Could Joe Rogan help with pool?

Yes, but the Queen's Gambit was the story of a young, introverted girl who was a social misfit and had substance abuse issues. Beth Harmon was the kind of person we all root for, because we all admire those who emerge from life's deepest trenches and find success of any kind.

In pool movies/shows, pool has never been presented as the outlet for a troubled introvert suddenly obsessed with the game's inner beauty but instead as a haven for those who want to win money gambling at it with less skilled players.

Beth Harmon, unlike any pool player ever presented in film, etched her entire legacy in the legitimate world of tournaments, and her journey helped us to understand, with great fascination, what serious chess is all about and what it is like to compete at the very highest level. We learned what it's like to sit across the table from the world title holder ready to try to match wits with a champion whose legend is both enormous and intimidating. We learned what's it like to win and receive genuine admiration and positive feedback from your opponent.

If a pool equivalent of "the Queen's Gambit" were made, unless it steered clear of the seedy world of action pool, the public would not be able to fully appreciate the world of legitimate pool and the true beauty of the game when played by the world's greatest players. As long as the top pool players are viewed by the public as predatory gamblers, pool will always have an image problem that will obstruct its wide acceptance.
One thing the Queen's Gambit and most pool movies might have in common was that Beth Harmon was using drugs to perform better. That seedy part of the story line didn't really hurt her image or chess.
 
For as long as I have read your posts, you have always put down gambling in pool. That's fine, you certainly are entitled to your opinion. But both The Hustler and Color of Money had A LOT of gambling in them. Practically what they were about. And both of them gave pool a great boost.

You could have a movie exclusively about 'legitimate pool' and the world's greatest players in tournaments, certainly doable, a good script doesn't have to include gambling. But I don't see it as the negative that you apparently do. If anything gambling is more widespread and accepted than it was when those other movies were made.

What is needed is a good script, a good director, and star power. How about Tarantino or the Coen brothers? Would love to see what they could come up with, but I'm not sure the result would do any cleaning up of pool's image. But pretty sure it would increase interest.

I don't know how Stu feels, but I'm not sure merely "gambling" is the right marker for the underbelly part. Even with the Queen's Gambit reference to Benny Watts, I don't think anyone would argue Benny was anything other than about chess. In fact a tension was he looked at Beth and only saw chess and chess potential and failed to see her as a person beyond those.

The underbelly, imo, is seeing pool as merely a vehicle to make a SCORE. And once the score is the driver, ethics are out the window, and pool is secondary at best.

If we see Shane play Dennis, for example, we can ooh and awe about how much money is in the middle or whatever. But those guys are playing for who--moving forward--is talked about as the one to beat.. They'd give up a lot to get that recognition, imo.
 
I don't know how Stu feels, but I'm not sure merely "gambling" is the right marker for the underbelly part. Even with the Queen's Gambit reference to Benny Watts, I don't think anyone would argue Benny was anything other than about chess. In fact a tension was he looked at Beth and only saw chess and chess potential and failed to see her as a person beyond those.

The underbelly, imo, is seeing pool as merely a vehicle to make a SCORE. And once the score is the driver, ethics are out the window, and pool is secondary at best.

If we see Shane play Dennis, for example, we can ooh and awe about how much money is in the middle or whatever. But those guys are playing for who--moving forward--is talked about as the one to beat.. They'd give up a lot to get that recognition, imo.
Ok, then I will include the word hustling, which again was very much a part of both previous movies I talked about. And again, both did well, and both gave a big boost to public interest in the game of pool. The hustling did nothing to decrease that boost, in fact probably helped it.

No one is going to make a movie with the objective to improve pool's image. The best pool lovers can hope for is that one is made that will have a great script, and as long as pool is the vehicle, a popular movie will give a boost. More public interest means more money for all pool related business.

And just to stay with the subject of the thread, I like Rogan, I like his podcasts. I think he has an above average intelligence. He tries to have shows that will interest a wide audience, obviously. He is a pool player, but if he doesn't think a show on pool will draw a wide audience, I doubt he will do it. Also think a successful movie would do much more than a single Rogan podcast, to give pool a boost.
 
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Just to be clear you’re calling me a racist because you think it’s unfair that you can’t use the N word as freely as black people can. How old are you? Sorry little pp9 but life isn’t fair.

The old double standard argument is as weak as it gets and it actually doesn’t address racism at all. If anything it amplifies the argument that supports people like you who are mostly upset that you can’t exercise your white privilege to normalize using slurs freely and without consequence because someone else does it?

…and that people like you are so incredibly tone deaf that you can’t understand why a white person using that word is different than a black personality using it.

I’m sorry you feel robbed of your freedom to use the N word but I’m sure at some point an adult asked you “if everyone else jumped off a bridge, would you”.

Because when you dumb it down with that argument that really is what you’re crying about. You’re pissed you can’t jump off the bridge.

Just to be clear you’re calling me a racist because you think it’s unfair that you can’t use the N word as freely as black people can. How old are you? Sorry little pp9 but life isn’t fair.

The old double standard argument is as weak as it gets and it actually doesn’t address racism at all. If anything it amplifies the argument that supports people like you who are mostly upset that you can’t exercise your white privilege to normalize using slurs freely and without consequence because someone else does it?

…and that people like you are so incredibly tone deaf that you can’t understand why a white person using that word is different than a black personality using it.

I’m sorry you feel robbed of your freedom to use the N word but I’m sure at some point an adult asked you “if everyone else jumped off a bridge, would you”.

Because when you dumb it down with that argument that really is what you’re crying about. You’re pissed you can’t jump off the bridge.
What about when a black person calls someone "Whitey"? Is that racist and is it all right in your opinion?
 
Stopping free speech has become the new civil war.

Apologies don't matter. N words don't matter. What matters is control of speech.


Jeff Livingston
 
They deleted plenty of episodes that didn’t contain the word knuckle.

They deleted some episodes that were critical of Saudi Arabia, which happens to be a new market for Spotify.

The whole thing is just a preemptive move before elections because they know whatever bs moves get pulled, Joe and/or guests will call them out and millions will see.

They (corrupt politicians & corporate types) want Joe gone more than anything because he’s the biggest source of info and ideas that aren’t filtered through their system.

A super pac funded attack on a freakin comedian with a podcast lol.
 
For as long as I have read your posts, you have always put down gambling in pool. That's fine, you certainly are entitled to your opinion. But both The Hustler and Color of Money had A LOT of gambling in them. Practically what they were about. And both of them gave pool a great boost.

You could have a movie exclusively about 'legitimate pool' and the world's greatest players in tournaments, certainly doable, a good script doesn't have to include gambling. But I don't see it as the negative that you apparently do. If anything gambling is more widespread and accepted than it was when those other movies were made.

What is needed is a good script, a good director, and star power. How about Tarantino or the Coen brothers? Would love to see what they could come up with, but I'm not sure the result would do any cleaning up of pool's image. But pretty sure it would increase interest.
Thanks for a thoughtful, well-considered post.

I'm not anti-gambling. I know that "The Hustler" and "The Color of Money" both gave the game a temporary boost in popularity, and another film focusing on that side of the game might do the same again.

That said, either of those films would have put up a red flag for parents who steer their children into whatever leisurely pursuits they see fit, and, at least for my money, these films tended to present the pool scene as a dangerous world that some, and not others, learn to navigate safely and successfully.

The Queen's Gambit, on the other hand, focused on the beauty of chess and the classiness of the chess tournament scene. Any parent having watched it would be 100% comfortable involving their children in the chess scene.

For me, I feel that pool players, as a group, have gotten older, and I think it's, at least in part, attributable to the fact that our sport has failed miserably at making the pool scene attractive to young people or to the parents who have a great say in whether young ones will be encouraged/permitted to be part of the pool scene.

Hence, I feel that pool, as portrayed in film and other media, has never shown its best side, and I feel it has done some damage by scaring off the young. Any pool event producer or poolroom owner will tell you how hard it has been to attract the younger demographic to their businesses, and things have been that way for quite some time.

I do feel, however, that these movies, though entertaining, show pool at its worst, not at its best, and I feel strongly that these movies tended to reinforce just how seedy the pool scene can be and not on how beautiful the game and the pool scene can be.

Where you are right, however, is that I don't see the gambling side of pool as the lure we should be using to attract new, and especially young, players. Pool, to me, has the inner beauty of chess, and its top events have a certain majesty about them, and I feel we'd have a better shot at attracting new players long-term if we take steps in the direction of emphasizing that inner beauty, much as The Queen's Gambit did for chess.

... of course, that doesn't make me right, but it's how I see things. We've lost an entire generation of players, and it's time to do something about it.
 
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Stopping free speech has become the new civil war.

Apologies don't matter. N words don't matter. What matters is control of speech.


Jeff Livingston
Don't forget we need to take down all the statues and landmarks that are a hundred or more years old because they recognize someone who is no longer in favor. And heaven forbid a team nickname somehow becomes defamatory after 75 years!

I'm sorry I just don't get it. Why all the outrage after all these years? Do we need to fight the Civil War again? Or has it already begun?
 
Don't forget we need to take down all the statues and landmarks that are a hundred or more years old because they recognize someone who is no longer in favor. And heaven forbid a team nickname somehow becomes defamatory after 50 or 75 years!

I'm sorry I just don't get it. Why all the outrage after all these years? Do we need to fight the Civil War again? Or has it already begun?

To "get it," remember the govt is in reality a criminal gang writ large. That helps to instantly clear up so many of its trouble-making ways.


Jeff Livingston
 
Don't forget we need to take down all the statues and landmarks that are a hundred or more years old because they recognize someone who is no longer in favor. And heaven forbid a team nickname somehow becomes defamatory after 50 or 75 years!

I'm sorry I just don't get it. Why all the outrage after all these years? Do we need to fight the Civil War again? Or has it already begun?
Trying to understand why some people think statues should be taken down, and why others think they should stay up is surely important given that society is having a conversation about itself.
 
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Honky was the bad term used back when. If I remember, it was used on sitcoms in the 70's.

I still have to go to therapy when I hear it. Words in my ears...what to do? what to do?


Jeff, Honky, Livingston, banned for quoting Nixon's totally racist use of the N word and proud of exposing his racism.
 
It was a great night for me. Exposed you for the racist you are (with plenty of help from you, turns out you're quite the proud racist), and made you my b!tch in the process. Now hush up before you end up irritating me and I decide to turn you out like the little racist hoe you are.

And in the mean time get the hell outta here with your racism, racist.
You want to turn me out? Are you suggesting that you want me to agree with you or you’ll sexually assault me or have me sexually assaulted.

Why so violent?

Kinda figured assault and threats is where you’d end up.
 
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Look at the number of people pissed off because a private business removed the N word from podcasts.

Wanna know why pools dead? There’s your answer. No ones interested in banging balls with angry boomers who feel they’re the victims of racism.
 
Pool needs a tv series like The Queen's Gambit. You can read about how Chess's popularity has skyrocketed since that show came out. Btw, Pool is on TV - i have the billiard network on my cable subscription via youtube tv.

“The Queen’s Gambit” was written by Walter Tevis, the same man who wrote “The Hustler”
 
ESPN.com is a favorite website, but very few people under 55, especially in urban areas subscribe to or watch cable or broadcast TV.

ESPN may be the correct entity, but not on cable, if you want the younger generations.

Personally, I only know one person in the 50 and under who uses cable or broadcast TV. Everybody I know uses streaming.

But, by all means keep thinking that you know best, keep marketing it to old white dudes. I don't care, I'm fine just playing pool.
And there’s one of the main points- you’d rather be playin’ than watchin’.

Pool tends to lend itself to being a participatory sport moreso than a spectator sport.
 
The funny thing if not ironic is that when Rogan shut his forum down it was after he pinned pleas to curb the racism. Along with a few other things going on there like gore, sexual harrassment and questionable porn.

That plea sparked a thread that ultimately turned into a poll about racist forums on the internet. AZB was up on that list with significant votes and that was maybe 10 years ago... maybe more.

This place more than ever has become a safe haven for racism, homophobia, bigotry and intolerance. There's protecting free speech and then there's protecting hate speech. I don't feel this community and the pool community in general comes out on the right side of that debate and its not something new here. There is an overwhelming age bracket behind the vitriol which has contempt for younger generations... how do you grow your sport when your base openly hates millennials and gen Z. You're gonna run out of customers...

Its a shame that he shut his forum down. There was so much good content there from cars, carpentry, landscaping, audio/video, growing, music... it was easily the best forum I'd been a part of but he knew way back then that he needed to distance himself from negative aspects that made its way there.

I like Joe. I think he's sincere in his apology and I'm happy spotify didn't cave into cancel culture.

There was a post above that pointed to him being targeted as a political motive and tool and I don't disagree with that. Once the smoke clears I hope Joe pushes the dialogue rather than shy from it. I think he will.
 
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