Pretty Cool Ride
- Thread starter JB Cases
- Start date
WTF??? I was at Fiesta Texas this past summer and I don't remember seeing this ride. I guess I spent too much time in the Water Park :embarrassed2:.
Maniac (even the namers of park rides think we're all "hustlers")
I sometimes think that movie did more harm than good for pool in the long run.
In the 40's and 50's - and correct me if I'm wrong - Willie Mosconi and Irving Crane were household names. I'm not a golfer or a golf fan, but I know who Tiger Woods is. It seems that billiards used to be that way too. Now if you ask the average Joe on the street who Efren Reyes or Johnny Archer is, they wouldn't know.
The movie came out in 1961. Seems that since then pool has experienced the long and gradual decline that it has because people began to associate pool with the seedy concept of hustling and all that that world entails. This is an American facet. Pool is doing great in other parts of the world.
Just a theory.
Well except for that HUGE boom after 1987 when the Color of Money came out that lasted for about 13 years. Everyone in the business was making money then as far as I could tell.
Again, I'm wondering if these movies that associate pool with hustling have done more harm than good in the *long run* for pool here in the US. 13 years is a short period of time in the history of pool. During that 13 year period were the top players household names (again, I'm not sure that they even were during the 40's and 50's). I think pool is growing in the rest of the world because it is such a cool sport, but not growing here inspight of the fact that it is such a cool sport. I'm just thinking it might have something to do with the seedy hustler image, but I don't know.
:shrug:
Cool ride, thanks for posting the pic:thumbup2:
Save me a place in line John.
Well I hope that this thread doesn't turn into another what's wrong with pool thread. But I don't think that the hustler image harms pool. Especially not with the explosion of poker. People like the outlaw image.
Basically to me it simply comes down to attention span. In the face of video games, facebook, sports bars, comedy clubs, professional sports, 500 channels, 60 versions of Law and Order and CSI, and a thousand other things to spend time on people just don't have time for pool. Pool is something that everyone knows about and just dismisses as something to do between things that they really want to do. It's just always "there" at the fringe of consciousness for most people.
Oh sure when you meet a non-player and tell them you play then they say are you a pool shark? But they say that out of fascination and popular belief reinforced by most pool movies that to a movie are about gambling in pool, coupled with the desire to "go straight and be a pro".......but gambling/hustling is the fascination. But in my opinion this is not what keeps people from playing. To me it's simply a mass makes class equation. When pool is seen as the cool thing to be doing then more people play and when more people play it makes people want to play.
It's like the movie that spurred the wine craze a few years ago....what was that wine? Anyway suddenly all of America was crazy over this wine due to the movie. And you can find this effect over and over and over. It's one reason that Apple is the company with the most product placements in movies of any company. They know that movies make people want to do what they can to identify with the protagonist. Sometimes that could be by buying an Apple thingy, or starting to play pool.
We are a nation who is led by the entertainment industry. Probably sadly but it's the truth. Put another pool movie that's oscar worthy up with some superstars in it and watch what happens.
I feel it's done much less harm and more help than people tend to think.
Now, here's a cool ride. :smile:
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No that's what I call a "convertible".
No problem there. I am still curious about one thing though. Is it correct that back in the 40's and 50's names like Mosconi and Irving Crane were known to the average person even if they weren't fans of pool?
Not trying to make a point or continue the off-topic discussion. I just wasn't sure if I understand this specific point correctly.
thanks
Fatz
I think media support would change things a great deal.
I once asked the owner of the club, where I play, "are you going to ask the newspaper or TV folks to come watch this big tournament you are having"... he said, "we don't ever bother with that".
The newspapers & TV are so full of worthless articles & shows, a little info about the Billiard World might garner some interested readers & watchers.
I once asked the owner of the club, where I play, "are you going to ask the newspaper or TV folks to come watch this big tournament you are having"... he said, "we don't ever bother with that".
The newspapers & TV are so full of worthless articles & shows, a little info about the Billiard World might garner some interested readers & watchers.