America Loses Dominance in International Pool
- Thread starter 9 Ball Girl
- Start date
Woe is US
I was thinking the same thing while watching a re-run of the Mosconi Cup, which aired shortly after the King of the Hill matches. America and Europe have the MC, but what about the Phillipines? They are clearly kicking everyone's butt. Should the Mosconi Cup become a three-way match? Should they form their own Cup match with Tiawan where the winners of each cup would compete for a world championship?
The title of the BD article hits the mark! It is a NEW WORLD ORDER, AND WE'RE AT THE BOTTOM. I agree with BD. It's not that the US doesn't have the talent, they don't have any incentive ($$$). To be successful in business, you have to tap into the better market. That's why the IPT was sold and is going across the pond, that's where the ($$$) is. This will be a "smack in the face" of the US, but IMO that might be just what our sport needs... a wake-up call. Maybe the global dominance in a sport we created will inspire the US to take notice and realize that there is a international value in the sport of pool.
What's next, baseball??
9 Ball Girl said:
I was thinking the same thing while watching a re-run of the Mosconi Cup, which aired shortly after the King of the Hill matches. America and Europe have the MC, but what about the Phillipines? They are clearly kicking everyone's butt. Should the Mosconi Cup become a three-way match? Should they form their own Cup match with Tiawan where the winners of each cup would compete for a world championship?
The title of the BD article hits the mark! It is a NEW WORLD ORDER, AND WE'RE AT THE BOTTOM. I agree with BD. It's not that the US doesn't have the talent, they don't have any incentive ($$$). To be successful in business, you have to tap into the better market. That's why the IPT was sold and is going across the pond, that's where the ($$$) is. This will be a "smack in the face" of the US, but IMO that might be just what our sport needs... a wake-up call. Maybe the global dominance in a sport we created will inspire the US to take notice and realize that there is a international value in the sport of pool.
What's next, baseball??
hippiepool
Banned
your avatar makes me think about moving to brooklyn ...9 Ball Girl said:
Perhaps the U.S. should ban The Music Man with all those nasty references to pool in the lyrics.
In the threads on what you look for in a pool hall: NO KIDS. So they go on to other activities supported by schools and parents and get instruction on how to improve.
Up here in The Great White North, curling is big. Much participation, fat cash tournaments, and big audiences on TV: 40 pound rocks instead of pool balls crashing into each other. Brooms instead of cues. These players spill more Scotch between games than Americans can win at a pool table.
Maybe the U.S. hasn't made pool bigtime because of it's French orgin.
Which leads to a question: Why no French competitors?
The article points out is that you have to start them young. When I was growing up, I couldn't get into the local pool halls. I only started to play when I beg working with guys who played snooker every lunch hour.
Could someone can comment on Snooker in the U.K.? I've seen references to school leagues but don't know how extensive they are.
In the threads on what you look for in a pool hall: NO KIDS. So they go on to other activities supported by schools and parents and get instruction on how to improve.
Up here in The Great White North, curling is big. Much participation, fat cash tournaments, and big audiences on TV: 40 pound rocks instead of pool balls crashing into each other. Brooms instead of cues. These players spill more Scotch between games than Americans can win at a pool table.
Maybe the U.S. hasn't made pool bigtime because of it's French orgin.
Which leads to a question: Why no French competitors?
The article points out is that you have to start them young. When I was growing up, I couldn't get into the local pool halls. I only started to play when I beg working with guys who played snooker every lunch hour.
Could someone can comment on Snooker in the U.K.? I've seen references to school leagues but don't know how extensive they are.
O
onepocketchump
Guest
Now if only we could lose the superiority complex we are burdened with we could get to work to stay competitive.
John
John
cardsfan. dont glourify the $$$ over the ocean to much. Europe really has very limited financial means to do big things, but nevertheless its working.
i can tell u that winning a national ranking event wont give u more then 150$
winning a national open will hardly give u anything above 500$ and a international european open wont be giving u much more then 1k.
we have VERY good players, thats true. but if u compare the amount of players in the US with the amount of players in europe we are in a very big minority.
did u know in my country NO player can ever become a pro, because u just CANT live of hustling + tournament money etc. u are lucky if in my country u can make more then 500$ a year.
but im glad the article has been published. the upcoming european playerlist is really MASIVE. i think some us players would open there eyes when they see the tallent there is in the eurotour, or in the european championships.
we might not have trudeaux and all the different ligues the us has, but we surely got motivation and passion for pool.
the only thing in europe that REALLY has big money is snooker. a top snooker player in the UK, can earn easily 5.000.000 in career price money. dont think any poolplayer can touch that. just weird such a small country as the UK , has the finances. they must be doing it the RIGHT way.
greats from solly always ready to promote the european and belgium poolscene.
ps dont worry
my dream is still to get my a** on a plain and flight to vegas and play some pool there. ive never seen a poolhall with more then 20 tables.
i can tell u that winning a national ranking event wont give u more then 150$
winning a national open will hardly give u anything above 500$ and a international european open wont be giving u much more then 1k.
we have VERY good players, thats true. but if u compare the amount of players in the US with the amount of players in europe we are in a very big minority.
did u know in my country NO player can ever become a pro, because u just CANT live of hustling + tournament money etc. u are lucky if in my country u can make more then 500$ a year.
but im glad the article has been published. the upcoming european playerlist is really MASIVE. i think some us players would open there eyes when they see the tallent there is in the eurotour, or in the european championships.
we might not have trudeaux and all the different ligues the us has, but we surely got motivation and passion for pool.
the only thing in europe that REALLY has big money is snooker. a top snooker player in the UK, can earn easily 5.000.000 in career price money. dont think any poolplayer can touch that. just weird such a small country as the UK , has the finances. they must be doing it the RIGHT way.
greats from solly always ready to promote the european and belgium poolscene.
ps dont worry
my dream is still to get my a** on a plain and flight to vegas and play some pool there. ive never seen a poolhall with more then 20 tables. 
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hippiepool said:
Well, if an American wins the US Open this year, that would be a start back on the "American Dominance" road.
DawgAndy said:
The answer is "A LOT". Country's pride make a lot of difference. As the pool become more and more international each country will try to make their statement. Case in point, Taiwan.
That's the other downfall of American pool players. Many still thinks pool is just like the "good old days" which is clearly no longer the case.
Just like what Lebron James said NBA players should consider representing the USA for the country. Maybe, it's time that American consider the same thing.
Sorry, I still don't see why I should care, great pool is great pool and it doesn't matter to me what country the player is from. For the players involved they want to win because they're competitive they always want to win. But why should they win for a country that doesn't care or aknowledge their sport?
Andy
Timely aricle on msn http://msn.foxsports.com/golf/story/5997326
Andy
Timely aricle on msn http://msn.foxsports.com/golf/story/5997326
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The premise of this article is obvious and has been for a couple of years. This article could have been, and should have been, written in 2004. Now, it's long after the fact, and if you didn't know that American dominance in pool is long-gone, you're probably not a pool fan and you're surely not a Billiards Digest reader.
Thank God we still have Lance Armstrong. Oops, sorry, forgot he's retired. And that other guy is (allegedly) on dope. ouch
Football? America has never been a force in football. Oh, you mean AMERICAN football...
Yes, it's really getting to be a more globally competitive world. America no longer has the advantage in basketball, tennis, golf, billiards, bowling, etc. Blame the lure of the professional leagues. Athletes are flocking to the lucrative sports to the detriment of other sports like badminton, table tennis, and pool. But then again, even in basketball America is a spent force. Maybe all these millionaire athletes have lost the drive to win and are just content with the endorsement dollars.....
Football? America has never been a force in football. Oh, you mean AMERICAN football...
Yes, it's really getting to be a more globally competitive world. America no longer has the advantage in basketball, tennis, golf, billiards, bowling, etc. Blame the lure of the professional leagues. Athletes are flocking to the lucrative sports to the detriment of other sports like badminton, table tennis, and pool. But then again, even in basketball America is a spent force. Maybe all these millionaire athletes have lost the drive to win and are just content with the endorsement dollars.....
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I also think that beside the fact that money amounts may not attract American pool players, I kind of feel that just playing 9 Ball may be a killer when compared to the Europeans and Filipinos--I think they're more well rounded--snooker, rotation, etc. JMO
Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Filipino players have been representing their "country" even before the government started taking notice of them and the sport. But it's not the geographic formation that they represent but rather the many faces that are close to their hearts or hold them close to their hearts. (country=the hearts or even just "a heart" that supports them in what they do)DawgAndy said:
The reputation of the sport here, back then, may even be worst than in the US but slowly got better yet not completely that good.
The People of the US has a proud heritage and the key to the future may just be a glance to the past. In glancing back, you may recall some famous words, "Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country".
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