ESPN SportsNation Poll

[StrokeofLuck]

There's a great article about Phil Ivey and poker (unbelievable money!) in the November 2nd issue of ESPN the magazine, but anyway there's a SportsNation Poll in it that has 40% saying they think "Billiards" (pool) will be the next televised sport to "blow up."

Can't put too much stock in it but still nice to see and hope for.

 

[TXsouthpaw]

we can always hope.

 

[Celtic]

It would require that the people in charge of promoting, marketing, and presenting pool have the talent and insite that the people who made poker what it is have.

ATM they are not even a tiny bit close.

Poker figured out what they had, figured out that they needed to promote a single realtively easy game (texas hold-em) and forget the rest (omaha, stud, ect...), figured out that they needed to follow a broad range of tables and/or edit for key moments in the tournament to make it seem fast and exciting, they figured out how to market the players and create a fanbase out of the viewing public, they figured out how to market the game as a high living lifestyle in ritzy locations making the viewing public wish they were able to be a professional poker player (playing on a beach in the Tropics, same person nicer watch while sitting in a penthouse overlooking the Las Vegas Strip), they figured out how to market their sport to the proper sponsors such as casinos and travel companies.

Pool is going nowhere until the people in charge figure out the stuff that the poker world figured out years ago. And I see NOTHING to suggest this sport is going to become huge any time soon.

 

[paksat]

It would require that the people in charge of promoting, marketing, and presenting pool have the talent and insite that the people who made poker what it is have.

ATM they are not even a tiny bit close.

Poker figured out what they had, figured out that they needed to promote a single realtively easy game (texas hold-em) and forget the rest (omaha, stud, ect...), figured out that they needed to follow a broad range of tables and/or edit for key moments in the tournament to make it seem fast and exciting, they figured out how to market the players and create a fanbase out of the viewing public, they figured out how to market the game as a high living lifestyle in ritzy locations making the viewing public wish they were able to be a professional poker player (playing on a beach in the Tropics, same person nicer watch while sitting in a penthouse overlooking the Las Vegas Strip), they figured out how to market their sport to the proper sponsors such as casinos and travel companies.

Pool is going nowhere until the people in charge figure out the stuff that the poker world figured out years ago. And I see NOTHING to suggest this sport is going to become huge any time soon.

It will, just stick with it.

First things first and that's what you said... the talent overhaul needs to complete itself. We need to get the people that have made this game dark out of the "sport".. so it can finally be a real sport.

We need a new game to. A modified version of 9 or 10 ball that could be televised properly.

Just give it some time, this sport is on the verge of becoming huge if done right.

 

[JustPlay]

The other day espn showed various highlights as it ususally does and included in those highlights was the world champion of Monopoly. Today they showed womens pool (again). I have never seen a highlight of a mens US Open 9-ball champion or a world 9-ball champion or even a womens 9-ball champion highlight.

I guess, monopoly, darts, table tennis and bowling higlights gets more credit than pool does. And I am talking about a ten second highlight not a full airing of the event. Pool has never had a highlight shown that I know of. After 20 years of following pool. espn has and most likely never will show live pool on tv. The only game of pocket billiards that I see being played is 3-ball or a gamed played by most people in pool- Bar league APA matches with players wearing bowling shirts with their names on the back of them...