A funny thing said on TV

StormHotRod300

StormHotRod300

BigSexy
Silver Member
So, I'm watching the Texas Hold'em finals, on ESPN tonight and Johnny Archer was at the table and missed a shot.

Well all of a sudden, the audience starts to clap. And as JA is walking back to his seat, he says something like, Isnt it nice how they clap when you miss! (I believe thats what he said)

I started to laugh my ass off lol, cuz its true,,, expecially in the format they were playing, if you missed, the next person had ball in hand. So it was a big penalty.

But I still found it funny what Archer said.
 
I always thought it was a mixed bag, watching the end of a great run. When Efren ran 9 racks in a row against Busta at the WPC in 1999 (the 1st rack when Busta scratched on the break, and an 8-pack that followed), Efren finally missed in the 10th rack at the table when faced with a tricky combination.

To show respect for the previous string of racks, the audience applauded.... but at a miss! Weird.

Also with snooker breaks, after a player makes a century+ break and misses the crowd always applauds. Sure the frame is won, but I'm sure the player is upset at the miss. And the applause can't make them feel anything but frustration at trying to stay cool!
 
My take on this

My take on this, is that the fans of the next player in line are showing their support, and clapping
for them. It does seem a little odd, and I would be frustrated a little, since I would be telling
myself "darn", and then I'd hear folks applauding.
 
perhaps they are clapping for the guy who's been in the chair for a long time to encourage him to make good of the time he's getting at the table.

They do call that chair the electric chair.
 
StormHotRod300 said:
So, I'm watching the Texas Hold'em finals, on ESPN tonight and Johnny Archer was at the table and missed a shot.

Well all of a sudden, the audience starts to clap. And as JA is walking back to his seat, he says something like, Isnt it nice how they clap when you miss! (I believe thats what he said)

I started to laugh my ass off lol, cuz its true,,, expecially in the format they were playing, if you missed, the next person had ball in hand. So it was a big penalty.

But I still found it funny what Archer said.
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It always seemed to me that the audiences at some of the tournaments shown on ESPN are not the most educated. Not the same kind of crowd you would see at the Derby City or U.S. Open. I see them clap when a player slops in a ball or gets a lucky roll. I have seem times when the player looks confused to why they are cheering, when it was obvious that they where lucky. Maybe they tell the crowd to clap after every shot, so one player does not feel left out!!! :confused:
 
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I saw it also

StormHotRod300 said:
So, I'm watching the Texas Hold'em finals, on ESPN tonight and Johnny Archer was at the table and missed a shot.

Well all of a sudden, the audience starts to clap. And as JA is walking back to his seat, he says something like, Isnt it nice how they clap when you miss! (I believe thats what he said)

I started to laugh my ass off lol, cuz its true,,, expecially in the format they were playing, if you missed, the next person had ball in hand. So it was a big penalty.

But I still found it funny what Archer said.
Click to expand...

But was not sure if they were applauding his run rather than his miss?
 
^ Yeah, I agree. I think that's the case. I went to a WPBA event at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino and there were a bunch of average people who didn't know anything about pool, but knew who Allison Fisher was. They get clap happy. Because they all want to pretend like they know what's going on.
 
I have heard (on this forum I believe) that the audience is asked to applaud after every shot. Kind of makes sense. How would you like making a great shot in front of a non-knowledgeable audience and get nothing. That would have an affect on your spirits too. Better to be safe, and have (in the producer's opinions) better television.
 
arsenius said:
I have heard (on this forum I believe) that the audience is asked to applaud after every shot. Kind of makes sense. How would you like making a great shot in front of a non-knowledgeable audience and get nothing. That would have an affect on your spirits too. Better to be safe, and have (in the producer's opinions) better television.
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Yea, but how would you like to hit a ball terrible, hit the rail, carom off a couple balls, and slop something in, and the crowd give you a standing ovation? Maybe they should do it like graduation, and tell everyone to hold the applause until the match is over. Of course, you always have those crazy families who don't listen. Or they could test the crowd for pool IQ before the match. Ask them who the best player of all time is and if anyone says Minnesota Fats, they are the first to go! :eek:
 
I watched Raj Hundal and Johnny Archer at the recent UPA event in LA. Johnny was trailing the whole match, and at a critical game, Raj missed the 7ball badly and it went around the table and caromed off a ball and fell. A few people sitting a few seats down from me ringside started laughing. Johnny got fairly upset, and made it clear to those couple of people that pool was his livelyhood.

I thought it was obnoxious for them to laugh at it. Probably because I was rooting for Johnny, but still I don't think someone should applaud a miss, and especially an obvious fluke shot.

Its okay to root for your guy, but don't humiliate his opponent IMO...
 
I don't think you can really tell the crowd what to root for good or bad. It's like when a place kicker misses a field goal....the other teams crowd cheers....it's accepted in football cause that's how it is and it's a more rowdy crowd. You gotta suck it up and do better next time.

Johnny should be happy there are people there cheering for ANYBODY! He should have a little fun banter with the crowd and tell them ....wait til next turn, I'm running the set out! to have fun with it.

YES, we all know it's his career, but his career just happens to involve a crowd, so learn to take advantage of people cheering either way!:) I bet when his opponent missed and people clapped he didn't turn to scold the crowd.................right?!

Gerry
 
I dont want to get into a flame war, but if I remember the shot Archer was shooting at, he had to kick at the ball. And didnt make anything. And as he was returning to his seat the crowd started to applaud him. And the next shooter hadnt gotten outa thier seat yet.

Now, John Schmidt, made a wild 9ball combo/ poke n hope shot, where the 9ball went 3 or 4 rails, yet he was rooting for the 9ball to go in, and of course the crowd applauded him. But even though it was a total slop shot, he had to attempt such a shot to stay at the table and ended up winning that game.

I guess, I wish the crowd was more INFORMED on what they should or shouldnt clap for. I'd think most people in the crowd have more than the basic pool knowledge and know when someone makes a good shot and gets super lucky.
 
In Ga Young Kim's match that they showed earlier, she was going for a safety and accidentally made the ball, and the audience was clapping because it looked like she made a tough shot. Meanwhile she had a disgusted look on her face.
 
Another idea...

Another idea... How about continuous applause from the lag to the win? :)

Also, in a previous post, "laughing when a ball was sloppily pocketed" was mentioned.
I doubt they were laughing at the player, but merely laughing because of the unexpectedness
of it, and the fact that anything can happen sometimes. I have not seen that match though. I
saw something I felt was extremely funny on TV once. A bunch of guys were running a race
on a track. It must have been real windy, and one guy's cap is blown off, does a 360 in the air,
and lands perfectly on a guys head behind him in the race. Even the slow motion replay
was hilarious to me.
 
I've got mixed opinions on this subject. On the one hand, I think some pro pool players let the crowd affect their psyche way more than they should while on the other hand the ones that don't just sit in their chairs with a stone-cold, don't-let-'em-see-any-emotion-outta-me look on their faces while they're waitin' to get back to the table.
Personally, I enjoy the players who use a little friendly banter with the crowd or even an opponent (if the opponent doesn't object). It's good for the game of pool to show a little excitement/enthusiasm and give the spectators a little glimpse of the fact that these "revered" players are human beings and play not only for the money, but for the sheer pleasure of the game itself.
As far as the crowds go, if they are not being obnoxious or rude, they should be able to clap for any shot they want to. It's their seat. They paid for it. It's television with spectators, and without them you might as well be playing the match in somebody's basement. Exposure to the public almost always comes with a price. The price as far as pro players are concerned is that there are gonna be instances when uneducated pool spectators simply do the wrong thing. Get past it and shoot pool for cryin' out loud. At least you're not getting bottles and/or spark plugs thrown at you like football and baseball players do.

Maniac
 
I've seen matches where the guys are making great shots and the crowd is dead quiet with expressions on their face that look like they are thinking, "Why did I pay money to sit through this?"

And it makes for really boring tv.

I'm sure the producers tell everyone to constantly clap to keep the energy up for good tv.

It would look a lot better if they were already clapping as they came back from commercial instead of showing the silence and then sudden clapping. I finally saw a camera shot of the tournament referee signaling the crowd to clap in the Ga young Kim match I believe it was. Looked cheesy.
 
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