Thanks to a number of AZB forums participants who decided to jump in and go after Barry Behrman in response to the January 8 post by leminham in respect of non payment of prize money from the US Open it would seem that all have been paid. At least all who felt it necessary to go public and ask for help from the many AZBer’s who provided a solid front that would not be denied.
I must admit up front that it is hard to have any empathy or sympathy for Barry but I found that as I read and contributed to the posts on this subject, listened to the recent interview he did on American Billiards Radio (great interview, Mike and Jerry) that I did.
I was surprised that I did because I have always viewed his participation in the various aspects of the US Open as the biggest negative to the whole event.
He blathers on ad nauseam, shuffling his papers, losing his thought process and generally taking away from the enjoyment of watching. His attempts to add his human interest aspect, seemingly fueled by his penchant for rye and coke, are unwatchable.
As I listened to the radio interview I felt that he was setting up to do it again. In the radio interview he talks of his new relationships with mayor, hotel, event location and others all clearly geared to sell hope and garner support from any doubters. It was too much. I found myself hoping that he would fail and get the heck out. Within a moment I realized I was wrong to think this way. I am not intemperate nor am I mean spirited by nature and I am rarely so uncharitable toward others as to think this way so I decided I should rethink my position.
Here is a man who started this event almost 40 years ago. He nurtured it and saw it grow into one of the premier events in the pool world. He would seem to be a salesman, an optimist and a risk taker by nature. When the initial problems (he mentions 9-11, hurricanes etc.) arose he kept charging ahead leveraging his main business, Q Masters, to supplement the shortfall of revenue at the Open. It seems that the ability to supplement the revenue shortfall has deteriorated to a point that for the past few years it became necessary to pay the participants later and later. I do not know if he would have paid everyone this year without the pressure exerted by AZBer’s but I suspect he might have done it eventually (at least I would like to think so). It seems he cannot bring himself to change the business model, reduce the added money, re-energize the sponsors and re-market the event to a wider fan base (live and broadcast). In fact it might be too late, too many bridges burned, too many promises not kept and no credibility left.
However, having said all this, what I really see is an old man desperate to somehow preserve his legacy and restore his shattered reputation before it is too late. I have empathy for that man and I hope he can pull it off.
Advice: Barry, lose the ego, commit to a proper business plan. Commit to an event that will be fan friendly, both live and broadcast. Put in place proper assurances that the venue will support these objectives. Involve the pool community by being open, transparent and willing to openly communicate with them. Solicit support from the many ambassadors (AZBer’s provides a vast base) that would market this event to other pool enthusiasts, league friends and others world-wide through social media. Leverage this groundswell of support to re-energize sponsors and the hosting community. Start on this path early (in days not months), be open to input from others (come on these forums and answer when questioned) and, speaking only for myself, commit to staying away from the front of the camera until it is time to present the trophy to the 2015 US Open champion.
I must admit up front that it is hard to have any empathy or sympathy for Barry but I found that as I read and contributed to the posts on this subject, listened to the recent interview he did on American Billiards Radio (great interview, Mike and Jerry) that I did.
I was surprised that I did because I have always viewed his participation in the various aspects of the US Open as the biggest negative to the whole event.
He blathers on ad nauseam, shuffling his papers, losing his thought process and generally taking away from the enjoyment of watching. His attempts to add his human interest aspect, seemingly fueled by his penchant for rye and coke, are unwatchable.
As I listened to the radio interview I felt that he was setting up to do it again. In the radio interview he talks of his new relationships with mayor, hotel, event location and others all clearly geared to sell hope and garner support from any doubters. It was too much. I found myself hoping that he would fail and get the heck out. Within a moment I realized I was wrong to think this way. I am not intemperate nor am I mean spirited by nature and I am rarely so uncharitable toward others as to think this way so I decided I should rethink my position.
Here is a man who started this event almost 40 years ago. He nurtured it and saw it grow into one of the premier events in the pool world. He would seem to be a salesman, an optimist and a risk taker by nature. When the initial problems (he mentions 9-11, hurricanes etc.) arose he kept charging ahead leveraging his main business, Q Masters, to supplement the shortfall of revenue at the Open. It seems that the ability to supplement the revenue shortfall has deteriorated to a point that for the past few years it became necessary to pay the participants later and later. I do not know if he would have paid everyone this year without the pressure exerted by AZBer’s but I suspect he might have done it eventually (at least I would like to think so). It seems he cannot bring himself to change the business model, reduce the added money, re-energize the sponsors and re-market the event to a wider fan base (live and broadcast). In fact it might be too late, too many bridges burned, too many promises not kept and no credibility left.
However, having said all this, what I really see is an old man desperate to somehow preserve his legacy and restore his shattered reputation before it is too late. I have empathy for that man and I hope he can pull it off.
Advice: Barry, lose the ego, commit to a proper business plan. Commit to an event that will be fan friendly, both live and broadcast. Put in place proper assurances that the venue will support these objectives. Involve the pool community by being open, transparent and willing to openly communicate with them. Solicit support from the many ambassadors (AZBer’s provides a vast base) that would market this event to other pool enthusiasts, league friends and others world-wide through social media. Leverage this groundswell of support to re-energize sponsors and the hosting community. Start on this path early (in days not months), be open to input from others (come on these forums and answer when questioned) and, speaking only for myself, commit to staying away from the front of the camera until it is time to present the trophy to the 2015 US Open champion.
