NYC cue dude said:There are three camps out there.
There are those that are blinded by the opportunity.
Those that love pool so much that they will accept any saviour.
then you have the self defeating, self loathing crowd, who detest what kt is and can only root for his demise, thus ensuring the end for pro players to really achieve a living wage.
the last crowd is the wait and see guys. These people are reasonable. They are going to defer judgement. They are skeptics and optimists, at the same time. Their hearts are at odds with their minds. They want succes, ut fear the worst. Time will tell.
rg
Hi NYCCD,
I think you left out one major group and that is the supportive, optimistic, but let's wait and see what it all means group. We have our eyes open, trust me. We are realists too, but the realistic part is that we know everyone has made mistakes and choose not to belabor small points that in the whole picture don't amount to much.
Let me give you a little example. I went to a women's $1000 added tournament. On the day of the tournament at the player's meeting, the TD announces that it is based on 64 women. Now when have you ever seen 64 women at a local tournament, other than the WPBA or Amateur Nationals? Two women had travelled over 1000 miles to attend. One had even called beforehand to confirm that the $1000 was being added. He basically said it was our fault for not calling in and asking if it was based on 64 women! The first flyers out did not say anything about it, but he caught it later and then posted those. So things get messed up even on a little local tournament. We weren't particularly happy about it, but we still played in it.
Now multiply all the different ways things can go wrong in a huge endeavor like the IPT and some things are going to fall by the wayside, and progress will move forward and change other things. Are things 100% accurate all the time? No! But in the grand scheme of things, it is not so heartbreaking that we can't adjust and go on.
If you are friends with Thorsten, then perhaps you realize that most of the players are in this fourth group. We have been around long enough to have a healthy dose of skepticism, while hoping against hope that things can change for the players that have scrounged around for years.
Bottom line is that the IPT has taken pool to a level never seen before. Major tournaments at major venues with major TV coverage and major, life-changing money is being won. Everything we have seen so far confirms that it is real. Little blips and growing pains along the way don't even track on the radar.
Until these naysayers try to put on the biggest show in town, then they can doubt all they want, but they certainly don't need to jump in EVERY thread with their 'Sky is falling' theories to try to bring everyone down. It seems the only thing these people have ever run are their mouths.