Does Pool Need a Dominant Player to get World Wide Attention Like Other Sports?

[CJ Wiley]

After watching hundreds of streams, I've come to the conclusion that there are few to none regarding first-rate commentators in pool today. Mostly, we have a few guys who are heavily involved with production, sitting there saying, "Wow!" all through the match. They talk about everything but the match they are watching, and when they talk pool, they use jargon that caters to the billiard cognoscenti, not the casual enthusiast. What is needed are real professional commentators who understand how to communicate the essence of what is happening to an essentially pool-naive viewership, while at the same time generating excitement about the game... even during times when there is none.



As far as needing one dominant player who stands above all the rest, there have been precious few in any sport who have completely dominated the field. Back when my sons boxed, Mike Tyson dominated the heavyweight division for several years. Talk in the boxing community was that Tyson's success would eventually hurting boxing revenues because no one could get out of the first few rounds against him. Made for short fights with very predictable outcomes - not the stuff that entertainment is made of. My ex-BIL went to Atlantic City to see the Tyson-Spinks fiasco. He went for beers, and by the time he got back to his (expensive) seat, the fight was over... in under 2 minutes.

No one enjoys watching a contest that is "no contest".



Then there is the issue of all the different pool games at the tournament level, and the varying sets of rules that accompany each one at each event. C'mon... standardize, will ya? I've watched many matches where the players and commentators weren't even aware of the rules that were in place. Find a set of rules that is fair and stick to them. Imagine if each baseball field had it's own set of rules, and the umps were seen conferring with the home team owners before making a call? How can you educate your potential future audience when the rules are different for each event?



FWIW I think 15-ball rotation would be a great game to lead pool into the future. I think one of the attractive things about snooker is that not all balls have the same value. All of the point-scoring possibilities in 15-ball rotation make for a potentially exciting game that moves a bit beyond the standard diet of break-and-run.

I agree and think Pool should be commentated just like BOXING....the shows I produced had Jimmy "Pretty Boy Floyd" Mataya and JOE ROGGAN doing the commentary and they were REALLY GOOD...

I wrote a section on my face book about the similarities between Boxing and Pool matches as far as the head to head competition and I just like the "fight to the death" mentality....I would play anyone on earth if we had to play until the other one couldn't play anymore.....drug test us before and after the match, and we're only allowed water to drink (no food)....this would be a great match to train for......and we START keeping score after 12 hours :thumbup: .....I miss those marathon matches, to me that was what pool gambling was all about....we never heard of "time limits" LoL

 

[DogsPlayingPool]

How do marathon matches fit in with making it appealing to television?

 

[scsuxci]

Yes, and I always wondered why anyone would climb a mountain....and after a lifetime of challenges, successes and failures I understand what they mean when they say about climbing Mount Everest - "BECAUSE IT WAS THERE".....pushing yourself to achieve things that don't seem possible makes life worth living ... and that's why we have the internet, airplanes, cell phones, etc.... and I'm sure glad to live in this day and age, it would suck to be on horseback or talking to you on a CB Radio.

Don't get me wrong,I love playing and watching pool
but most of the things you've mentioned that furthered society also
had the general con-senses of the public like transportation and communication.
Pool has its main interest from other pool players and isn't grasped by
the westernworld as far as popularity.If all the popular sports lost there
fan base they would be in the same boat as pool.
I would love to see it progress but with the lack of funds and spectators
its like running on a treadmill.
I wish I could just travel by horse though,this E-teat crap always costs me a small fortune:thumbup:

 

[MitchAlsup]

not sure about that.. 9ball has been a TV failure for 30 straight years.. now with perfect racks and dead wing balls it's even less appealing.

Hit the nail on the head.

 

[CJ Wiley]

Thinking "outside the box"

How do marathon matches fit in with making it appealing to television?

You might be surprised, I pool match to "the death" might get pretty good ratings.....what would get better...."pool match for money and trophy?"....we've tried that and no one pays any attention....just thinking "outside the box" :groucho:

 

[CJ Wiley]

ESPN Ratings for Pool in the 90's

Hit the nail on the head.

9 Ball was a Success and only in the last 12 years became a so called "failure"....in the 90's the average viewing audience for 9Ball was a 1 POINT RATING (one million house holds)....I played a match in front of over 2.8 Million Viewers on ESPN ....and the total hours ESPN gave us in 3 years was over 600 International Hours....I'm pretty sure that wasn't a "failure" ...the challenge became "how to take that success to the next level"...however, there were some missing factors....and the pool game itself were NEVER one of those factors. imho CJ WILEY

 

[CJ Wiley]

ESPN Ratings for Pool in the 90's

Hit the nail on the head.

This got posted 3 times....I guess everything happens for a reason....I have the feeling the game of 9BALL is upset about the way it's been treated in the past 13 years....and I can't say that I blame it I can hear 9Ball saying "You mean to tell me POKER is more popular on TV now than me???":shrug:

 

[CJ Wiley]

ESPN Ratings for Pool in the 90's

Hit the nail on the head.

The FACT is 9 Ball was a Success and only in the last 13 years became a so called "failure"....in the 90's the average viewing audience for 9Ball was a 1 POINT RATING (one million house holds)....I played a match in front of over 2.8 Million Viewers on ESPN ....and the total hours ESPN gave us in 3 years was over 600 International Hours....I'm pretty sure that wouldn't be classified a "failure" in the history of Television ...the challenge became "how to take that success to the next level"...however, there were some missing factors....and the pool game itself was NEVER one of those factors. imho CJ WILEY

 

[ComptonCustomCues]

I have an idea.....two words
BANK POOL. I love it and it fast paced and exciting :thumbup:

 

[Maniac]

I have an idea.....two words
BANK POOL. I love it and it fast paced and exciting :thumbup:

I could watch THAT!!!

Maniac

 

[CJ Wiley]

The Banks are OPEN

I could watch THAT!!!

Maniac

Maybe we could get Wells Fargo or CHASE as a sponsor :thumbup:

 

[call shot]

CJ I think pocket billiards needs to learn from snooker. Find out why they are a big draw. Also see why pool has failed to draw the interest of American TV networks. You were a star on Espn. What killed their interest. Look at pool on wide world of sports in the 60's. Legends of pool in the 80's. Fats vs. Mosconi in 78, Huge. Pool players need a central governing body, and need to give selflessly until the networks can create a demand. Then the profits will follow. Snooker has sponsors, plus an educated fan base. It has class. Pool can too. Pool players however need to give to their communities, have fixed addresses and genuinely want to promote the game rather than be perceived as wanting to chicken hawk anybody who walks into a pool hall. They need to show respect for the venues they play in. Recently I watched a runner up (Deschane) lose a match to (Strickland) and right after shaking his hand put on his Ipod headphones and walked out in front of the camera while Earl was giving a victory speach and a tribute to (Ginky) in who's name the tourney was won. He then returned to pick up his check and left again. All before camera.I say this not to be disrespectful but if you want major coverage you can't act like that. What if Tiger did that while Phil or whomever was getting the green Masrters Jacket in Butler's cabin! Respect has to be earned it is not inherent.The wheel does not have to be reinvented it just has to be put back on, aligned and Pool needs a road map of where it wants to go and some one or body to steer it. Your enquiries are a step in the right direction as you have always exmplified class! Good luck.

 

[CJ Wiley]

Cloth Preference....Slower, but not as slow as the IPT

And THAT is why the conditions in this game are far too easy.

Perfection can be stopped by not only a missed shot but one dry break, one kissed in cueball on the break on a perfectly controlled cueball, one ever so slight twist of fate can change the outcome of a match.

I have said that this game needs tougher conditions and that is why. You need a game where in a race to 11 between two top players it is not the case of needing to not miss a single shot, get a single bad roll, get a single dry break, or else you can lose the match. THAT is what is stopping pool from having the true top players stand out from the field, there are currently 15-20 players in the world who are all bunched up at the top and any one of them is pretty much 50/50 against any other guy on todays equippment and that is NOT good for the game.

This game NEEDS 10 foot tables with TAR sized pockets IMO. Cloth speed becomes less of a thing with the extra size of the table but the CJ might have a point there too and perhaps Simonis should look into a new slightly slower cloth made for professional style play. Not nappy super slow cloth like the IPT, but something a touch slower then our current super fast Simonis standard.

Yes, the Simonis they're using now seems much faster than when it started as the "Official Cloth" of the Pro Tour in 1990's....I hear there are two grades and the "home edition" is better and slower....I have no idea, I'm sure someone knows this type of information. I just know it needs to be slower, or the game requires no power and is less entertaining according to the input I've been getting the last 2 years. I used to use Championship Tour Edition...it was a really good cloth, but I have no agenda on brands.

 

[CJ Wiley]

Swimming with the media sharks is tougher than the pool sharks

CJ I think pocket billiards needs to learn from snooker. Find out why they are a big draw. Also see why pool has failed to draw the interest of American TV networks. You were a star on Espn. What killed their interest. Look at pool on wide world of sports in the 60's. Legends of pool in the 80's. Fats vs. Mosconi in 78, Huge. Pool players need a central governing body, and need to give selflessly until the networks can create a demand. Then the profits will follow. Snooker has sponsors, plus an educated fan base. It has class. Pool can too. Pool players however need to give to their communities, have fixed addresses and genuinely want to promote the game rather than be perceived as wanting to chicken hawk anybody who walks into a pool hall. They need to show respect for the venues they play in. Recently I watched a runner up (Deschane) lose a match to (Strickland) and right after shaking his hand put on his Ipod headphones and walked out in front of the camera while Earl was giving a victory speach and a tribute to (Ginky) in who's name the tourney was won. He then returned to pick up his check and left again. All before camera.I say this not to be disrespectful but if you want major coverage you can't act like that. What if Tiger did that while Phil or whomever was getting the green Masrters Jacket in Butler's cabin! Respect has to be earned it is not inherent.The wheel does not have to be reinvented it just has to be put back on, aligned and Pool needs a road map of where it wants to go and some one or body to steer it. Your enquiries are a step in the right direction as you have always exmplified class! Good luck.

I understand your point about the players and this is just one more example of them not being managed....all employees need managers and pool players are no different...Tiger has a manager, and a swing coach and several other people in his life to "help" him manage his affairs....the fact is professional athletes have trouble doing things that you and many people reading these forums might take for granted....I know, because I used to be one of them. They just need to be put in a situation that has a future and has the same things other games/sports have ... managers/coaches.

As far as ESPN and Major TV networks are concerned....they are not really concerned.....what I mean is it's NOT THEIR JOB to put sports/games on their networks, it's their job to run networks and sell air time....all major sports are also managed when it comes to their Television business. ESPN did put Pool on TV because it consistently got them a 1 Rating (one million viewers) and it was GREAT filler to put up against other major sports because it always averaged that 1 Rating...... It's a JOB to do the TV for a sport and someone has to get paid to do that job and they have to be well versed how to make the TV deals and use a marketing agency to secure commercials and develop "event presence" (Title, presenting and banner sponsors for example) ... there's a learning curve to this, it's not as easy as you might expect, but what is when dealing with "media sharks"? ... I have that type experience and have produced and co produced many shows, but when I got out in 1999 there was no one that filled that role...Someone probably could have, they just didn't...I have no idea why, I just know that since then they have just been doing the "specialty shows" like the Challenge of Champions and trick shot shows...I haven't really kept up with "it"...or the lack of "it".

 

[Bob Jewett]

... As far as ESPN and Major TV networks are concerned....they are not really concerned.....what I mean is it's NOT THEIR JOB to put sports/games on their networks, it's their job to run networks and sell air time....

I think that is not true for ESPN. They have a lot of self-produced "sports". Now that they own part of USA Bowling (I think it's 17%) they have a reason to put bowling on TV. On a related point, the ESPN Sports Complex is putting in a 100-lane bowling stadium: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ESPN_Wide_World_of_Sports_Complex

 

[CJ Wiley]

ESPN World Open/Ultimate 9BALL

I think that is not true for ESPN. They have a lot of self-produced "sports". Now that they own part of USA Bowling (I think it's 17%) they have a reason to put bowling on TV. On a related point, the ESPN Sports Complex is putting in a 100-lane bowling stadium: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ESPN_Wide_World_of_Sports_Complex

Yes, and I mentioned that ESPN did the tournaments I participated in and we sanctioned it as the PCA "Professional CueSports Association...however, they would rather not do the events themselves, and are happy to just provide the air time or do some kind of barter deal.

 

[DogsPlayingPool]

Much of this discussion - having a media specialist, PR people, professional management, attracting TV etc., is moot without a bonafide professional tour.

 

[Mark Griffin]

pool recognition

Much of this discussion - having a media specialist, PR people, professional management, attracting TV etc., is moot without a bonafide professional tour.

While generally 'kinda' true;

Our industry is in a unique posiiton. I believe there is enough data and passion for this industry to attract the attention of a major player.

Perhaps make them a partner - which could evolve into a much larger part in forming a future series of pool events - not sure if I would call it a professional tour- but definetly possible.

The pieces for having a true professional tour are not in place. I am still working on a plan - it has been slow going - but progress is happening.

The foundation must be strong (yet flexible).

I really encourage every one to post their suggestions and thoughts - they all help to formulate a plan that 'might' work.

Mark Griffin, CSI

 

[Hungarian]

I believe it would help pool a lot to have a who was clearly the best player.

Who is that breaking in your avatar?

 

[ironman]

I happen to agree with CJ ...And of course in rotation games the elimination of two foul to one foul makes it more of a safety game ...Takes a lot of the skill factor away from the best player ...

CJ is absolute;y right, the game has gotten boring. We don't hear that pocket cracking shot anymore. When was the last time somebody won a hill-hill match with that long bank. The equipment and rules changes have not been good for the game, but we have what we have and as they say,"when in Rome"?
There are more players today but IMO, not better players. It seems to me, right here in the USA we have a dominant player in SVB, but outside our own little culture, who knows him. I have a great respect for Shane and his work ethic but he will never be the household name Fats was and Fats couldn't chalk Shanes cue. Fats couldn't run out if every door in the building was opened.
CJ, I feel you feel somewhat as I do, I remember it at it's best and get sick seeing what it has become or becoming. The solution? I haven't the foggiest clue.