SBE crowd noise (and pool tourney crowd noise in general)

Kickin' Chicken said:
you must have missed where I wrote:

"But, the way SBE is formatted doesn't allow for the same whooping it up from the fans because there's multiple pro tables in use at the same time.

Referees at Mosconi would hush the crowd when players were getting ready to shoot - can't do this at SBE."

best,
brian kc
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So you are saying someone like say Jay Helfert needs to tell the Accustats arena Bigfoot crowd not to cheer after great shots because there are other players playing on the tables right next to the bleachers and they might bother them? What you think about that Jay...lol
Or maybe you should tell the 5000 fans at a golf tournament not to cheer after a hole out because there might be a guy down on a put thirty feet away.... I mean come on....
 
crabbcatjohn said:
So you are saying someone like say Jay Helfert needs to tell the Accustats arena Bigfoot crowd not to cheer after great shots because there are other players playing on the tables right next to the bleachers and they might bother them? What you think about that Jay...lol
Or maybe you should tell the 5000 fans at a golf tournament not to cheer after a hole out because there might be a guy down on a put thirty feet away.... I mean come on....
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is no one reading posts in their entirety before responding?

here, this may be helpful:

Hi Steve;

This is a tough one.

I always thought, and still do, that if we could capture the lightning in the bottle that is The Mosconi Cup for many more events, we'd be well on our way to mainstream recognition.

But, the way SBE is formatted doesn't allow for the same whooping it up from the fans because there's multiple pro tables in use at the same time.

Referees at Mosconi would hush the crowd when players were getting ready to shoot - can't do this at SBE.

I remember when they changed pro bowling, another sport where concentration is paramount, into what reminded me of a night club atmosphere with spinning lights, loud music and the crowds were encouraged to whoop it up. I recall these guys still seemed to be able to string strikes but I believe a year or two later they dialed the crazy atmosphere back a good bit for whatever reason.

I think if I had to decide one way or the other, I would have to go with allowing enthusiastic (but respectful) crowd participation.

best,
brian kc
 
Shermanscs said:
So I'm in the pro arena last night and Jayson Shaw is playing Darren Appelton in the 10 ball tournament. The match is going back and forth and the crowd starts getting into it. Darren wins and his fans start cheering, Jayson wins and his fans start cheering. Reminded me a little of the Mosconi cup. Anyway, the ref comes on the loud speaker and reminds the crowd that there are other matches going on and to please remain quiet. From that point on, it was like a church in there, and might I say, quite a bit more boring (even though I acknowledge the high skill of all the pros playing). What's wrong with a little fan noise? I think it draws people in, makes them more a part of it, and makes the event much more lively and enjoyable. Has anyone ever taken a walk by the action tables? Guys playing for thousands encircled by a cheering mob. I would think crowd noise would fuel the pros. If a pro is unable to deal with crowd noise, maybe they're not such a pro. Look at the crowd noise the top amateur players deal with when playing in the 9 ball championships at SBE. I think cheering fans should be all part of the sport. Much more exciting and engaging! Much as I love pool (and I love it more than life itself), you could fall asleep in one of these pro arenas. Come on tournament directors, time to loosen up a little bit! Let the fans get into it!

Steve
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Sorry Chicken, this is what t i was referring to.
 
Any noise less than a freight train going past the table here in the Philippines would not even be noticed.
 
I've been going to pro pool tournaments for five decades now and I happen to like the atmosphere around the matches. What I like most is when a room full of people goes dead silent (you could hear a pin drop!) before a big shot. If the shot is successful the crowd erupts in cheers and applause, or they groan in agony if it's missed. I will add only this. Say what you will about 9-Ball, but I've seen packed houses of 500 or more, all on the edge of their seats, transfixed by a great match between two great players. NO ONE would dare get up and leave! They don't want to miss anything.

Back to the point of this thread. In actuality most pro tournaments are played on eight tables or more and there is simultaneous action going on at the same time. A player may make a great shot on one table and the crowd watching the match responds with applause and even cheering. Players on adjacent tables will hear all this of course but it's all part of the game. The players know who will draw the biggest crowds and will get the biggest response to their shots, so they can prepare themselves for that. Usually on a really important shot, play on adjacent tables stops for a moment and the other players watch as well. If you're unable to handle people cheering for a great shot on the next table then you shouldn't be out there yourself. Pro pool is not played in a vacuum. It is played in an arena where several matches are going on at the same time and people are watching and responding to all of them.

One thing I've never had an issue with was crowd response in the Accu-Stats arena when a good shot was made. Yes, the people and players outside can hear this but not one time has anyone ever complained to me about it. Like I said before, it's all part of the deal.

I for one don't see the need to "hype" up the matches or the crowd. Let them react as they wish, as long as they remain civil. That said, more than once we've had a situation where someone in the audience was getting out of line and we dealt with it accordingly. Usually being asked to be considerate of BOTH players is all that's needed to straighten things out. I can only remember once having to have someone escorted out of the arena.
 
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Shermanscs said:
So I'm in the pro arena last night and Jayson Shaw is playing Darren Appelton in the 10 ball tournament. The match is going back and forth and the crowd starts getting into it. Darren wins and his fans start cheering, Jayson wins and his fans start cheering. Reminded me a little of the Mosconi cup. Anyway, the ref comes on the loud speaker and reminds the crowd that there are other matches going on and to please remain quiet. From that point on, it was like a church in there, and might I say, quite a bit more boring (even though I acknowledge the high skill of all the pros playing). What's wrong with a little fan noise? I think it draws people in, makes them more a part of it, and makes the event much more lively and enjoyable. Has anyone ever taken a walk by the action tables? Guys playing for thousands encircled by a cheering mob. I would think crowd noise would fuel the pros. If a pro is unable to deal with crowd noise, maybe they're not such a pro. Look at the crowd noise the top amateur players deal with when playing in the 9 ball championships at SBE. I think cheering fans should be all part of the sport. Much more exciting and engaging! Much as I love pool (and I love it more than life itself), you could fall asleep in one of these pro arenas. Come on tournament directors, time to loosen up a little bit! Let the fans get into it!

Steve
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Steve, that wouldn't be me! I say let them cheer, the louder the better. After all they're watching the best players in the world play the toughest game there is. This ain't tiddly-winks!
 
Jay & all others that took the time to reply so thoughtfully to both sides of this argument - I really appreciate the dialog and debate. I really feel strongly that fans should be fans & we should show our passion and support to the players and sport we love. I agree - hecklers & jerks are a different story and are not tolerated in any venue - including the NFL, which has the most passionate fans. But that natural crowd reaction - there's nothing like it. Especially when fans have their favorites and you get the passion of our guy vs your guy... that natural reaction - just so cool and energetic. Makes it so much fun. I know at least the player who just made that shot (or won that game or match) would certainly appreciate it. However, I also know that players get very frustrated in matches that are not going their way & I could see this crowd reaction thing as an excuse in some of those circumstances. They should just deal with it. Let us be FANS! God I love this sport!
 
If there were not other matches going on, then fine. But if other players are down for a shoot and in their final backstroke and they hear "yeah! Great shot!"....that can't be happening.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
crabbcatjohn said:
Wonder what this Ref would do if the Texas Tornado was playing...lol
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John,

Yesterday and today at SBE we had a glimpse of your comment. Ryan McCreesh won several tough matches. What followed each match were several shouts so loud anyone in the entire convention center would have heard them. Let alone the players on the adjoining tables. At the least, a total lack of professionalism. The refs did nothing nor did the TD. Guess it is acceptable behavior. How sad for the game.

Lyn
 
Well, people of pro pool have already got it so hardly anyone wants to play so I guess the only thing left is to make sure no one wants to watch either. Then they can have their quiet funeral.

Every sport takes focus and concentration to execute, especially high level, and under extreme pressure. Yet they all don't require silence. The most successful sports encourage fan participation. That's why they are called the 6th or 12th man, etc.

Personally, I feel it when people are watching me play and I thrive on it. But I've also NEVER used sharking as an excuse for why I've missed or lost. Some like to blame any and everything but themselves.
 
In the fall of 1965,late one night I went to Ames, the first time I had ever been in NYC. (The room would be closed a few months later.) There was only one table in use, a billiard table. On it a young man, who I later learned was named Billy Maloney, was playing an older man who had a Jewish name. Maloney was young and handsome, dressed as if he were playing golf. The other player wore dark slacks and a magnificently starched, glaring white dress shirt with a tie.

There were about fifty spectators gathered on chairs and perhaps bleachers. There were no lights on except over the billiard table. The two players never spoke a word to one another. They played games to fifteen or twenty points in dead silence. When a game ended, whichever player had the next break would go the head of the table and stand and wait. People would move around the crowd and speak with one another. When they all seemed to have conducted their business, the breaker would look around the room at certain individuals and get a nod back that he could begin. Then he would bend over the table and play the break shot.

This went on for about four hours. When the match broke up, everyone stood up and started chattering with one another. They all knew one another! They liked one another! They went down the steps together and disappeared off into the city to enjoy a drink or a 2 AM breakfast together.

This was also the atmosphere in which the Commodore Hotel and Astor Hotel tournaments were played in the late Sixties, and then the BCA tournaments Chicago in the early Seventies, still regarded, the two series, as the classiest tournaments ever staged by those who have seen both eras.

As for cheering someone from the sidelines in a money match, one did not ever exhibit any favoritism toward either player during a match in those days. The gentlest response would have been the rebuke of the sharp question, "Do you have money on this game?" That would have been the bottom of the scale of responses. I don't even want to think what the reaction would have been at McGirr's on Eighth Avenue if you had been seen to visibly press for one player or the other during the actual play!

BRING IT BACK! BRING IT BACK! BRING IT ALL BACK!!!!
 
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