An open conversation on what pool in North America needs and can support.

Replaced by bar boxes, you mean, because people don't want to practise and they have no dicipline for anything that takes even a moderate amount of work. The people that bang away on those kiddy tables are not your target audience. They mostly play as an excuse to hang out and drink, and I don't think you could get them to watch pros play, even if you paid them. The events with pros and amateur tournaments show this. When the pros play, the bleachers are empty.

You need the people that don't actually play to get involved. I think a way to go with pool is to build up the excitement, with player interviews, focusing on rivalries and personalities! Then have a few high pressure invitationals with selected pros from the traditional pool countries, lets say a couple each from 7-8 countries. The top 2 countries get an extra player spot. There could be a qualifier between countries that were left out, and the 2 countries that come last will have to requalify etc..Lets fan the flames of patriotism and get the people behind their players. Let them wear player uniforms etc. but classy ones, not like bonus ball. Get the crowds into the game like in the mosconi cup. World cup of pool is kind of like this, but it could be even more exciting with a few twists. Scotch doubles is really great for tv, also. You get added pressure and interaction between the players. All events should be played in traditional and modern pool countries. No empty, Arabian, giant flight hangars!

I really think the above is the way to go if you want pool on tv. Personally, I don't particularly care. I like my pool quiet and I like to play players that enjoy the game. It's a niche sport, and will remain so. Doing the above may get some more excitement and money back into the game, but not much. Maybe barely enough to stay on tv and sustain a dozen pros.

The best thing that people could see on TV live....is players actually getting paid as Professionals, that would help bring about legitimacy to this sport.
 
Its hard to get Americans to play snooker, but what's even harder....it to keep coming up with more snooker players to support the game...as fast as they're jumping ship to play American 9ball on bar tables, or even 9ft tables. Snooker has lost quite a few past world champions to pocket pool....why do you suppose that is.....seeing how some view it as the game to fix pocket pool....LOL....can you name one pocket pool world champion that now only plays snooker?



Go ahead and name some snooker world champions that left snooker for the luxury of playing 9ball on bar tables. I'll even be nice and include a list for you to choose from. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_world_snooker_champions

The reason that no pool player has switched over to snooker is that they just aren't good enough.

That wouldn't matter as much if the North American Snooker Tour were played on 9' Diamonds. Heck, you could even use your table expertise to add a custom ball return on the pockets to make it easier to spot the colors.
 
" POOL IS COOL "

I mentioned this early on and that is a critical component in all of this, and it's not as much of a stretch as most may think. I am saddened to say that as much as I love pool, it is usually god awfully boring to watch. What do I like to watch that I don't think is boring then ? The big money Matches! The action is what gets me off, and I'm not alone in that. Barring the nonsense that was going on with French, big action matches have always drawn a lot of interest.

Let me break this down as such : There are only a couple ways to make " Pool Cool " on TV. The first is oh so simple. If fans were able to get invested in the or favorites. Not only their favorites, but their favorite to hate just as much. Think about WWE and pro wrestling. Who would have ever thought that nonsense would end up being a billion dollar industry? Not me lol! Now I'm not suggesting anything as over the top as that, but for sure there fan be a fans favorite player to root for or against. Enough at least to attract substantial enough interest to warrant some TV exposure.

Next thing : people seeing themselves in that position. It goes hand and hand with the big money matches or big money tournaments, or so,excited type of big one championship. I'm gonna give Moneymaker as an example. A regular guy thathat everyone followed and rooted for in a quest to win the million bucks. Look at the explosion in Poker that caused. Was it because he was just such a nice guy? Not really, all those people were saying to themselves " wow, that could a been me!". Now we all know there is a huge difference between anybody being able to sit down at a poker table with the best in the world and someone coming to the table with SVB. Huge difference. That's where the handicapping can come into play. Imagine if a bunch of leaguers were able to see an APA 3 Coming to the table with a chance to win $100,000 playing against SVB! But do to the use of a total fair Handicapping system ( Fargo or whatever ) and now the match up really is a coin flip! How much interest would that get from the common folks? They are going out, buying a Predator , joining league and are on their way to riches and fame! This is just an example but the point is made. The boredom factor goes away when someone has some kinda stake in it. It also goes away when they could be watching people just like themselves.

Don't get me wrong, you will definitely need the vision to see the possibilities I am talking about but I whole heartedly believe it's totally possible. Iso some are wondering how an A PA 3 COULD END up playing SVB, WELL that's a good question. It would be just one of many promotions provided in the systemorning I am putting forth. Also, a lot of it is contingent that FARGO will be able to deliver as promised. And yes yes, I know this is not exactly what Fargo is touted as but it certainly should be able to perform in these manners if it has been designed in the manner purported.

It's about making the fans having a vested interest - just like pro football, baseball , hockey, whatever but with the distinct advantage that those same fans can compete with the pros ( and actually could become a pro ) on the same level. In my mind , the possibilities are near endless The money is there, we just need to let them know why they should give it to us. The fans are ready and willing, we just need to let them know what they are ready for. As many have said, the person (s) in charge of this need to have the vision as well as the business background necessary to make this happen; not just some pool player regardless of how good they are, where they've been, or who they know Even the absolute best pro player with the bset of intentions can only go so far and do so much. Now that's not to say there's not a critical role for them too - but they would have a clearly defiNed role to which they would have to strictly adhere to. This only works if everyone knows their place and works together as one unit - a team.
Wrestling has been a big deal since I was a kid I'm 56 now so it's little surprise there ,
Poker also has been big but online poker certainly helped it but it's fallen off since
Sorry but the fans are not there ready and willing by numbers I'd say corn hole has by far a bigger following I'm surprised we have not seen it make ESPN yet ..
The only person who's made pool cool as I said a few yrs back and people laughed is Florian Kohler , venom trick shots if I said it once I say it for the hundredth time the geek kid makes pool cool other than that pool ain't cool and it's way behind so many other up rising interests it's losing ground
However it's a big world and there is a lot of interest that can be tapped into and centralized to make it bigger than it is it's never going to be PGA big but it might make it past corn hole if the cards are played right

1
 
Its hard to get Americans to play snooker, but what's even harder....it to keep coming up with more snooker players to support the game...as fast as they're jumping ship to play American 9ball on bar tables, or even 9ft tables. Snooker has lost quite a few past world champions to pocket pool....why do you suppose that is.....seeing how some view it as the game to fix pocket pool....LOL....can you name one pocket pool world champion that now only plays snooker?

Thier is zero players who can win in snooker jumping to 9 ball period

1
 
I think the problem is the game itself. It's strange that I prefer to watch snooker to pool (although I don't watch it a lot), but I love to play pool and playing snooker bores me...
For some reason I see snooker more atractive to watch, its esthetic, the dynamic of the game, etc. I know a lot of people who follow and love to watch snooker on Eurosport, they even know the players and never grabbed a cue in their life, while most of the players in the pool league I play doesn't have an idea of who Shane Van Boening is, not to mention any asian no-filipino players, it's sad.
It may sound stupid, but I think that pockets with 3/4 the size of actual ones would be very positive for TV, no one outside pool world likes to see a player not missing a ball in a rack, it looks too easy now (and this is another problem, the difficulty of the game is very hidden in pool, and the fact that the better the player is, the easier looks like, doesn't help).
 
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I think the problem is the game itself. It's strange that I prefer to watch snooker to pool (although I don't watch it a lot), but I love to play pool and playing snooker bores me...
For some reason I see snooker more atractive to watch, its esthetic, the dynamic of the game, etc. I know a lot of people who follow and love to watch snooker on Eurosport, they even know the players and never grabbed a cue in their life, while most of the players in the pool league I play doesn't have an idea of who Shane Van Boening is, not to mention any asian no-filipino players, it's sad.
It may sound stupid, but I think that pockets with 3/4 the size of actual ones would be very positive for TV, no one outside pool world likes to see a player not missing a ball in a rack, it looks too easy now (and this is another problem, the difficulty of the game is very hidden in pool, and the fact that the better the player is, the easier looks like, doesn't help).

Snooker is watched 100 times fold to pool , it's also growing rapidly in China with the help of Barry Hearn reckonizing the potential in China since about half the top world players reside there and thier country has spent big money building venues to play in it only stands to get bigger since unlike the USA they see value in the sport
The USA backs our big sports thru tax exceptions that allows the big dogs to play with thier money pools not one and never will be
The fact is Barry Hearn is like no other he's the sole reason why snooker is where it's at if he thought for one second he could bring pool to that level I'm pretty sure he would do it
I don't know how to post video's but he had one talking about Ronnie O refusing to get a 147 because he said 10k was to cheap for such a feat so he made a 146 instead
Barry says Ronnie can be a thorn in his side but he wished he had 12 of him he'd probaly say the same of Earl lol
 
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" POOL IS COOL "

I mentioned this early on and that is a critical component in all of this, and it's not as much of a stretch as most may think. I am saddened to say that as much as I love pool, it is usually god awfully boring to watch. What do I like to watch that I don't think is boring then ? The big money Matches! The action is what gets me off, and I'm not alone in that. Barring the nonsense that was going on with French, big action matches have always drawn a lot of interest.

Let me break this down as such : There are only a couple ways to make " Pool Cool " on TV. The first is oh so simple. If fans were able to get invested in the or favorites. Not only their favorites, but their favorite to hate just as much. Think about WWE and pro wrestling. Who would have ever thought that nonsense would end up being a billion dollar industry? Not me lol! Now I'm not suggesting anything as over the top as that, but for sure there fan be a fans favorite player to root for or against. Enough at least to attract substantial enough interest to warrant some TV exposure.

Next thing : people seeing themselves in that position. It goes hand and hand with the big money matches or big money tournaments, or so,excited type of big one championship. I'm gonna give Moneymaker as an example. A regular guy thathat everyone followed and rooted for in a quest to win the million bucks. Look at the explosion in Poker that caused. Was it because he was just such a nice guy? Not really, all those people were saying to themselves " wow, that could a been me!". Now we all know there is a huge difference between anybody being able to sit down at a poker table with the best in the world and someone coming to the table with SVB. Huge difference. That's where the handicapping can come into play. Imagine if a bunch of leaguers were able to see an APA 3 Coming to the table with a chance to win $100,000 playing against SVB! But do to the use of a total fair Handicapping system ( Fargo or whatever ) and now the match up really is a coin flip! How much interest would that get from the common folks? They are going out, buying a Predator , joining league and are on their way to riches and fame! This is just an example but the point is made. The boredom factor goes away when someone has some kinda stake in it. It also goes away when they could be watching people just like themselves.

Don't get me wrong, you will definitely need the vision to see the possibilities I am talking about but I whole heartedly believe it's totally possible. Iso some are wondering how an A PA 3 COULD END up playing SVB, WELL that's a good question. It would be just one of many promotions provided in the systemorning I am putting forth. Also, a lot of it is contingent that FARGO will be able to deliver as promised. And yes yes, I know this is not exactly what Fargo is touted as but it certainly should be able to perform in these manners if it has been designed in the manner purported.

It's about making the fans having a vested interest - just like pro football, baseball , hockey, whatever but with the distinct advantage that those same fans can compete with the pros ( and actually could become a pro ) on the same level. In my mind , the possibilities are near endless The money is there, we just need to let them know why they should give it to us. The fans are ready and willing, we just need to let them know what they are ready for. As many have said, the person (s) in charge of this need to have the vision as well as the business background necessary to make this happen; not just some pool player regardless of how good they are, where they've been, or who they know Even the absolute best pro player with the bset of intentions can only go so far and do so much. Now that's not to say there's not a critical role for them too - but they would have a clearly defiNed role to which they would have to strictly adhere to. This only works if everyone knows their place and works together as one unit - a team.

For Christ sake I got bored just reading you describe it. That's how ridiculous of an idea it all is.

JC
 
Go ahead and name some snooker world champions that left snooker for the luxury of playing 9ball on bar tables. I'll even be nice and include a list for you to choose from. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_world_snooker_champions

The reason that no pool player has switched over to snooker is that they just aren't good enough.

That wouldn't matter as much if the North American Snooker Tour were played on 9' Diamonds. Heck, you could even use your table expertise to add a custom ball return on the pockets to make it easier to spot the colors.
Who said bar tables? I said American 9 ball....don't get your panties in a twist over being wrong buddy.
 
We'll just leave it at that for the time being, the rest of the story is in my head where it's safe so no one can figure it out and somehow screw it all up like normal.

Sorry RKC, but as appears to be popular consensus here, whatever you have "in your head", should just stay there!..There are hundreds of members on this forum, who are better equipped at expressing 'better ideas' re; pool, than you have ever come up with! (I am only one of them :p)..You are much better at lugging 200 lb. slates up 3 flights of stairs, than you ever will be at figuring out how to fix pool!..Puhleeeeze, get over yourself, and stick to what you do best! :rolleyes:

PS..I can see you and Robin having a 3 hour conversation, regarding the pros and cons of 'fixing pool'!..If he thinks you are an intelligent 'source of knowledge', he just shot his own credibility in the foot!..Soon he will be like you, spending his every other post, explaining and defending his position on everything! :sorry:

I wouldn't use TV such as HBO or SHO time until the final match, which can be set by date and time frame a year in advance, because the match can start on time....and end on time.....every time, that would be the best finals for an advertising sponsorship.....provided the rest of the tournament can be viewed via the Internet, live....viewers choice of 32 tables, through the choice of 4 cameras per table....at a slight fee of course....per day;)

Do you ever actually look your posts over, before you hit submit?..We can't even get pool live on ESPN4 and you're talking HBO and SHO time???..Yes, I'm sure they would reserve a slot for pool, a year in advance!..I am becoming convinced you are on some sort of drug, that keeps you spouting these impossible scenarios!..(of course, 32 tables, and 4 cameras per table, would help:rotflmao1:)..Please stop enticing me to ridicule you..You are obviously not of sound mind and body! :rolleyes:

Take your medicine old man, you're sounding senile!

Better than your average come back! :p
 
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Go ahead and name some snooker world champions that left snooker for the luxury of playing 9ball on bar tables. I'll even be nice and include a list for you to choose from. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_world_snooker_champions

The reason that no pool player has switched over to snooker is that they just aren't good enough.

That wouldn't matter as much if the North American Snooker Tour were played on 9' Diamonds. Heck, you could even use your table expertise to add a custom ball return on the pockets to make it easier to spot the colors.

So, does that include women snooker world champions as well?
 
Go ahead and name some snooker world champions that left snooker for the luxury of playing 9ball on bar tables. I'll even be nice and include a list for you to choose from. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_world_snooker_champions

The reason that no pool player has switched over to snooker is that they just aren't good enough.

That wouldn't matter as much if the North American Snooker Tour were played on 9' Diamonds. Heck, you could even use your table expertise to add a custom ball return on the pockets to make it easier to spot the colors.

I think everyone on AZB knows your bias towards snooker, so why are you even involved in this thread?
 
Sorry RKC, but as appears to be popular consensus here, whatever you have "in your head", should just stay there!..There are hundreds of members on this forum, who are better equipped at expressing 'better ideas' re; pool, than you have ever come up with! (I am only one of them :p)..You are much better at lugging 200 lb. slates up 3 flights of stairs, than you ever will be at figuring out how to fix pool!..Puhleeeeze, get over yourself, and stick to what you do best! :rolleyes:

PS..I can see you and Robin having a 3 hour conversation, regarding the pros and cons of 'fixing pool'!..If he thinks you are an intelligent 'source of knowledge', he just shot his own credibility in the foot!..Soon he will be like you, spending his every other post, explaining and defending his position on everything! :sorry:



Do you ever actually look your posts over, before you hit submit?..We can't even get pool live on ESPN4 and you're talking HBO and SHO time???..Yes, I'm sure they would reserve a slot for pool, a year in advance!..I am becoming convinced you are on some sort of drug, that keeps you spouting these impossible scenarios!..(of course, 32 tables, and 4 cameras per table, would help:rotflmao1:)..Please stop enticing me to ridicule you..You are obviously not of sound mind and body! :rolleyes:

Take your medicine old man, you're sounding senile!
 
Nope

PS..I can see you and Robin having a 3 hour conversation, regarding the pros and cons of 'fixing pool'!..If he thinks you are an intelligent 'source of knowledge', he just shot his own credibility in the foot!..Soon he will be like you, spending his every other post, explaining and defending his position on everything! :sorry:

No I don't think so Dick.

I think the man could do it based on what he told me. I have plenty of other fish to fry. While I'd love to be a small part of the solution, I think Pool is going to be what its going to be regardless of you or me.

I can see some things that can be done without an arrangement like what RKC mentioned that do nothing but strengthen the support of pool, like the room owner association initiative and some of the things I mentioned and I'm sure there are other great ideas. Putting lots of people to work, always works.

RKC's ideas will likely go to the grave with him unless he can find some money from a source that believes in it as much as he does. He had the funding lined up in some business deals that haven't matured and may never, but if they don't, he won't do anything for now, but I do think the man deserves a shot at doing it because its something he's thought out very well. I think he could pull it off because he has a plan laid out. We've seen pool decline for the last what 30 yrs? You would think we've had enough punishment. We started the real decline when the BCA decided to become a Trade organization in total. We have no support, there isn't anyone saying "Got Pool!" to anyone therefore in this digital world we really don't exist. We have become a fringe business. No one thinks of us and we still carry the stigma of the smoky pool room and we can't seem to shake it. That's what has to be beaten back but in order to do that a replenishing system of money making and management has to exist. In order for it to exist we have to have willing fans with a few dollars getting something they want and they have to know about it.

I personally don't have the dough to take on a project that size by my lonesome. I've got my little slice of the pie and I'm trying. It's not huge but I'm ok. I love pool just as much as anyone, hell I devoted 11yrs of my life over this book series I just put out on ebook.

I'd be on the advisory board of something, because I do have an understanding of the business, but I don't expect that I'm going to take up RKC's cross on Az. He's going to do whatever it is that he's going to do. He's in Washington State. I'm in North Carolina. If some of my projects do well or I just get my money back on one, yes I would be ok throwing some money the ring as long as there were adequate funding present to finish the projects main parts. I just don't have the kind of money that replenishes itself quick enough to come with something of this magnitude. I think it would work. I still have a few questions on one or two pieces of the puzzle but likely he's already told me.

I still believe that anything we do for pool has to have the support of the regular players of the game. If it doesn't meet that test, then I don't care what you come with, it isn't going to work real well. If a guy can't find it in his heart to throw a few bucks in the ring to see pool do good because he enjoys it and believes in it so a situation could be created so he could see more of it, in better and better ways and pass to the ones beyond him, then we're a hopeless case. I guess we could just start playing Pokemon like everyone else. I think I'd rather have a drink of your Yukon Jack.
 
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I am sorry to see that this thread has degenerated into an argument btwn RKC and the forum (except for Robin who now seems to be drinking RKC's Koolaid). what happened to the mod's 'delete post' button?

until the 'boring to watch as a spectator' is fixed pool will never have a viable tour as there will be no advertising money. unit there is more money in pool kids just are not going to spend the time and effort to become great at the game (see the cause and effect there?). how many other SVBs or Johnny Archers are there in the US that just never picked up a cue?

brian=>still wondering about the delete post button
 
Watching pool is not boring when you have a bet on the game. Not betting on pool is like not betting at the Horse or Greyhound track. Johnnyt
 
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