What decade do you live in???? Dockers is deader than Elvis. I SERIOUSLY doubt ANYONE at ANY of these co's even know pool exists. 'Maybe' ESPN but they gave up on pool years ago. Look at snow-boarders/skateboarders, they aren't fashion icons by any stretch yet they are on both tv and on-line streams. I'll take a lil grunge over those goofy ass StarTrek pool jerseys ANY day.
DERBY CITY CLASSIC DRESS CODE
- Thread starter Tennesseejoe
- Start date
A couple of thoughts.
First, if pool wants more money injected into the sport they need TV. There was an article not long ago in a major newspaper about how, with so many streaming platforms nowadays, they were all looking for smaller, niche sports to air.
Second, if pool wants some of that, players can’t be looking like they’re all homeless. There has to be some semblance of professionalism. Truth be told, how many of the players looked at what is one of the sport’s biggest events, leaves much to be desired by any standard.
Lastly, late last year I competed in Pat Fleming’s International Open. There was a dress code and I decided “why not” and had a couple of nice polos made up with sponsor logos and my name and an American flag on the back. I paired them with some nice lightweight slacks. The event was held at a big golf venue and, as you might expect, golfers were everywhere dressed like you would expect golfers at a nice club to dress.
And there were the pool players, all looking pretty decent due to the dress code. You’d be on the grounds, in elevators, the bar and didn’t feel like crawling under a rock when they saw your case over your shoulder and asked what was going on.
Actually made me feel good to be a pool player and tell them about the event.
Lou Figueroa
First, if pool wants more money injected into the sport they need TV. There was an article not long ago in a major newspaper about how, with so many streaming platforms nowadays, they were all looking for smaller, niche sports to air.
Second, if pool wants some of that, players can’t be looking like they’re all homeless. There has to be some semblance of professionalism. Truth be told, how many of the players looked at what is one of the sport’s biggest events, leaves much to be desired by any standard.
Lastly, late last year I competed in Pat Fleming’s International Open. There was a dress code and I decided “why not” and had a couple of nice polos made up with sponsor logos and my name and an American flag on the back. I paired them with some nice lightweight slacks. The event was held at a big golf venue and, as you might expect, golfers were everywhere dressed like you would expect golfers at a nice club to dress.
And there were the pool players, all looking pretty decent due to the dress code. You’d be on the grounds, in elevators, the bar and didn’t feel like crawling under a rock when they saw your case over your shoulder and asked what was going on.
Actually made me feel good to be a pool player and tell them about the event.
Lou Figueroa
addressed to no one here in particular.:
private event has every right to make a dress code if it wants and should within reason.
the being in the public part of it then its should be personal, unless you have personal feelings on your own dress code.
then don't look down on others on how they dress. they may not want to be like you.
private event has every right to make a dress code if it wants and should within reason.
the being in the public part of it then its should be personal, unless you have personal feelings on your own dress code.
then don't look down on others on how they dress. they may not want to be like you.
The DCC is a private event that enforces time rules for matches, but not their own dress code rules.
kollegedave
Since Dockers is dead, maybe they need to get their name out with males 18 - 35. I do agree that pool is a challenging demographic for them as the target audience for pool now is men 50 -100, but Dockers needs somebody to buy their clothes. I guess we could all just give up (which I think is what has happened). We can attend the Derby in in 2046, and I think we could guarantee like 50 people to make the toaster oven giveaway at the casino.
kollegedave
DCC is MADE for bums and hustlers wearing anything they choose. It's not a pro event. It encourages gambling. Why are we trying to make it into something it's not?
Nowhere is it written that this, or any other event, can’t evolve out of the ooze, particularly for the general betterment of the sport.
Lou Figueroa
So, a lot of you guys want to compare pool to golf. And I get it. They're very similar. They're both single player games that fat guys can be really, really good at. You hit balls with sticks into holes. Once you develop a decent stroke/swing and a basic understanding of the game, most of it is mental. You can go as crazy or conservative as you'd like with gear and equipment. A lot of people drink while doing them. I don't get to play either as much as I'd like. The list goes on. But I want to point something out. The Waste Management Open: It's a circus. And it's turned into one of the most popular non-major tour events. The Derby is the pool world's version of that. Sure, the players at The Waste Management Open still have to stick to the standard PGA dress code. But I don't think anyone in their right mind would think the event would be somehow less popular if the pros were allowed to dress casually. If anything, I think it could make it even more popular. And, yes. I know "golf casual" might as well be a White Tie compared to "pool casual." But how cool would be be to see the pros out there in shorts and tee shirts playing in a pro event? I think it would make the pros more relatable and human to the Average Joe. And, let's face it, the Average Joes make up the majority of viewers.
I'm all for polos and slacks for other big events. But, man... Let The Derby be The Derby. It's already a shell of itself since moving across the river. Let's not strip what little of its soul it has left by enforcing something as inconsequential as a dress code.
I'm all for polos and slacks for other big events. But, man... Let The Derby be The Derby. It's already a shell of itself since moving across the river. Let's not strip what little of its soul it has left by enforcing something as inconsequential as a dress code.
I would have less of a problem with your position if the DCC actually said there is no dress code. Just be honest about it. There are two problems as I see it, and I know others disagree:
1) Pool players looking like overgrown man-children is suboptimal for the promotion of the sport
2) DCC publishes a dress code and all sorts of goofy ideas to speed up the matches, and they enforce the goofy ideas but not the dress code that exists in the same set of rules.
If for their dress code they said wear what you want...that would be honest, and it would take away one of my complaints.
kollegedave
A lot of people are hung up on Polo shirts and slacks of some sort.
They want the players to look like Maytag salesmen working in Sears back in the 70s.
And yet its going strong after almost 30yrs. Don't like it don't go/don't watch. This event was intended to be a modern version of Johnston City not some geek filled 'pool promotion'. Greg wants people to come and GAMBLE not walk a fashion runway. 'Suboptimal', wtf.
I don't have any issues with dress codes for other major events. And I default to polos and slacks for those because, well... It's what you see golf pros wearing. And I don't want them to go back to suits or tuxedos or anything like that. Those are uncomfortable for the players and it's outdated. So what would you recommend? And I don't mean that in a challenging dickish way. I'm seriously asking just for conversation's sake.
Another thing I've been thinking about... How many of the people here who have strong opinions about The Derby's dress code have actually been to The Derby? How many of you went during The Executive West days? I'll be the first to admit that one of the reasons I don't want any kind of actual dress code at The Derby is because I know what it was and I'd like to keep as much of that as we reasonably can. Granted, it got "a little" hairy there the last couple of years. But, man... For several years it was the closest thing I've ever experienced to real magic and was a seriously good time for the vast majority of the people who attended.
I am not a fan of Polo shirts.
I prefer nice, solid-color t-shirts with NO collars..
Collars serve NO function.
They were created hundreds and thousands of years ago to pull up and wrap around your neck for protection.
My neck does NOT need protection in the pool hall.
I prefer nice, solid-color t-shirts with NO collars..
Collars serve NO function.
They were created hundreds and thousands of years ago to pull up and wrap around your neck for protection.
My neck does NOT need protection in the pool hall.
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Maybe one of youze can get a group together next year and wear borat swimsuits as a form of protest.
Change or we all come dressed very sexy time!
Change or we all come dressed very sexy time!
I went to several of the EW events.
Frankly, I don't know what is so magical about guys in t-shirts, shorts, and shower clogs, playing pool in the dead of winter... but then that's just me.
Lou Figueroa
I haven’t been to the Derby since Covid. Before that I had been to every one except the first one, which I missed simply because I hadn’t heard about it, and missed one later because my brother was having his second open heart surgery at Mayo Clinic. I think that counts as an excused absence. In all cases, I saw at least five days each event.
The big difference for me was that the EW, in order to make space for all the pool tables, cleared out its formal restaurant and put in extra tables specifically for the matches that were not part of the tournament. This had two effects. First, the cooks from the restaurant took over the cooking in the coffee shop, and they made real food for the lunch buffet. Don’t let anyone tell you the food at the EW was subpar. I would have a tasty breakfast each day and then approach lunch with high expectations, which were always more than met. And I take my food seriously. I remember reading the comment back in those days from some attendee that “There’s no place to eat.” That was simply crazy. I think whoever wrote that meant there was no McDonald’s or Wendy’s in the neighborhood. By the way, the prices were very reasonable.
Because the entire food operation had been put into one coffee shop, people joined other people at tables and got to know one another. I remember sitting at a table with six people I hadn’t met before. One of them was Jimmy Fusco from Philadelphia, who had recently moved to Florida. He had us holding our ribs with laughter as he described the hazards of driving in a place where there were so many elderly drivers. On another occasion we pool players were joined by some over the road truck drivers. We played the game of trying to identify by their special license plates which motorists were the most inconsiderate. I nominated drivers with the Indiana plate “Kids First!” And I was delighted when the truck drivers said that, while my pick might not be the absolute best, meaning the worst, it was certainly a contender. Another time I came in and the last place to sit at breakfast was at the counter. I slipped into the one empty chair next to a young man in jeans and a flannel shirt. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, and I thought to myself, “Is this guy like the strong man in a circus or something?” I started reading the “Louisville Courier Journal,” and he asked me if he could see the sports section. I said sure. We did some small talk. I couldn’t place him as in the tournament. Later I was walking down the corridor with some friends and passed him going the other way. He greeted me with my name and I answered, “Hi, Johnny.” My friends were stunned. One looked at the other and exclaimed, “Professor knows Johnny Damon!” Then they let me in on who that was.
I intentionally asked the cashier in the coffee shop one morning what it was like having the place full of pool players. She laughed and said, “Oh, it’s all right, but it is like somebody sprayed the whole place with a can of testosterone.”
The second effect was in the restaurant with all the extra tables for non-tournament matches. I saw Johnny Ervolino, and couldn’t believe it. Forty-five years or so since. I heard him say, “I’ve gotten more guys to play me here in three days than will play me in a year in Vegas.” I saw young players matching up and behaving completely acceptably, no problems. Guys like Keith Bennett and Sparky Farrell. No woofing. No problems. I was amused by the way Keith Bennett would not violate the No Smoking order (in Kentucky, no less!) but duck out about every thirty minutes for a break. The hotel had left all the accoutrements of the restaurant in place, the chairs, the side tables, the pictures on the walls. The players seemed to be accommodating themselves to the furnishings. I was joined by a gentleman around fifty who asked to sit at my table. Bar service was excellent so I bought us both a drink, and he returned the favor. An hour later he said to me, “This is better than the tournament room.” I said, “Yes, it is, but don’t tell anybody. We’re trying to keep like a club atmosphere in here.” He looked at what was going on on the tables and laughed. Then he stared at me and said, “Yeah! Like a club atmosphere!”
It might as well have been Brigadoon, which has slipped into the mist.
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This is kinda funny, I'm sure in a very unintentional way because (wait for it): the players at Johnston City were in coat and tie, lol.
Lou Figueroa
I mean, I don't know what you were there to see. But I saw a lot more than just guys in t-shirts and shower clogs playing pool. But you probably have been and still go to more pro events then I ever have or will. Anyway, the magical part for me was the sheer energy of it. There was something going on 24 hours a day. Gambling, woofing, story telling... Characters galore... It felt like the center of the pool universe for nine straight days.
And, all things considered, it was pretty cheap. If I remember correctly, I could get a room for about $120 a night. Just for comparison's sake, the last specific year I remember going to the EW was 2004 (I know I went several times after that. But the years blended together.) That $120 or so would be $205 today according to the a bank inflation calculator. So, still reasonable for a decent room that's an elevator ride from the event you're there to see. Was it fancy? Hell no. Was it fun? Hell YES.