Are you still under the belief that everyone paying an entry fee to those events are Professional pool players?
Alternate break is ruining pool
- Thread starter Hobo
- Start date
Are you still under the belief that everyone paying an entry fee to those events are Professional pool players?
I know an APA 6 in 9 ball who played in the US open for a few years.
That's nothing, i could pay the entry fee for my 8yr old grandson to play in the US Open 9 ball event, and his entry fee would be welcomed with open HANDS!!
Of course not. Never said that. How do YOU define "professional"? What's the cut-off between pro and non-pro? Seriously, what makes a player a "pro"? Do you mean the ones that do nothing else because they can't do anything else? I've known a lot of so called "pros" that if it wasn't for pool they'd be living in cardboard condo under a bridge somewhere. Hell, for some that would likely be a step-up.
Now THERE'S the million dollar question!!!
And very soon i may just be providing an answer to that exact question.
Have you seen the video of the dog "shooting" pool with his paws?
He might make it past the first round.
Jeff Livingston
Tell me something, is it your believe that if someone wins some tournament prize money, then that means it was a pro event???
You can always take up knitting!
You slipping? Think you've already asked that question. Again: what is and what isn't a "pro" event? BCA tried doing it by money won but that was joke. I've been to a few "amateur"-rated events that had pure champions in it just because their "official" winnings didn't meet "pro" criteria. If you figure out a way to accurately separate pros from non-pros you'll have done something that has NEVER worked. The Camel PBT came close but there'd still be a few shortstops at any given event.
I for one, am tired of seeing everyone sponging of this sport for their own profits, and using pool tournaments to draw in those that ARE professional players as a way of creating a better event for the exposure of selling their wares!!! The time for the top 64 players in the world to make a very good living playing against other pros, never having to ever play in bullshit so called pool tournaments so the can afford to buy something to eat at McDonald's is drawing closer to an end!
It's always been about winning, never about being fair. I've only seen that attitude in the past few years about being more fair. Like giving a guy in Straight Pool a chance to run out after sitting in the chair and watching his opponent run 150 and out. Nope.
Well...you know we would all love to see the game we love rise in stature.
Just curious: if any of the rooms that hold these bloodsucking, non-pro events inquire about table work do you turn them down? Color me stupid(won't be first or last time) but it would seem to me that if you DID take on the work that you would be part of the "pro v. non-pro" hypocrisy. I'm done here. Good luck with your new venture.
Another point of view.....
It has been found that long races are a snooze fest to the average viewer. To a real hardcore pool enthusiast long races make sense. I don't fault anyone for that.
What has to be taken into account is what the attention span is for an average American. After the score is 5 to 6 in a race to 13, the average viewer loses interest and changes the channel. That is why we have shorter races then what it used to be. The promoters have to make money. No sponsor is going to pay money if there are no viewers. And short races are part of the reason the Mosconi Cup is more popular with the viewers. Not just the rivalry. May not be popular with hard core purist pool players, but that group is not where the money is.
Well put. If pool is to EVER have a chance via mainstream media outlets the game will have to be exciting/entertaining even to casual viewers. Look at what NASCAR has done. Now i'm a racing purist but it was obvious that NASC. was losing viewers big time. They went to the 3-segment format and numbers have bounced back. Pool is nowhere on the bigtime sports radar-screen for a lot of reasons and making it more viewer friendly can't hurt. Barry Hearn is one SMART guy and has formatted the MC as entertainment. Its success is kinda hard to argue with.
Yeah, nothing more exciting than watching ONE Person play in a TWO Person match.
If it was football, for example that had scorer gets the ball again:
Hey, New England made a touchdown....I can't wait to see them do it again and make it a 6-pack! Who were they playing? I dunno
Jeff Livingston
[Off topic anecdote, but...] A high school football team in Alabama once put a 4-pack on another team. They scored a TD, then onside kicked, recovered, went down and scored another TD. Then did it two more times. The score was 29-0 before the other team ever ran a play from scrimmage.
It was an exhibition match. Willie's opponent, Earl Bruney, made the first 3 balls, then Willie ran 200 and out to win the match. Then Willie kept going and got to 526 before missing.
[per Willie's autobiography]