Some Questions About The U.S. Open

[Paul Schofield]

How was the attendance this year?

What was the demographic (age) of the average spectator?

Were the stands enthusiastic and energized by the event?

 

[JAM]

I am also interested in this.

Me personally, I noticed there was less colloquy, less threads than usual, on our forum about this year's U.S. Open, though I'm not sure why.

I realize that many members today post on Facebook in lieu of this forum for pool-related happenings. Maybe it's a sign of the times with the social media avenues that people use to communicate today.

 

[Ken_4fun]

Has the US Open lost some of its luster?

I really think the Derby City Classic has become THE event vs the Open.

Barry and the not paying or paying late also tarnished it for me too.

Ken

 

[or1pkt]

I was at the open and I have to say overall in my opinion it was a bust and not very energetic at all...many aspects of it seemed cheesy to me and as far as the vendors they were ok but i dont think there were enough of them...and I also have to say over all player behavior was horrible

 

[JAM]

I was at the open and I have to say overall in my opinion it was a bust and not very energetic at all...many aspects of it seemed cheesy to me and as far as the vendors they were ok but i dont think there were enough of them...and I also have to say over all player behavior was horrible

Could you please elaborate about the player behavior? Just curious.

As far as vendors, the Open has never been as plentiful with vendors as, say, Allen Hopkins' Super Billiards Expo or even the Derby City Classic, though I haven't been to either in several years. The Open usually had a little over a dozen vendors, but that was it.

 

[or1pkt]

Could you please elaborate about the player behavior? Just curious.

As far as vendors, the Open has never been as plentiful with vendors as, say, Allen Hopkins' Super Billiards Expo or even the Derby City Classic, though I haven't been to either in several years. The Open usually had a little over a dozen vendors, but that was it.

The players just seemed to lack class to me...weather it was Larry Nevel snapping his cue and rakeing balls accross the table or Hatch more concerened about texting during his match or Daryl Peach throwing temper tantrums worse than my 2 year old son...and the other issue is they all piss and moan about the rack constantly even though its rack your own...Im just dissapointed in the over all attitude of high level/professionl mens pool in the US. JMO

 

[jay helfert]

I thought it was one of the best Opens ever! A great field of players and many fantastic matches. One sorehead (or1pkt) doesn't change that for me. The crowds were large and very energetic and enthusiastic. Maybe the OP wasn't there on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I don't know. There will always be some problems when you have 250 players, but overall things went well. Pool players can be emotional. It's the nature of the game. We really had very few problems this year compared to past years. The slow play of quite a few players (over three hour matches) bothered me more than anything else. We will be more proactive with shot clock usage next year.

P.S. I can't remember ever getting so many compliments on the way the tournament was run, by spectators and players alike.

 

[PoolSharkAllen]

I thought it was one of the best Opens ever!

Jay, With regards to preventing pattern racking, what's your take on this year's Open requiring that the 2 be on the bottom of the rack? It seems to me that putting the 2 on the bottom of the rack actually contributes to pattern racking favoring the racker. If you're the racker, you want the 2 on the bottom so that it has a better chance of hitting the rail and going back up the table.

 

[jay helfert]

Jay, With regards to preventing pattern racking, what's your take on this year's Open requiring that the 2 be on the bottom of the rack? It seems to me that putting the 2 on the bottom of the rack actually contributes to pattern racking favoring the racker. If you're the racker, you want the 2 on the bottom so that it has a better chance of hitting the rail and going back up the table.

We had few problems or complaints with pattern racking. For the most part, players were trying to make the corner ball and get shape on the one. You had to get a total of three balls in the pocket or past the side pocket for a legal break. And they broke from the box. I think many players would prefer to use the Magic Rack, but the Delta 13 is probably the best of the conventional racks.

The Diamond tables are a big equalizer. It's hard to run racks and the deep cut pockets make you hit the bullseye every time. EVERYONE missed balls on these tables, Darren just missed less!

 

[or1pkt]

I thought it was one of the best Opens ever! A great field of players and many fantastic matches. One sorehead (or1pkt) doesn't change that for me. The crowds were large and very energetic and enthusiastic. Maybe the OP wasn't there on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I don't know. There will always be some problems when you have 250 players, but overall things went well. Pool players can be emotional. It's the nature of the game. We really had very few problems this year compared to past years. The slow play of quite a few players (over three hour matches) bothered me more than anything else. We will be more proactive with shot clock usage next year.

P.S. I can't remember ever getting so many compliments on the way the tournament was run, by spectators and players alike.

Ok well if my opinion makes me a "sorehead" as you stated then sorry, i was just stating some of the things i witnessed that i didnt care for...there was a lot about the open i did like but that wasnt the op's question and i never once said i didnt enjoy thr event or that it was ran poorly...

 

[Slh]

i wonder how a 9 ball match race to 11 can takes more than 3 hours. I heard during this canadian championship 9 ball a match race to 9 took like 3h and 30 minutes.

 

[Brian in VA]

This was my 10th US Open and I'd say it was about average. The matches were very good, as always, and I'm always amazed at the level of play among the top performers.

I am always a little bothered by, what I refer to as, the amateurish factor that I see in the running of the event. I'm not talking about the tournament itself. I'm talking about the way the evening events go off. I heard someone refer to it as a "church picnic" as opposed to a major sporting event. You have grade school girls singing the national anthem (I know it's adorable but it's not really. It's BB's relatives and it means he doesnt have to pay someone to do it;that's probably not fair but it's what it feels like).

This year he had the finalists stand at each of the four sides of the table, face the crowd, and shake hands while people took pictures. They were holding hands for 30 seconds at a time and it looked really uncomfortable. I mean, they're about to go to battle and instead they have to make nice with the opponent. I'm not sure I could fade that.

Look it was a great show and I love it! There's a reason I've been going for 10 years and will continue to do so. I'd just like to see pool move up the food chain and that will require some changes. Some for the good but not everyone will think so.

OP the attendance looked about the same to me although there were fewer booths in use, less stuff to buy. Average age, probably 40 or so for the last 3 days that I was there. Energy? Oh yeah! My guess the lack of threads had more to do with people watching the stream taking away from threads posted in the past. Just my opinion.

Brian in VA

 

[spanky79]

I just hope the top pinoys come back, Its nice to see all the top competition in the tourney.

 

[Spider1]

Daryl Peach throwing temper tantrums worse than my 2 year old son.

Wait, what happened to "I'm a sportsman, I sit in my chair quietly"?!

 

[Rich R.]

How was the attendance this year?

What was the demographic (age) of the average spectator?

Were the stands enthusiastic and energized by the event?

I think the attendance was good. I don't think they broke any records, especially early in the event but that is normal. There were plenty of people there to watch the later rounds and the finals.

Average spectator???? I'm not sure. The ages ranged from teens to old and feable, like me. Frankly, as in a pool room, age isn't too important.

I'm not sure what you are looking for when you ask if the stands were "enthusiastic and energized by the event". If you are looking for the crowd to clap and cheer after every ball pocketed, you should go to the TV rounds of a WPBA event. At the Open, the organizers do not instruct the crowds about when they should clap and cheer, as they are at the WPBA events. At the Open, the stands are filled with very knowledgeable pool fans and they show their appreciation for a good shot when it is appropriate.

BTW, I mean no disrespect to the WPBA. Obviously, they think it looks and sounds better on TV when the crowd claps for every shot. I don't really agree but that doesn't really matter.

I don't know what you're looking for but I can say the Open was a great event and I'll be back next year.

 

[5am]

Overall attendance was probably down from what I saw last year, but that is just a guess. Getting seats to view the various matches seemed a little easier to me this year than last so again I'd say attendance perhaps was off a tad from last year. Then again, the general economy is sad to say the least, so fewer attendees than I saw last year is not surprising.

The average age of attendees again is hard to guess but my impression was that it was definitely an older crowd. I pegged it somewhere about 45 years old, perhaps a bit older. But that matches pretty much with what I see in the places I play pool at now. The Open isn't brimming with 20-something fans nor are pool halls or the pool tables at sports bars.

The stands were pretty energetic in showing their approval of good play or with giving big hands and shout outs to players they favored at particular moments. Shawn Putnam was a particular favorite.

 

[2v12]

I thought it was one of the best Opens ever! A great field of players and many fantastic matches. One sorehead (or1pkt) doesn't change that for me. The crowds were large and very energetic and enthusiastic. Maybe the OP wasn't there on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I don't know. There will always be some problems when you have 250 players, but overall things went well. Pool players can be emotional. It's the nature of the game. We really had very few problems this year compared to past years. The slow play of quite a few players (over three hour matches) bothered me more than anything else. We will be more proactive with shot clock usage next year.

P.S. I can't remember ever getting so many compliments on the way the tournament was run, by spectators and players alike.

I couldn't agree more with your comments. The US Open is a special tournament and love him or hate him, you have to respect Barry's enthusiasm. Yes, he's a little too schmaltzy for my taste but he's done more for pool than just about anyone and if you don't love him for that then you just don't love pool. And as much as it may pain me to do so, I have to complement you on your part in making this years open another great one. Good, solid, unbiased officiating from all concerned.

Daz is a true gentleman and a worthy champion. Of course you know who I wanted to win but all chauvinism aside, I think the tournament result was correct; the person who consistently played the best won.

I never thought i would do it, but I actually congratulated Shawn on his performance. Go figure, I guess I'm getting soft in my old age.

 

[Paul Schofield]

Overall attendance was probably down from what I saw last year, but that is just a guess. Getting seats to view the various matches seemed a little easier to me this year than last so again I'd say attendance perhaps was off a tad from last year. Then again, the general economy is sad to say the least, so fewer attendees than I saw last year is not surprising.

The average age of attendees again is hard to guess but my impression was that it was definitely an older crowd. I pegged it somewhere about 45 years old, perhaps a bit older. But that matches pretty much with what I see in the places I play pool at now. The Open isn't brimming with 20-something fans nor are pool halls or the pool tables at sports bars.

The stands were pretty energetic in showing their approval of good play or with giving big hands and shout outs to players they favored at particular moments. Shawn Putnam was a particular favorite.

Thank you. I was not there this year but I did purchase the Accu Stats PPV for my players in my room. We watched quite a bit of it. It was hard to get a sense of the crowd on the PPV. Therefore I am asking here. The screen can only say so much.

I really appreciate the full spectical of any sporting event. The spectators are very much a part of the dynamic that can make a competition very special.

 

[SCCues]

Slow Play!

The slow play of quite a few players (over three hour matches) bothered me more than anything else. We will be more proactive with shot clock usage next year.

Jay,

I was there all week and the slow play spoiled it for me in some of the matches. I was tired from the long drive and staying up late a few nights and I had trouble watching some of the matches since it took some players forever it seemed to make up there minds on what to do in 9 ball. I don't think every match should be on a shot clock, but somebody needs to step up and put some of those guys on a shot clock no matter who they are. The spectators make the tournament since everyone has to be paid and I heard many complaints about the slow play.

James

 

[SCCues]

i wonder how a 9 ball match race to 11 can takes more than 3 hours. I heard during this canadian championship 9 ball a match race to 9 took like 3h and 30 minutes.

How many fans would enjoy watching a 9 ball match race to 9 that took 3h and 30 minutes? 9 ball is not that hard of a game to figure out, play safe or shoot and get shape. I don't think i'm alone in saying I couldn't watch a race to 9 that took that long.