CreeDo said:
...Some of us actually watch pool to see POOL, not to see characters. I want to see their shotmaking, decision making, and what they can do with the cueball. I love watching thorsten run balls perfectly in straight pool and set up for a perfect break shot and then execute it flawlessly. I'd rather watch that than watch earl bítch about the rack, smash the balls, run out, and then yell & stab at the table.
Having players with a 'game face' doesn't make a sport boring to watch. You won't see a whole lot of craziness on the golf course and often there's not much emotion during tennis matcher either (to be fair I sometimes find those sports boring to watch but I bet I wouldn't if I played them). My favorite poker player is Phil Ivey and he never has much of an expression even away from the table. Maybe I'm just weird.
Maybe you are; maybe you aren't!
Your likes and dislikes about pool, however, may be different than what others like and dislike about pool.
The American television public thinks pool is as boring as you do golf and tennis. That is why it is not gaining any notoriety in the United States.
Pool needs to attract mainstream America on TV, and in order to do that, something must change from the current status quo.
There are two schools of thought about pool.
One, the purists want to watch the beauty of the game in silence, if you will, admiring the strokes, shots, and skills set of the players. This is by far a minute minority of the American public, and this kind of pool ain't going nowhere when it comes to bringing in new interest, so that pool can advance as a sport.
The other school of thought goes along the lines of entertainment value, much like Minnesota Fats, Steve Mizerak, and Willie Mosconi. People tuned in and watched these great ones compete against each other, not so much because they shot well, but because they wanted to see what was going on between Willie and Fats, for example. This banter and entertainment seemed to gain interest from mainstream America, and as such, these guys put on exhibitions all the time for the television audience and was quite popular.
American pool traditionally has always had a different tone than the robotic European style of play, and if and when pool can become entertaining on American TV, it will be then that we may see a change as far as the ratings.
If American pool, the way it is showcased today, continues along its merry way, I believe it will never change as far as popularity. The whole point about getting pool on TV is so that folks get interested in the game and its players. Watching a pool player go through the motions like a robot and then stand there like an emotionless Buckingham Guard throughout the duration of a match just isn't American pool, and that is the problem. JMHO, FWIW!
JAM