An open conversation on what pool in North America needs and can support.
- Thread starter azhousepro
- Start date
JC
Coos Cues
Pool is a boring ass event to spectate. Plain and simple. Due to this it can't be transformed into more than it is. I love the game and get quickly bored watching top level players trade racks. Imagine someone who doesn't play?
Good conversation with a lot of wishful thinking but it's all for naught.
JC
Good conversation with a lot of wishful thinking but it's all for naught.
JC
I agree 100%....which is why more than ONE table needs to be able to be watched by the viewer as they may only want to watch one player....who just happens to NOT be playing on the TV table so to speak. I can't tell you JC....how many times i've heard....the best match of the tournament.....wasn't even televised so no one got to watch it unless you were there. Even I don't want to watch a lot of the players today.....just the ones I care about watching, that's all.
Well since TV has little interest in pool , I'd think I'd approach Twitter who's trying to break into streaming market they are doing NFL games now , social media may very well be the best avenue for pool to exploit ,
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This could work on the internet, but not on TV.
Unless you think ESPN AND ESPN2 is going to broadcast two different matches at the same time.
I wouldn't use TV such as HBO or SHO time until the final match, which can be set by date and time frame a year in advance, because the match can start on time....and end on time.....every time, that would be the best finals for an advertising sponsorship.....provided the rest of the tournament can be viewed via the Internet, live....viewers choice of 32 tables, through the choice of 4 cameras per table....at a slight fee of course....per day
They aren't doing pool live anyway , like I said above twitter is a viable option pool was marketable to ESPN when they were trying to fill air time not the case now maybe on 3 which is internet,, twitter however is trying to break into the market this could lead to live matches at a lessor cost , social media imho offers the best avenue to perk interest in pool
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We'll just leave it at that for the time being, the rest of the story is in my head where it's safe so no one can figure it out and somehow screw it all up like normal.
But I will say this....those are some of the last steps to fixing the problems in pool today....there's a lot of work that has to be done before any streaming takes place.
I wouldn't use TV such as HBO or SHO time until the final match, which can be set by date and time frame a year in advance, because the match can start on time....and end on time.....every time, that would be the best finals for an advertising sponsorship.....provided the rest of the tournament can be viewed via the Internet, live....viewers choice of 32 tables, through the choice of 4 cameras per table....at a slight fee of course....per day
32 tables?
Not even the biggest snooker tournaments which draw millions of viewers worldwide use 32 tables.
I appreciate you brainstorming, but the logistics of that make zero sense.
JC
Coos Cues
This doesn't entice the masses. They don't know an exciting match when they see it. And never will.
Today we have at the click of the mouse tens of thousands of matches to watch with virtually every player alive and dead. Matches we've never seen before, or as my mom used to say "it's new to me". All for free. Yet I, the consummate fan, become quickly bored. I'm sure I'm the rule, not the exception. Pool is all it's ever going to be. It ebbs and flows in a very narrow band width of popularity. Sad but true.
JC
If you say so...LOL
That's because we're not talking about snooker....LOL that's for the most part, a dead game in this country, and Snooker in Canada has been dying for years.....being replaced with pocket pool tables....because it's more exciting to play.
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In my senerio, a 64 player field would be paid according to in which round a player lost.
64-33 $1,000
32-17 $2,000
16-9 $4,000
8-5. $8,000
4-3. $16,000
2. $32,000
1. $64,000
Total prize money $256,000....and ALL players get paid as the money is not being paid out of entry fees, there are no entry fees.....only the top 64 players on the planet by skill level test are allowed to compete in the event. Even the dates of the event are important to advertizing, Dec 28th-30th last match starts on the 30th at 3pm, finishes up at the latest....6pm....PST
64-33 $1,000
32-17 $2,000
16-9 $4,000
8-5. $8,000
4-3. $16,000
2. $32,000
1. $64,000
Total prize money $256,000....and ALL players get paid as the money is not being paid out of entry fees, there are no entry fees.....only the top 64 players on the planet by skill level test are allowed to compete in the event. Even the dates of the event are important to advertizing, Dec 28th-30th last match starts on the 30th at 3pm, finishes up at the latest....6pm....PST
Thanks for providing the laugh of the night ,, if we could simply get one American to qualify to play on the snooker circuit we might have seen more snooker tables but we have yet to do so Canada has fallen of dramatically , and like bar boxes have taken over here because of per square foot costs of 9 footers in costly comercial retail space same goes in Canada , it's simply much cheaper to have smaller tables
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Replaced by bar boxes, you mean, because people don't want to practise and they have no dicipline for anything that takes even a moderate amount of work. The people that bang away on those kiddy tables are not your target audience. They mostly play as an excuse to hang out and drink, and I don't think you could get them to watch pros play, even if you paid them. The events with pros and amateur tournaments show this. When the pros play, the bleachers are empty.
You need the people that don't actually play to get involved. I think a way to go with pool is to build up the excitement, with player interviews, focusing on rivalries and personalities! Then have a few high pressure invitationals with selected pros from the traditional pool countries, lets say a couple each from 7-8 countries. The top 2 countries get an extra player spot. There could be a qualifier between countries that were left out, and the 2 countries that come last will have to requalify etc..Lets fan the flames of patriotism and get the people behind their players. Let them wear player uniforms etc. but classy ones, not like bonus ball. Get the crowds into the game like in the mosconi cup. World cup of pool is kind of like this, but it could be even more exciting with a few twists. Scotch doubles is really great for tv, also. You get added pressure and interaction between the players. All events should be played in traditional and modern pool countries. No empty, Arabian, giant flight hangars!
I really think the above is the way to go if you want pool on tv. Personally, I don't particularly care. I like my pool quiet and I like to play players that enjoy the game. It's a niche sport, and will remain so. Doing the above may get some more excitement and money back into the game, but not much. Maybe barely enough to stay on tv and sustain a dozen pros.
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" POOL IS COOL "
I mentioned this early on and that is a critical component in all of this, and it's not as much of a stretch as most may think. I am saddened to say that as much as I love pool, it is usually god awfully boring to watch. What do I like to watch that I don't think is boring then ? The big money Matches! The action is what gets me off, and I'm not alone in that. Barring the nonsense that was going on with French, big action matches have always drawn a lot of interest.
Let me break this down as such : There are only a couple ways to make " Pool Cool " on TV. The first is oh so simple. If fans were able to get invested in the or favorites. Not only their favorites, but their favorite to hate just as much. Think about WWE and pro wrestling. Who would have ever thought that nonsense would end up being a billion dollar industry? Not me lol! Now I'm not suggesting anything as over the top as that, but for sure there fan be a fans favorite player to root for or against. Enough at least to attract substantial enough interest to warrant some TV exposure.
Next thing : people seeing themselves in that position. It goes hand and hand with the big money matches or big money tournaments, or so,excited type of big one championship. I'm gonna give Moneymaker as an example. A regular guy thathat everyone followed and rooted for in a quest to win the million bucks. Look at the explosion in Poker that caused. Was it because he was just such a nice guy? Not really, all those people were saying to themselves " wow, that could a been me!". Now we all know there is a huge difference between anybody being able to sit down at a poker table with the best in the world and someone coming to the table with SVB. Huge difference. That's where the handicapping can come into play. Imagine if a bunch of leaguers were able to see an APA 3 Coming to the table with a chance to win $100,000 playing against SVB! But do to the use of a total fair Handicapping system ( Fargo or whatever ) and now the match up really is a coin flip! How much interest would that get from the common folks? They are going out, buying a Predator , joining league and are on their way to riches and fame! This is just an example but the point is made. The boredom factor goes away when someone has some kinda stake in it. It also goes away when they could be watching people just like themselves.
Don't get me wrong, you will definitely need the vision to see the possibilities I am talking about but I whole heartedly believe it's totally possible. Iso some are wondering how an A PA 3 COULD END up playing SVB, WELL that's a good question. It would be just one of many promotions provided in the systemorning I am putting forth. Also, a lot of it is contingent that FARGO will be able to deliver as promised. And yes yes, I know this is not exactly what Fargo is touted as but it certainly should be able to perform in these manners if it has been designed in the manner purported.
It's about making the fans having a vested interest - just like pro football, baseball , hockey, whatever but with the distinct advantage that those same fans can compete with the pros ( and actually could become a pro ) on the same level. In my mind , the possibilities are near endless The money is there, we just need to let them know why they should give it to us. The fans are ready and willing, we just need to let them know what they are ready for. As many have said, the person (s) in charge of this need to have the vision as well as the business background necessary to make this happen; not just some pool player regardless of how good they are, where they've been, or who they know Even the absolute best pro player with the bset of intentions can only go so far and do so much. Now that's not to say there's not a critical role for them too - but they would have a clearly defiNed role to which they would have to strictly adhere to. This only works if everyone knows their place and works together as one unit - a team.
Its hard to get Americans to play snooker, but what's even harder....it to keep coming up with more snooker players to support the game...as fast as they're jumping ship to play American 9ball on bar tables, or even 9ft tables. Snooker has lost quite a few past world champions to pocket pool....why do you suppose that is.....seeing how some view it as the game to fix pocket pool....LOL....can you name one pocket pool world champion that now only plays snooker?