% and I believe it's from not supporting a TV show featuring pro players. I saw this coming at the turn of the century, but there was nothing I (or any other player) could do about it.
The players, as a result have no chance to succeed, except a select few that have ALL the available sponsors. It's a sad reality, and the only way out of it is through consistent TV exposure, probably through a "Reality Show" emphasizing the pool life style, travel, food and "pool room characters".