Sorry CJ, but I still have to disagree with you. If "the player's make the game" we wouldn't be where we are today. No single person is bigger than the stage they play on, if you want to make it to the top of any given profession/field in life, you have to get to play on it's biggest stage. With very few exceptions, great stages are not built to accommodate individuals, the stages are built for great games and events, and they are built over time, with love, passion, and money. The individuals have to earn their right and be lucky enough to get to "play" on those stages, and the stages will remain long after the Brandos, Mantles, and Kobes have left the building.
Unfortunately, pool's great stage has never been built.
Where would any great general be without a great war to perform in, or an actor without a Broadway stage to exhibit his craft to the world, or a baseball player without the major leagues? They'd be just another hick dusting off his shoes in some unknown small town field of dreams or a dean at some unknown mid-western military school.
Success itself is a magical mix of talent, effort, luck and timing, sometimes it just cannot be explained. People love taking credit for their successes while blaming others for their failures...often it's neither. Two actors of equal talent get jobs as understudy for major Broadway stars in major productions, one never gets the opportunity to perform because the actor remains healthy, the other has to replace the actor because of illness and becomes a leading man in a top Broadway show leading to a great career. Not a better actor, just a luckier actor.
You are right in that pool's current model has not and does not work, but it isn't the fault of the game itself. It's because historically the people involved in pool failed to create a national organizational structure that allowed pool to grow, it's the result of failed leadership, over and over again. No one ever had the vision, talent, and resources to build that great stage for pool to demonstrate it's greatness to the world. And, because of that the mainstream world sees no advantage to and has no interest in sharing their successes with pool. It's as simple as that. IMHO
We're lucky to still have the few honest and dedicated people who have fought to keep pool alive, if only on a respirator, and I applaud them.
J