Cue Sports - Worthy of the Olympics?

[Jimmy M.]

If I walk into ESPN Zone in downtown DC and ask 100 customers who is Mrs. Nancy Johnson they couldn't tell me, maybe one or two? The same for Jeanette Lee who won the gold Medal in 9-ball pool in the 2001 World Games.
She is easily the most recognized person in the recreation of pool but the American Public doesn't know who she is. LOL

I'm actually surprised at how many people DO know Jeanette who aren't pool players at all. In fact, almost every time I tell someone (who isn't a player) that I play pool, at some point during the conversation, they ask something about Jeanette Lee. "Do you know the Black Widow?" Admittedly, sometimes they don't know her name and ask, "Who is that one Asian girl who is always on TV? The 'Black Something-err-rather'?"

My 12 year old asked me the other day if I knew who Fransisco Bustamante was. I don't know why that struck me as funny. It just seems so odd when someone who isn't a pool player knows who some professional pool player is, especially a male player, since they're hardly ever on TV.

 

[Jimmy M.]

3) Should it be a winter sport? - I'm a little baffled by this one as I don't think being an indoor sport means that it should be a winter sport? There are many indoor sports in the summer games and many outdoor sports in the winter games. I thought only sports requiring ice,snow etc where in the winter olympics (unless Im missing something lol!)?

I was actually being a little sarcastic with that one since you can play pool any time of the year. I do think the Winter Games all involve some outdoor activity using snow, ice, or whatever else. Actually, I lived in Lansing, MI for a while when I was a teenager, and the pool rooms were pretty dead in the Summer. Everyone was out at the golf course or somwhere else that they can't be for half of the year. In the Winter the pool room was packed. So I guess, depending on where you live, it is sort of a "Winter Game" .

 

[BAZARUS]

There are few things, that decide which sports goes to Olympics:
- number of viewers watching particular sport on television
- number of sold tickets during a event
- number of sponsors, that are willing to invest their money
- number of sold magazines with a particular sport
...and possibly a few other things, that I didn't mention. Basiclly sports, that brings best earnigs from all of those will be in Olympics. Like someone mentioned before its all about money. Now tell me please how much money do we have in billiards?

 

[sjm]

There are few things, that decide which sports goes to Olympics:
- number of viewers watching particular sport on television
- number of sold tickets during a event
- number of sponsors, that are willing to invest their money
- number of sold magazines with a particular sport
...and possibly a few other things, that I didn't mention. Basiclly sports, that brings best earnigs from all of those will be in Olympics. Like someone mentioned before its all about money. Now tell me please how much money do we have in billiards?

Right on, Bazarus. Another factor is the matter of the roots of the Olympics. In the ancient games, the events cheifly consisted of skills that pertained to war and battles. In ancient Greece, many attributes were only considered important to the extent that they could be used to advantage in battle. Javelin, hammer, discus, shotput, archery and all other disciplines involving the aim and release of a projectile were always viewed as important.

I believe that disciplines such as archery and shooting, because they loosely fit the mold of the ancient games, in which skills traceable to combat were the ones considered important, can attribute their continued inclusion (and likely future inclusion) in the Olympics to this.

 

[Melissa Herndon]

Interesting note:

In an interview, Bob Costas was asked what sport should be added to the Olympics.

His one word answer: Billiards

(The interviewer goes on to ask if Billiards is even considered a sport...and Bob Costas makes a few jokes about the Olympic future for poker and spelling bees....but I am hoping that he was being serious about billiards being added. It would be nice to know that our sport has the support of a national sportscaster/expert.)

Melissa

 

[DeadPoked]

Melissa can I find that interview on-line? I tried googling it, but I could not find the article. I would just like to read it to see what context he said that in.

 

[JustPlay]

There are few things, that decide which sports goes to Olympics:
..........
...and possibly a few other things, that I didn't mention. Basiclly sports, that brings best earnigs from all of those will be in Olympics. Like someone mentioned before its all about money. Now tell me please how much money do we have in billiards?[....

There is plenty of money in cue games: pool table & cue manufactures, and all of them making their money from the general public and very little percentage from hardcore players and enthuists. Billiards and Snooker have a bigger audience world wide than ping pong and batmitten (both olympic games) yet they are in. If only mens professional pool wasn't filled with corruption and unorganization over the last 15 years or so I really think some cue game(s) would have been part of the olympic games of 2004. What orgization made ping pong or batmitten an olympic game (or sport), did you see the 50 or so people watching both events!! Billards and Snooker should be the first to be introduced to the olympics then maybe other cue games if it is successful and should be part of the winter olympics because it is an indoor game. Nobody wants to watch an indoor game on a nice day. If the American pool "professionals" and "organizers" really want to be apart of the olympics then they need to get there act together. The world will follow what America does in these regards.

 

[Melissa Herndon]

Melissa can I find that interview on-line? I tried googling it, but I could not find the article. I would just like to read it to see what context he said that in.

Nope. It was in a small magazine article...possibly People....but I am not positive which one.

Sorry!

 

[TheOne]

There are few things, that decide which sports goes to Olympics:
..........
...and possibly a few other things, that I didn't mention. Basiclly sports, that brings best earnigs from all of those will be in Olympics. Like someone mentioned before its all about money. Now tell me please how much money do we have in billiards?[....

There is plenty of money in cue games: pool table & cue manufactures, and all of them making their money from the general public and very little percentage from hardcore players and enthuists. Billiards and Snooker have a bigger audience world wide than ping pong and batmitten (both olympic games) yet they are in. If only mens professional pool wasn't filled with corruption and unorganization over the last 15 years or so I really think some cue game(s) would have been part of the olympic games of 2004. What orgization made ping pong or batmitten an olympic game (or sport), did you see the 50 or so people watching both events!! Billards and Snooker should be the first to be introduced to the olympics then maybe other cue games if it is successful and should be part of the winter olympics because it is an indoor game. Nobody wants to watch an indoor game on a nice day. If the American pool "professionals" and "organizers" really want to be apart of the olympics then they need to get there act together. The world will follow what America does in these regards.

I totally agree about the money thing JustPlay, billiards is one of the most participated sports/games on the planet. Ask 10 friends if they've every played billiards and you'll most likely get ten yes'es. Now ask ten friends if they've ever done the clean and jerk. Most will reply "no" or won't know what youre talking about (some may reply daily but tey are just confused . Yes the prize money in billiards isn't great but I would say the industry figures would be huge. I know in the UK that the % of people that play pool or snooker regulary is very high, something like 20% of the nation. I think the key here what people are missing is that I am specifically talking about "China" as being the country to introduce it into the 2008 games. There are many factors that make this a stong possibility and I doubt there would be any worries about packing a room or having huge TV figures.

I agree about the shooting and war games point and this will probably always keep these events in the games, However it has been shown that this doesn't eclude other games that are not war like from being introduced eg basketball and ping pong.

With regards to the winter games, as Jimmy said it has nothing to do with indoor / outdoor even though it is played more in the winer time. Winter Olympics = snow and ice!

 

[JustPlay]

I totally agree about the money thing JustPlay, billiards is one of the most participated sports/games on the planet. Ask 10 friends if they've every played billiards and you'll most likely get ten yes'es. Now ask ten friends if they've ever done the clean and jerk. Most will reply "no" or won't know what youre talking about (some may reply daily but tey are just confused . Yes the prize money in billiards isn't great but I would say the industry figures would be huge. I know in the UK that the % of people that play pool or snooker regulary is very high, something like 20% of the nation. I think the key here what people are missing is that I am specifically talking about "China" as being the country to introduce it into the 2008 games. There are many factors that make this a stong possibility and I doubt there would be any worries about packing a room or having huge TV figures.



Well the pool and billiard industry is doing very well. I just still don't understand how ping pong and batmiton is part of the games. It also brings up a thought of how bowling is so sucessful and has remained so for many years and the prize money is 2-3 time more than the WPA world 9ball champion. Also, for pocket billiards to be in the olympics, would you have a series of championship tournaments to determine who or how many players would represent the US. The Olympic committe figures it to be to complicated to determine which Americans would play....and I think you know how complex that could be that is why I think 3 cushion billiards and snooker should be the only games in the olympics. There is too many variety of pocket billiard games played.

 

[sjm]

Hey, what about synchronized nine ball? Two people would have to run the exact same rack on two side-by-side tables, and have to do it exactly the same way and at the exact same pace. OK, maybe not.

 

[bamashooter]

Just a Question

i agree with all of the post that have been posted, i was just wondering one thing? How many of the Mens and Womens top players would be on the US team? i know that some of the men are form Phillipenes and some are from the Netherlands. but i do agree that billiards should be in the Olympics. it would defintley be better than haveg to suffer through watching shooting or ping-pong or even badmitton...

 

[sjm]

i agree with all of the post that have been posted, i was just wondering one thing? How many of the Mens and Womens top players would be on the US team? i know that some of the men are form Phillipenes and some are from the Netherlands. but i do agree that billiards should be in the Olympics. it would defintley be better than haveg to suffer through watching shooting or ping-pong or even badmitton...

Actually, Bamashooter, this is the first time ever that at least some of every single discipline in the summer games is being televised. NBC has, impressively, accomplished this by coordinating CNBC, Bravo, MSNBC, and USA coverage with coverage on their main NBC national network. As minor events were never televised in the past, the revenue those events generated was almost entirely based on ticket sales to that event. This created a very logical bias in favor of events that could be easily spectated live by many, which hurt pool's chances for inclusion.

The fact that all disciplines (even the trampoline finals were shown today) are being covered on TV surely helps pool's chances for inclusion in the games going forward. Therefore, let's hope that the network covering the Olympics remains committed to showing each and every sport.

 

[BAZARUS]

By saying "billiards" I wasn't exacly refering to 3 cushion billiards. I was talking generally about cue sports. Its for sure, that snooker have better chance for Olympics, than pocket billiards. For example UK Championship final got 75.000 pounds to the winner, which is close to $150.000, where US Open 9 Ball Championship only $40.000 to the winner with complete field of 256 players. But, it would be good if there will be a little bit of everything.

 

[bruin70]

when all is said and done,,,,if pool can't organize itself, why should it be given consideration.

i haven't read all 4 pages of responses, but i'm sure some good reasons were given, pro and con.

there is no stucture in pool, and it is in disarray. and what is the defining game to be played? 9ball???? a hot A+ player can beat a top pro,,,so where's the challenge there?

someone brought up a great point i never considered.....the time it takes to complete a match. and i would have to add,,,the amount of boredom that is endured to watch a guy walk around the 9 foot table during that time.

that it is NOT a good spectator sport is also a valid argument. how will it be held,,,,,in a garage with 100 seats?

taken in context with other sports, pool falls short in many areas. pool will become an olympic sport when darts do.

 

[bruin70]

...... it would defintley be better than haveg to suffer through watching shooting or ping-pong or even badmitton...

i think the general public will see those three as more challenging and skillful than pool....and the general public will watch those three (well,,,maybe not shooting) over pool. i know i would,,,,, and i like pool.

 

[Rude Dog]

Why is the game of 9-ball put down so often in determining who the better player is? 9-ball is the game of our generation whether some like it or not. If I played back in the 50's or 60's, I would probably feel different about the game because I'd have played endless hours of straight pool. But, I didn't, and what I know is 9-ball and the game is about offense and that's what people like. The recreational players are in awe of the pros on T.V. that never miss and make the game look so easy. If pool was ever introduced to the Olympics, how could they play anything but 9-ball?

 

[bruin70]

I totally agree about the money thing JustPlay, billiards is one of the most participated sports/games on the planet. Ask 10 friends if they've every played billiards and you'll most likely get ten yes'es. Now ask ten friends if they've ever done the clean and jerk. Most will reply "no" or won't know what youre talking about (some may reply daily but tey are just confused . Yes the prize money in billiards isn't great but I would say the industry figures would be huge. I know in the UK that the % of people that play pool or snooker regulary is very high, something like 20% of the nation. I think the key here what people are missing is that I am specifically talking about "China" as being the country to introduce it into the 2008 games. There are many factors that make this a stong possibility and I doubt there would be any worries about packing a room or having huge TV figures.

I agree about the shooting and war games point and this will probably always keep these events in the games, However it has been shown that this doesn't eclude other games that are not war like from being introduced eg basketball and ping pong.

With regards to the winter games, as Jimmy said it has nothing to do with indoor / outdoor even though it is played more in the winer time. Winter Olympics = snow and ice!

and they've all played darts too, but darts isn't in the olympics.

billiards' numbers look good because every family home has a 6 foot "table" they bought at one point,,,,,sitting next to the dartboard.

 

[sjm]

Why is the game of 9-ball put down so often in determining who the better player is? 9-ball is the game of our generation whether some like it or not. If I played back in the 50's or 60's, I would probably feel different about the game because I'd have played endless hours of straight pool. But, I didn't, and what I know is 9-ball and the game is about offense and that's what people like. The recreational players are in awe of the pros on T.V. that never miss and make the game look so easy. If pool was ever introduced to the Olympics, how could they play anything but 9-ball?

Agreed, Rudedog, and, as important, nineball is the one pool game that's really simple to follow, just like snooker.

Snooker was so simple my grandmother started watching it at the age of eighty four, despite never having picked a cue up in her life. If you were shooting a red, you had to play a color next, and if you shoot a color, you must play a red next. This was simple enough even for the person who'd never played a cuesport of any kind, and a good shot was very easy to identify.

Three cushion is a beautiful game, but you need a lot of knowledge just to follow it. Same with straight pool and one-pocket. The subtleties in shot selection and strategy in these three games challenge the minds of even highly experienced cueists.

When it comes to pool, the only game a person who doesn't play cue sports can understand very easily is nineball. If you make the one, you must play the two next, so if someone makes the one and gets position on the two, it's a good shot. Nice and simple. If you make the nine, you win. Simple.

You're right, Rudedog, nine ball is the only logical choice.

 

[parvus1202]

The first idea of the Olympics is the test of strenght. Track and field events and wrestling. Since archery and fencing is an old form of figthing, definitely it should be included. Then it grows to become a sports compatition. But still you will notice some of the sports included need strengh, agility and stamina. Basketball, tennis, T tennis, volleybal, cycling, judo, tae kwan do etc. Quiet sports like chess, pool or snooker will have difficulty joining. But I hope that the olympic body should review all the games and remove not so popular and include new popular games.