Audience Sharking (Unintentional, but INSANE?)

Not Dead Ted said:
There are probably a few of us on this forum who can remember those days in the 60's when the crowd and players were expected to be absolutely still and quiet when a high school or college basketball player was shooting a free throw. Then it seemed there would always be one jerk who would shout or move at the time of the shot. Then everybody said f%%k it, they shoot harder shots during the game with the crowd going wild, why can't they shoot an undefended free throw? And now, the crowd can't make enough noise, yet the free throws still go in.
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I don’t know if this has been tested, but my belief is that sudden movement or sound in a quiet and still environment is way more distracting than a lot of constant movement and sound. So if I wanted to distract a basketball player shooting a free throw, I would have everyone sit still and then have one fan suddenly move and shout as they are shooting.

That accords with my own experience in the pool hall. A bunch of people walking in the distance is easier to fade than sudden movement in a still environment as I’m shooting.
 
GideonF said:
I don’t know if this has been tested, but my belief is that sudden movement or sound in a quiet and still environment is way more distracting than a lot of constant movement and sound. So if I wanted to distract a basketball player shooting a free throw, I would have everyone sit still and then have one fan suddenly move and shout as they are shooting.

That accords with my own experience in the pool hall. A bunch of people walking in the distance is easier to fade than sudden movement in a still environment as I’m shooting.
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That's true, but sometimes I get more distracted by people who are walking by and hit the brakes when they see I'm shooting than I would if they just kept walking.

Ambient noise and movement are part of the game. How the pros play with all that infernal casino noise is beyond me, and the crap music that plays in some venues would drive me outta there. But, experienced players deal with it, and I think it is seldom the decisive factor in a match.
 
maha said:
well yea she shouldn't but she just got up and didn't make any funny moves and just moved slowly.

i cant see expecting people in the stands to be robots like what some want from the opponent.
especially since many are not pool players. a pro has to play in all kinds of conditions and adjust as it happens.

the shooter had plenty of time to stop if she wanted and wait or re compose.

but we all think differently about things so that's what make the world go round.
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I generally agree. I don't even think it makes sense to make a fuss about it since it's typical human behavior. Aside from that, how would that kind of thing be enforced? I don't see a reasonable way and it's also interesting there hasn't been a public statement made from Kristina herself. Distractions in one form or another will always be a part of competing, whether the distracting thing/person intended to do so or not.
 
GideonF said:
I don’t know if this has been tested, but my belief is that sudden movement or sound in a quiet and still environment is way more distracting than a lot of constant movement and sound. So if I wanted to distract a basketball player shooting a free throw, I would have everyone sit still and then have one fan suddenly move and shout as they are shooting.

That accords with my own experience in the pool hall. A bunch of people walking in the distance is easier to fade than sudden movement in a still environment as I’m shooting.
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I'm amazed at how the Filipinos can come here and play in silence.
 
GideonF said:
I don’t know if this has been tested, but my belief is that sudden movement or sound in a quiet and still environment is way more distracting than a lot of constant movement and sound. So if I wanted to distract a basketball player shooting a free throw, I would have everyone sit still and then have one fan suddenly move and shout as they are shooting.

That accords with my own experience in the pool hall. A bunch of people walking in the distance is easier to fade than sudden movement in a still environment as I’m shooting.
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In the context of trying to distraction basketball players while shooting free throws, there are some studies and I think they do apply to taking a shot in pool. One of the better-known discussions around this involved neuroscience writer Daniel Engber. The basic finding was that sudden synchronized movement by fans appeared to work better than continuous chaos. Duke fans used one technique called the "silent scream."

The “silent scream” specifically was the idea that:
  • fans stay eerily still and quiet while the shooter sets up,
  • then all make a sudden synchronized motion or loud noise/scream at the same time, just before the release of the ball
The theory was that the brain habituates to constant noise, but a novel, abrupt change grabs attention at exactly the wrong moment. That lines up with broader sports-psychology findings that unexpected auditory or visual stimuli can disrupt attentional control and reaction timing.

So, yes, we all shoot pool in bars and loud environments. But in a silent environment, like a tournament, an unexpected noise just before or during the final stroke can cause a miss because the body twitches in reaction. And the level of professionalism of the player won't help.
 
driz86 said:
I generally agree. I don't even think it makes sense to make a fuss about it since it's typical human behavior. Aside from that, how would that kind of thing be enforced? I don't see a reasonable way ...
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A persistent problem person can be forced to leave the arena.

I think that it's the unexpected that is the real shark. League night might be chaotic, but none of that is unusual, so it isn't distracting.

A major tournament is not league night.
 
I was there sitting behind them. She was checking the score of the table down from them. I'm sure it wasn't intentional just a lot of games being played at once and everyones trying to watch them all. Bad judgement. However, that guy sitting there alone was creeping on Kristina bad and he was like 8 beers in at this point. She had to go tell him, in a polite way, to STFU. LOL I'd say that dealing with him over a couple games probably played a bigger roll in the mental aspect than that lady getting up. The ref, at one point, had to come talk to that guy because he was waving at the camera during shooting. Thankfully the guy wasn't there for the final day.
 
Chili Palmer said:
I'm amazed at how the Filipinos can come here and play in silence.
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I may have told this story before, but I remember watching a live stream of a major event held in a casino or convention center. Might have the International Open.

Alex Pagulayan was playing another Filipino pro on the stream and the fire alarm goes off. All the tables stop and wait for the alarm to be turned off.

Alex says to the referee “Can we keep playing? We’re Filipino it doesn’t bother us” (or something like that). They played on without missing a beat.

I’ve often thought that pro players would do well to spend a year in the Philippines playing money games with 100 people crowding the players, chickens running around and loud scooters driving by every few minutes. The Mosconi Cup chaos would be like a church in comparison.
 
Classy and professional response from Kristina:

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It's funny how pool has an answer right in front of them and they ignore it.
Why not allow fans to impact the match? Just like basketball and other major sports.
Inject some excitement into our pool sport. If fans know they can become part of the action, more will attend.
Let's stop with the boring "library environment" and let's get some ARENA POOL going.

Let's separate the players who can handle real pressure and can thrive in it.
Filler, Gorst, Shaw, and SVB (deaf) are just a few of the names that immediately come to mind.

There's pool's answer right there.
 
boogeyman said:
It's funny how pool has an answer right in front of them and they ignore it.
Why not allow fans to impact the match? Just like basketball and other major sports.
Inject some excitement into our pool sport. If fans know they can become part of the action, more will attend.
Let's stop with the boring "library environment" and let's get some ARENA POOL going.

Let's separate the players who can handle real pressure and can thrive in it.
Filler, Gorst, Shaw, and SVB (deaf) are just a few of the names that immediately come to mind.

There's pool's answer right there.
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Maybe that will attract viewers. I, personally, will hate it. I don’t even like Mosconi Cup when the fans don’t settle down when the players are actually down on the shot.

Now fans cheering for the players after good shots and so on is great. Just be quiet when they are shooting.
 
boogeyman said:
It's funny how pool has an answer right in front of them and they ignore it.
Why not allow fans to impact the match? Just like basketball and other major sports.
Inject some excitement into our pool sport. If fans know they can become part of the action, more will attend.
Let's stop with the boring "library environment" and let's get some ARENA POOL going.

Let's separate the players who can handle real pressure and can thrive in it.
Filler, Gorst, Shaw, and SVB (deaf) are just a few of the names that immediately come to mind.

There's pool's answer right there.
Click to expand...

Ultimate Pool tournaments are a lot like that. It's pretty noisy in the background. I'm ok with it, I've never played in a bar (league or tournament) where people shut when someone was shooting.
 
skip100 said:
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This clip reminds me of growing up on the reservation it didn't matter what you were playing basketball at the basketball court baseball on the North or south sides of town or a pickup game of football it was all pretty much full contact and fouls were for sissies during some games .

Even playIng kick ball or dodge ball was rough and tumble at times with the others trying everything to distract you , then car moved close to two other indian,reservations and it was the same thing different day !
 
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