Houston legends

white1 said:
Let’s say you are right….why is it that way in Europe particularly with the private clubs and player development?
what has to happen for this to be true in America? Thx in advance for your thoughts
Click to expand...
Well, in Germany... It's pretty much "always" been like that. In everything. Germans literally have a national organization for any possible sport/hobby you could possibly want to take part in. And those national systems are set up to provide competition for everyone from rank amateurs, up to national level players competing against other countries. It is all patterned off how they do soccer. European countries WANT to develop young talent.. In EVERYTHING. And everything is aimed at that goal.

Local liquor laws are SUPER friendly to this sort of setup, such that local clubs/Vereins can support themselves by liquor/food sales amongst members/visitors.. And business/club zoning laws are not NEARLY as restrictive in Germany.. You don't necessarily "have" to separate businesses from residential areas. This leads to very affordable space for clubs to rent and set up 6-8 tables. Some of the larger clubs actually own their own building, even.

In America, OTOH... Pool is about MONEY, first and foremost. APA.. BCA.. VNEA. Player and youth development is of very little interest to these entities. Local zoning laws are set up to the advantage of big corporations, making sure that businesses find it difficult to set up anywhere close to residential areas, forcing such businesses to larger retail areas, generally a mile or two minimum from the closest dense residential area...

How does America fix this? Simple. Break the hold of APA, BCA, and VNEA on amateur pool.. Getting zoning and liquor laws changed, pretty much everywhere in the country... And people need to start finding cheap space to rent to build out private clubs.

Basically.. Change absolutely everything about how America does pool. Simple Simon.
 
ShortBusRuss said:
Well, in Germany... It's pretty much "always" been like that. In everything. Germans literally have a national organization for any possible sport/hobby you could possibly want to take part in. And those national systems are set up to provide competition for everyone from rank amateurs, up to national level players competing against other countries. It is all patterned off how they do soccer. European countries WANT to develop young talent.. In EVERYTHING. And everything is aimed at that goal.

Local liquor laws are SUPER friendly to this sort of setup, such that local clubs/Vereins can support themselves by liquor/food sales amongst members/visitors.. And business/club zoning laws are not NEARLY as restrictive in Germany.. You don't necessarily "have" to separate businesses from residential areas. This leads to very affordable space for clubs to rent and set up 6-8 tables. Some of the larger clubs actually own their own building, even.

In America, OTOH... Pool is about MONEY, first and foremost. APA.. BCA.. VNEA. Player and youth development is of very little interest to these entities. Local zoning laws are set up to the advantage of big corporations, making sure that businesses find it difficult to set up anywhere close to residential areas, forcing such businesses to larger retail areas, generally a mile or two minimum from the closest dense residential area...

How does America fix this? Simple. Break the hold of APA, BCA, and VNEA on amateur pool.. Getting zoning and liquor laws changed, pretty much everywhere in the country... And people need to start finding cheap space to rent to build out private clubs.

Basically.. Change absolutely everything about how America does pool. Simple Simon.
Click to expand...
America would benefit greatly from emulating many aspects of matured nations, no doubt about it.

Anyone ever ridden both a train in Japan and in the USA?
 
ShortBusRuss said:
Well, in Germany... It's pretty much "always" been like that. In everything. Germans literally have a national organization for any possible sport/hobby you could possibly want to take part in. And those national systems are set up to provide competition for everyone from rank amateurs, up to national level players competing against other countries. It is all patterned off how they do soccer. European countries WANT to develop young talent.. In EVERYTHING. And everything is aimed at that goal.

Local liquor laws are SUPER friendly to this sort of setup, such that local clubs/Vereins can support themselves by liquor/food sales amongst members/visitors.. And business/club zoning laws are not NEARLY as restrictive in Germany.. You don't necessarily "have" to separate businesses from residential areas. This leads to very affordable space for clubs to rent and set up 6-8 tables. Some of the larger clubs actually own their own building, even.

In America, OTOH... Pool is about MONEY, first and foremost. APA.. BCA.. VNEA. Player and youth development is of very little interest to these entities. Local zoning laws are set up to the advantage of big corporations, making sure that businesses find it difficult to set up anywhere close to residential areas, forcing such businesses to larger retail areas, generally a mile or two minimum from the closest dense residential area...

How does America fix this? Simple. Break the hold of APA, BCA, and VNEA on amateur pool.. Getting zoning and liquor laws changed, pretty much everywhere in the country... And people need to start finding cheap space to rent to build out private clubs.

Basically.. Change absolutely everything about how America does pool. Simple Simon.
Click to expand...
Thank you a lot for your transparency and time spent answering.
 
Black-Balled said:
America would benefit greatly from emulating many aspects of matured nations, no doubt about it.

Anyone ever ridden both a train in Japan and in the USA?
Click to expand...
I think you are right. Define matured nations for me….60 years old and forgot a lot of what I learned about world history. Thx
 
white1 said:
I think you are right. Define matured nations for me….60 years old and forgot a lot of what I learned about world history. Thx
Click to expand...
It's a matter of national priorities. Germany has a very strong national interest in being as good as it can be in sports, engineering, and many other things. America is simply interested in money, pure and simple. Whatever it takes to make it, and the consequences be damned.

American is stuck right in the middle of end-stage capitalism, which means that profit is above all the priority. You have a segment of our society that celebrates billionaires... Just for being billionaires. And these people don't think much about aspects of American society that have been destroyed by these billionaires.

Some other countries choose not to let capitalism get so completely out of control that it destroys the social fabric of their nation. Pool in America is where it is because the capitalists are in charge of pool. There is no profit to be had from developing young talent.. So the APA, BCA, and VNEA don't. They are much more interested in giving players a reason to drink beer and play with their friends. APA actually actively works AGAINST improvement in the way their team handicaps work, by splitting up teams when a player improves too much.
 
white1 said:
I think you are right. Define matured nations for me….60 years old and forgot a lot of what I learned about world history. Thx
Click to expand...
IM thinking places where they still have doors that are older than the USA.

Of course, age isn't the sole determinant of a considerate society, I'd think it more of a shared system of rights.and inextricable responsibilities that come with sharing space in a massive sense.
 
ShortBusRuss said:
It's a matter of national priorities. Germany has a very strong national interest in being as good as it can be in sports, engineering, and many other things. America is simply interested in money, pure and simple. Whatever it takes to make it, and the consequences be damned.

American is stuck right in the middle of end-stage capitalism, which means that profit is above all the priority. You have a segment of our society that celebrates billionaires... Just for being billionaires. And these people don't think much about aspects of American society that have been destroyed by these billionaires.

Some other countries choose not to let capitalism get so completely out of control that it destroys the social fabric of their nation. Pool in America is where it is because the capitalists are in charge of pool. There is no profit to be had from developing young talent.. So the APA, BCA, and VNEA don't. They are much more interested in giving players a reason to drink beer and play with their friends. APA actually actively works AGAINST improvement in the way their team handicaps work, by splitting up teams when a player improves too much.
Click to expand...
This is NPR stuff but wtf. All you do is bum-kick the USA but who does the WORLD, including Ger., turn to when the shit hits the fan? All this capitalist hating bullshit is just your butthurt lefty opinion. Don't know why i took you off the Ignore pile. Must be slipping.
 
garczar said:
This is NPR stuff but wtf. All you do is bum-kick the USA but who does the WORLD, including Ger., turn to when the shit hits the fan? All this capitalist hating bullshit is just your butthurt lefty opinion. Don't know why i took you off the Ignore pile. Must be slipping.
Click to expand...
This guy might be the most annoying member next to about three others on here daily.
 
King T said:
NaNa got his nickname by accident. His football jersey was 99, so many people call him 99..., then that turned into 9...., then somewhere along the line it became NaNa. He was unbeatable by anybody other than a top-shelf, near champion player. We talked every day and I miss my brother.

He was a very close friend of mine and he passed away last year from a stroke.
Click to expand...
he was a large man, the manager at bogies told me when he first met him and shook his hand he said damn man, your hand is like a pack of banannas
na-na said, what did you say to me?

it was a reference to a movie, thankfully na-na seen the movie himself and both laughed out loud and were good friends
 
ShortBusRuss said:
It's a matter of national priorities. Germany has a very strong national interest in being as good as it can be in sports, engineering, and many other things. America is simply interested in money, pure and simple. Whatever it takes to make it, and the consequences be damned.

American is stuck right in the middle of end-stage capitalism, which means that profit is above all the priority. You have a segment of our society that celebrates billionaires... Just for being billionaires. And these people don't think much about aspects of American society that have been destroyed by these billionaires.

Some other countries choose not to let capitalism get so completely out of control that it destroys the social fabric of their nation. Pool in America is where it is because the capitalists are in charge of pool. There is no profit to be had from developing young talent.. So the APA, BCA, and VNEA don't. They are much more interested in giving players a reason to drink beer and play with their friends. APA actually actively works AGAINST improvement in the way their team handicaps work, by splitting up teams when a player improves too much.
Click to expand...
Are you against modernity?
 
Texas Carom Club said:
he was a large man, the manager at bogies told me when he first met him and shook his hand he said damn man, your hand is like a pack of banannas
na-na said, what did you say to me?

it was a reference to a movie, thankfully na-na seen the movie himself and both laughed out loud and were good friends
Click to expand...
If I remember right, Na-Na was pretty good with the dice too.
 
King T said:
NaNa got his nickname by accident. His football jersey was 99, so many people call him 99..., then that turned into 9...., then somewhere along the line it became NaNa. He was unbeatable by anybody other than a top-shelf, near champion player. We talked every day and I miss my brother.

He was a very close friend of mine and he passed away last year from a stroke.
Click to expand...
Really sorry to hear that. I met him at the old LeCue downtown on the corner of Fannin and Rusk. Probably in the late 1970's. I was still pretty green back then. I hung up a ball in one of those "true champion" pockets. Some body said "Don't feel bad, Mr. Buddy Hall hung up a ball in that same pocket." I said "Who is Buddy Hall?". That's how green I was. That was the first time I ever played nine ball for $10 a game, and I was so nervous I couldn't hit a rail. The house man told us "Don't play those guys man, they're pros." But we came to play and learn, so I lost a little money to Jug and Little John, and maybe Little Eddie. I don't think I played Misty, but I was dumb enough to take a spot from Na-Na. Lost the little money I had left, and my cue stick! Every year or so I'd make it by there and he would remind me about that cue stick, all in fun. Last time I saw him he said he had given it to his nephew. If I remember right he was pretty good with the dice too. Cool guy.
 
Cue Stick said:
Really sorry to hear that. I met him at the old LeCue downtown on the corner of Fannin and Rusk. Probably in the late 1970's. I was still pretty green back then. I hung up a ball in one of those "true champion" pockets. Some body said "Don't feel bad, Mr. Buddy Hall hung up a ball in that same pocket." I said "Who is Buddy Hall?". That's how green I was. That was the first time I ever played nine ball for $10 a game, and I was so nervous I couldn't hit a rail. The house man told us "Don't play those guys man, they're pros." But we came to play and learn, so I lost a little money to Jug and Little John, and maybe Little Eddie. I don't think I played Misty, but I was dumb enough to take a spot from Na-Na. Lost the little money I had left, and my cue stick! Every year or so I'd make it by there and he would remind me about that cue stick, all in fun. Last time I saw him he said he had given it to his nephew. If I remember right he was pretty good with the dice too. Cool guy.
Click to expand...

Yep he collected a few cues in his days, so it wasnt just yours! :) Little John and I still talk regularly, he doesn'tplay Pool anymore, but still golfs. Yeah NaNA ran dice games all around the city for many years and when he wasn't running them he was winning them. He was a real gentleman and a solid guy and one of my best friends.
 
King T said:
Yep he collected a few cues in his days, so it wasnt just yours! :) Little John and I still talk regularly, he doesn'tplay Pool anymore, but still golfs. Yeah NaNA ran dice games all around the city for many years and when he wasn't running them he was winning them. He was a real gentleman and a solid guy and one of my best friends.
Click to expand...
I feel better knowing I wasn't the Lone Ranger:)
 
Cue Stick said:
Sorry to hear that he passed. First met him at the old LeCue on Fannin and Rusk. I was in my early 20's and had no idea who he was. I lost a few bucks to him, and my cue stick. It wasn't much money, I think he was just amusing himself because nobody else would play him. Every time I saw him after that he would jokingly remind me of that cue stick. Last time I saw him he said he had given it to his nephew. Some of the regulars around LeCue were Misty, Jug, Little John, Whitie, and Little Eddie...real cool bunch of guys.
Click to expand...
By the way, what was Na Na's real name?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top