Did I take up the wrong sport?

Solomon

Solomon

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
This is a semi-rant, but I'm watching Fox Sports Florida and they are airing the 2014 World Championship of Darts. The total prize money for the event is 1.5 million dollars.

What makes darts (or poker for that matter) that much more exciting to watch to the masses than pool?
 
Well you took the wrong sport if you want to ever be paid for it but if you play it because you love it then there's nothing wrong.
 
Solomon said:
This is a semi-rant, but I'm watching Fox Sports Florida and they are airing the 2014 World Championship of Darts. The total prize money for the event is 1.5 million dollars.

What makes darts (or poker for that matter) that much more exciting to watch to the masses than pool?
Click to expand...

If you have to ask yourself if you picked the wrong sport based on $$$, you should evaluate why your doing what your doing! I play pool because I love the sport!

I would rather watch Johnny Archer take 15 minutes to run the last 4 balls than watch a NFL game. But that's just me, I don't like watching things I can't see myself being able to do.

Personally, I think darts is a very dumb sport, I don't even want to see a dart board!! BUT, there is obviously a calling for it,,,, so good for them! May they prosper with every throw of there beloved dart!

At the end of the day, do what YOU want to do because your heart pushes you!
 
Ak Guy said:
Wow, never knew there was such a thing. How is that even possible?
Click to expand...
Other than the actual guys throwing darts, it seemed like it would have been a great place to be as a spectator. The crowd reminded me of a Beer Tent at Oktoberfest or a crowd at a UFC event. People were dressed in costumes and having a great time. I'm not even sure that they were paying attention to the competitors. The event had cheerleaders. And each competitor was escorted to the stage by ladies that resembled beauty pageant contestants.
 
liakos said:
If you have to ask yourself if you picked the wrong sport based on $$$, you should evaluate why your doing what your doing! I play pool because I love the sport!

I would rather watch Johnny Archer take 15 minutes to run the last 4 balls than watch a NFL game. But that's just me, I don't like watching things I can't see myself being able to do.

Personally, I think darts is a very dumb sport, I don't even want to see a dart board!! BUT, there is obviously a calling for it,,,, so good for them! May they prosper with every throw of there beloved dart!

At the end of the day, do what YOU want to do because your heart pushes you!
Click to expand...
Calm down. I couldn't care less about making money from playing pool because I make more than enough money doing what I get paid to do. I was just bring to light darts currently has a television audience in the U.S. while pool is struggling with online streams.
 
Personally, I'd rather be a broke pool player.
This game has it all.....everything you need to know about the physics and the chess
aspects of pool ( and about yourself ) may take several lifetimes to learn.


'course, I'm not all that broke either....last time I checked my bankroll...
.....I had $38.....:happydance:
 
Solomon said:
This is a semi-rant, but I'm watching Fox Sports Florida and they are airing the 2014 World Championship of Darts. The total prize money for the event is 1.5 million dollars.

What makes darts (or poker for that matter) that much more exciting to watch to the masses than pool?
Click to expand...

One thing darts has that pool doesn't (for the most part) is a crowd that is allowed to have fun. This is what I would like to see in for Professional American Pool. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9HPtyufEeg Or think Mosconi Cup audience.

The promoters need to find a way to bring energy into the sport, even if they have to plant the energy at first. The events need to be fun to come to. On top of the events being more fun to attend, an energetic crowd makes for better t.v. veiwing also.
 
Darts and even hotdog eating have thier own organizations. That's the biggest reason they are on TV...IMO. Johnnyt
 
liakos said:
If you have to ask yourself if you picked the wrong sport based on $$$, you should evaluate why your doing what your doing! I play pool because I love the sport!

I would rather watch Johnny Archer take 15 minutes to run the last 4 balls than watch a NFL game. But that's just me, I don't like watching things I can't see myself being able to do.

Personally, I think darts is a very dumb sport, I don't even want to see a dart board!! BUT, there is obviously a calling for it,,,, so good for them! May they prosper with every throw of there beloved dart!

At the end of the day, do what YOU want to do because your heart pushes you!
Click to expand...

Oh my gosh guys. Get off the moral pool rant. He is simply making a point with the title.
 
Darts is a huge sport. I use the term sport loosely. I broke my leg when I was 16, and couldn't do anything for 3 months. To keep my self occupied I bought a dart board after watching Andy Fordham just win the world championships in darts and thought it looks easy, ill give it a try. After a couple of weeks I picked it up easy, started making high scores. I carried the game on until I was 18, competing in national and international junior events.

Probably the only regret I have is not carrying darts on. Even back then the money was very decent and now its just ridiculous.

Darts have it spot on. Allow rowdy crowds fuelled on beer to dress up, drink even more and shout and sing whilst the play is going on. So obviously the arenas sell out pretty quick. You start selling out venues and the tv coverage is just around the corner.
 
A baseball player on the Marlins, Giancarlo Stanton, who is just 25 is about to sign the largest professional contract in American sports history.

13 years, $330M.

So, yeah, you chose the wrong sport ;)

PS: The Marlins will regret the signing one day.
 
Last edited:
Johnnyt said:
Darts and even hotdog eating have thier own organizations. That's the biggest reason they are on TV...IMO. Johnnyt
Click to expand...

Excellent point. Having one voice and the one that makes the decisions, is huge.
 
Michael van Gerwen has won $1.45m this year in prize money alone, and that's without sponsorship etc.
 
its not more exciting, its that poker is easy for anyone to play and darts are played by drunken idiots. pool requires skill, talent, eyes, years of play and an incredible amount of patience to know that you will improve in 10 years or so.
 
If you want to learn more about life hang around a pool room.....not a dart board. I have learned a lot of life lessons around a pool table.
 
Solomon said:
This is a semi-rant, but I'm watching Fox Sports Florida and they are airing the 2014 World Championship of Darts. The total prize money for the event is 1.5 million dollars.
What makes darts (or poker for that matter) that much more exciting to watch to the masses than pool?
Click to expand...
The answer is easy.
Darts is "kewl" and pool is not.
Pool is just the same old stuff with (usually) a bunch of tattooed punk ass hustlers trying to stick somebody up.
Or a bunch of "hasbeens" or "never were's" like me still cutting up jackpots about seeing so-and-so robbing another so-and-so in 1975.
 
trinacria said:
its not more exciting, its that poker is easy for anyone to play and darts are played by drunken idiots. pool requires skill, talent, eyes, years of play and an incredible amount of patience to know that you will improve in 10 years or so.
Click to expand...

Then when you've got that good at it it looks so simple that people who don't know the sport can't comprehend how difficult it really is.
 
Solomon said:
This is a semi-rant, but I'm watching Fox Sports Florida and they are airing the 2014 World Championship of Darts. The total prize money for the event is 1.5 million dollars.

What makes darts (or poker for that matter) that much more exciting to watch to the masses than pool?
Click to expand...
There is nothing wrong with the sport, the format of the sport, or the enjoyment we get out of the sport. What is wrong with the sport is the organization driving it ... there isn't one. Pool fanatics like to think it is because people don't understand the sport and it is not good for TV. If that is the case, then why was last year's world chess champion given a check for over $3M? Over 99.999% of the population will never understand the intricacies of that game nor it is broadcast on major television stations.

Not that chess is without controversies, but there are key things that can be learned from this that is missing in pool:

1) A true, unified world federation for rating and governing professionals and tournaments
2) Very smart business people governing the sport
3) Funding from countries and big corporations

The thing that always puzzles me is when people try to compare pool players to baseball and basketball players. This also leads us down a path to trying to get it to appeal to those kinds of sports fans and get it on ESPN ... that dream already played itself out and ended poorly. To me that is the chicken before the egg. Before we can dream about that again, pool needs a grass roots effort to be unified globally, organized, and backed financially.

Glen
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top