PICKLEBALL—-on ESPN?!!

RichSchultz

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
What the hell...ESPN is airing the US Pickleball National Championships?!!

Oh my gosh...pool is in a worse position than cornhole and pickleball?!
 

Shawn Armstrong

AZB deceased - stopped posting 5/13/2022
Silver Member
I'm so tired of every post regarding pool not being broadcast 24/7. Unfortunately, the world doesn't like pool as much as people who love pool. Go figure. Please stop whining. Thanks in advance.
 

greyghost

Coast to Coast
Silver Member
Lmao getting beat by whiffle ball tennis.....priceless


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
 

RichSchultz

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I'm so tired of every post regarding pool not being broadcast 24/7. Unfortunately, the world doesn't like pool as much as people who love pool. Go figure. Please stop whining. Thanks in advance.
Your prerogative not to like these posts, but it’s my prerogative to post. Don’t like it? Then move on.
 

Nick B

This is gonna hurt
Silver Member
I would suspect that they paid for all the production costs and gave them the product to play for free. Practically any free content will get airtime.
 

garczar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
To the average phone-addicted couch potato sports fan pool is like figuring out nuclear physics. But they'll sit and watch this stupid s^*t like trained Dobermans. Pretty sad but that's where we're at.
 
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Shawn Armstrong

AZB deceased - stopped posting 5/13/2022
Silver Member
Your prerogative not to like these posts, but it’s my prerogative to post. Don’t like it? Then move on.

I could care less about the posts. Want to watch pool? YouTube.

Want to complain about what's airing on ESPN? Jump on their blog. Or become the programming director at ESPN.

The movie theatre isn't showing the most recent Star Wars. Maybe you could create a thread about that as well. I really like Star Wars.
 

jimmyg

Mook! What's a Mook?
Silver Member
Pickleball is becoming very popular. Many tennis clubs are replacing a tennis court or two with pickleball courts, and a lot of public parks are making room for them also. Older tennis players who can no longer cover the standard tennis court area, those with shoulder/arm issues, and those who's reflexes have slowed find the game a perfect replacement.

Pool has always attracted too many individuals who tarnish it's image, still does.
 

SBC

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
WTF is pickleball?

Pool is a fringe sport....just accept it for what it is. The Land of misfit toys.
 

Cardigan Kid

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I'm so tired of every post regarding pool not being broadcast 24/7. Unfortunately, the world doesn't like pool as much as people who love pool. Go figure. Please stop whining. Thanks in advance.

I like threads like this because it creates the awareness that pool is not where it should be in the United States.
Already this thread has 480 views. There is a cause that someone over at https://bca-pool.com/ has/will read this and maybe shake their head and realize they haven't done enough to promote the sport. Maybe after this thread, or the next one after ESPN covers drone racing champions (they have done it) gets posted, that one person might shake his/her head and make that phone call which could be at the right time or right place to make a difference.

So I say keep on posting threads like these. AZ has more reach than we realize. Many more readers than posters and some of those readers are in positions that matter.

My question is that if pool is so obscure to ESPN why can't they just make or allow their entire back catalogue of matches public and allowed to post on YouTube without getting removed for copywrite infringement? To this day, with an ESPN pool search, I can't find any full tournament of champion/masters, etc matches from the modern day on YouTube. I've tried to post matches before to my YouTube channel that I recorded on my DVR only to have them removed. It's an obscure sport though?

Here is one link (sometimes partial ESPN broadcast matches make it to YouTube) to the final rack of the 2012 WPBA final between Ewa and Alison, and it has 2.6 million views!
https://youtu.be/NxBNXST9cV4
 

RiverCity

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
The pool hall closest to my house closed earlier this year.

What went in its place?

A fencing club. Like sword fighting fencing.

hqdefault.jpg


Replaced

1793112_md.jpg


:frown:
 

garczar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Pickleball is becoming very popular. Many tennis clubs are replacing a tennis court or two with pickleball courts, and a lot of public parks are making room for them also. Older tennis players who can no longer cover the standard tennis court area, those with shoulder/arm issues, and those who's reflexes have slowed find the game a perfect replacement.

Pool has always attracted too many individuals who tarnish it's image, still does.
You mean there's no pickleball bums or shifty courtside pickleball hustlers?? ;)
 

Cardigan Kid

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
The pool hall closest to my house closed earlier this year.

What went in its place?

A fencing club. Like sword fighting fencing.

hqdefault.jpg


Replaced

1793112_md.jpg


:frown:

My son trains in fencing at a local club. Most kids/parents come to competitions and tournaments not in hopes of making the Olympics, but in pursuit of the college scholarship/admissions boost which fencing provides.
If pool had college teams that offered scholarships (like Mark Wilson has done) parents and kids would invest in pool, pool clubs, tournaments, etc.
From yearly fees, USAF membership, coaching lessons, equipment, and tournaments, the cost is in the thousands for fencing. Parents wouldn't be paying it if there wasn't something lucrative possibly on the backend.
 

jimmyg

Mook! What's a Mook?
Silver Member
Originally Posted by jimmyg View Post
Pickleball is becoming very popular. Many tennis clubs are replacing a tennis court or two with pickleball courts, and a lot of public parks are making room for them also. Older tennis players who can no longer cover the standard tennis court area, those with shoulder/arm issues, and those who's reflexes have slowed find the game a perfect replacement.

Pool has always attracted too many individuals who tarnish it's image, still does.

You mean there's no pickleball bums or shifty courtside pickleball hustlers?? ;)

I'm sure there are...but they're probably a little more polished and low keyed. Plus, the movie hasn't come out yet. :)
 

tonyboy59

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I could care less about the posts. Want to watch pool? YouTube.

Want to complain about what's airing on ESPN? Jump on their blog. Or become the programming director at ESPN.

The movie theatre isn't showing the most recent Star Wars. Maybe you could create a thread about that as well. I really like Star Wars.

Well said, plenty of streaming opportunities as well. As for ESPN I guess for them pool is no longer on their radar...nor anyone else's apparently.
 

KAP1976

AzB Gold Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
https://www.usapa.org/what-is-pickleball/

Hey look at that. Another fringe sport that also has an association that sets rules and guidelines and also works to promote the game. Maybe one day we can get one of these, instead of whining on message boards that ESPN made a mean face at pool.
 

garczar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
https://www.usapa.org/what-is-pickleball/

Hey look at that. Another fringe sport that also has an association that sets rules and guidelines and also works to promote the game. Maybe one day we can get one of these, instead of whining on message boards that ESPN made a mean face at pool.
The game has actually been around a LONG time but has really exploded in last 8-9yrs. They are far more organized than many may realize. Equipment is cheap, games go quick, and court-time is usually free so its an easy sell to the public.
 
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