If bonus ball was 9 ball, would it have worked?

Shermanscs

Steve sherman
Silver Member
If the bonus ball league concept would have played 9 ball instead of bonus ball, would it have worked? I really liked the professionalism & quality of the venue, production and teams. Seems to me, it could have had the excitement and enthusiasm as the Mosconi cup.

Thoughts?
Steve
 
No. "if you build it, they will come" doesn't actually work.

They needed to tour and compete in the cities the teams supposedly came from. And they needed to do pool clinics in each of those cities, and they needed to promote the hell out of it, and they needed to play basketball or football instead of pool. No one wants to watch pool.
 
No. "if you build it, they will come" doesn't actually work.

They needed to tour and compete in the cities the teams supposedly came from. And they needed to do pool clinics in each of those cities, and they needed to promote the hell out of it, and they needed to play basketball or football instead of pool. No one wants to watch pool.

True, the idea and execution was great but sadly poorly marketed, was a great showing by a young hometown player mr. Engle.
 
If the bonus ball league concept would have played 9 ball instead of bonus ball, would it have worked? I really liked the professionalism & quality of the venue, production and teams. Seems to me, it could have had the excitement and enthusiasm as the Mosconi cup.

Thoughts?
Steve

Definitely more of a chance, there's already so many different games, no need for another one, just one that people are familiar with to be promoted well!

9-Ball is probably the best for tv so makes the most sense!
 
9 ball definitely would have much better chance of success than some silly Bonus Ball that they invented. As if there are not enough cue sports games already :smile:
 
What happened to the facility they had? Table gone and now a warehouse or if they wanted to they could continue? Anybody know?
 
9 ball definitely would have much better chance of success than some silly Bonus Ball that they invented. As if there are not enough cue sports games already :smile:

So, spartan.

How would you make the rules, utilize the shot clock, and incorporate the team concept (3-person)
utilizing 9 ball in lieu of "Bonus Ball" within the Bonus Ball construct?

The game of Bonus Ball was specifically formatted by and through the surrounding rules and other dynamics that we saw.

NOT JUST SPARTAN--HOW ABOUT ANYONE TELL ME HOW 9 BALL WOULD WORK HERE.
I CHALLENGE ANYONE (JUST ONE PERSON) TO COME UP WITH SOMETHING REMOTELY LOGICAL.

This I gotta hear....

(By the way, yes, I was a complete fan of the Bonus Ball concept from the beginning)
 
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So, spartan.

How would you make the rules, utilize the shot clock, and incorporate the team concept (3-person)
utilizing 9 ball in lieu of "Bonus Ball" within the Bonus Ball construct?

The game of Bonus Ball was specifically formatted by and through the surrounding rules and other dynamics that we saw.

NOT JUST SPARTAN--HOW ABOUT ANYONE TELL ME HOW 9 BALL WOULD WORK HERE.
I CHALLENGE ANYONE (JUST ONE PERSON) TO COME UP WITH SOMETHING REMOTELY LOGICAL.

This I gotta hear....

(By the way, yes, I was a complete fan of the Bonus Ball concept from the beginning)

The only way 9-ball would work is to have four-person teams and play rounds of scotch doubles. Maybe add in a few single-player matches. Kind of like the Mosconi Cup.

I guess you could play 9-ball with a 3-person team but it would be pretty awkward and not as entertaining as the interaction between two team mates.

To answer the OP's original question: No, it wouldn't have made any difference. Pool is not a spectator sport even for people who play every week. There just aren't enough potential viewers to make it viable, regardless of how it's marketed, what game is played, blah, blah, blah. Bowling is one of the U.S.'s largest participant sports, but no one wants to watch it; it's 100-times as big as pool but no more popular as a spectator sport.
 
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The only way 9-ball would work is to have four-person teams and play rounds of scotch doubles. Maybe add in a few single-player matches. Kind of like the Mosconi Cup.

I guess you could play 9-ball with a 3-person team but it would be pretty awkward and not as entertaining as the interaction between two team mates.

Exactly, bdorman.

My point in my question was: to inject a current known game into Bonus Ball wouldn't work very well.
Bonus Ball was the perfect (new) game that worked as a real SPORT concept:
Teams, shot clock, rounds, do or die situations, etc.

One would have to change so many factors that Bonus (9) Ball would turn into a basic "scotch doubles" format.
In other words, a BEEN THERE, DONE THAT kind of thing.

A lot of the "haters" of BB don't know just how ingenious the Bonus Ball setup was.
But that's okay, let them go on with their as-a-matter-of-fact opinions.

Who knows, with all the sunk costs, the pioneers might come back and market it
from a different approach.
It wasn't the game itself that was bad, it was simply the scope of reach to the masses.

Anyways, thanks for responding.
 
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So, spartan.

How would you make the rules, utilize the shot clock, and incorporate the team concept (3-person)
utilizing 9 ball in lieu of "Bonus Ball" within the Bonus Ball construct?

The game of Bonus Ball was specifically formatted by and through the surrounding rules and other dynamics that we saw.

NOT JUST SPARTAN--HOW ABOUT ANYONE TELL ME HOW 9 BALL WOULD WORK HERE.
I CHALLENGE ANYONE (JUST ONE PERSON) TO COME UP WITH SOMETHING REMOTELY LOGICAL.

This I gotta hear....

(By the way, yes, I was a complete fan of the Bonus Ball concept from the beginning)

Very simple, 3 sets of short race scotch doubles.

But that's if it has to stay as 3 man teams, I'd suggest 4 man teams would be a better fit.

That said, I quite like a race to 5 per set, scotch doubles, so players 1 & 2, then 2 & 3 then 3 and 1 (for example).
 
it was a great idea to promote and build the sport....... I think if the game was 9 ball, the mult icity format could have worked............. I also think the promoter was looking for too much profit . The game was boring and there was no flow........ I don't want to see SVB of Earl shoot one ball and then sit down...............

Kim
 
Very simple, 3 sets of short race scotch doubles.

But that's if it has to stay as 3 man teams, I'd suggest 4 man teams would be a better fit.

That said, I quite like a race to 5 per set, scotch doubles, so players 1 & 2, then 2 & 3 then 3 and 1 (for example).

Good perspective, vjmehra.
However, your suggestions chip-away at the "sport concept" of Bonus Ball.

If you play races to five, then you take away the need for the shot clock, a very
important component of Bonus Ball.
All you need is a simple "digital flip card" system to keep score.

Bonus Ball HAS to be played with points, (like other major sports).
Your overall suggestions basically relegate Bonus Ball to races and scotch doubles.

Not as dynamic as Bonus Ball's original team concept.

Anyone else wanna do better?
 
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Yessiree Bob

No. "if you build it, they will come" doesn't actually work.

They needed to tour and compete in the cities the teams supposedly came from. And they needed to do pool clinics in each of those cities,

The statement above is exactly how I feel...

Maybe 10 foot 10-Ball would get some interest....

Hell, I watched David Matlock put a 7 pack on John Gabriel a few years ago on a Diamond Bar Box... that was exciting for everyone watching.

P.S. I'm no fan of football, baseball or basketball...
 
9 ball team championship format

8 teams to start with.

3 man format. 3 matches per event/weekend. Race to 5.

1st match all three play in a Scotch Doubles format.

Two single events follow the team event. One man sits out the singles.

Each match is worth one point.

Keep it short because most people don't have all weekend to waste watching pool.

Top four teams in points enter a year end playoff.

Only two teams play a weekend. Round robin format for the regular season.

Start small and spread out enough so the current tourneys that support pool aren't affected.
 
So, spartan.

How would you make the rules, utilize the shot clock, and incorporate the team concept (3-person)
utilizing 9 ball in lieu of "Bonus Ball" within the Bonus Ball construct?

The game of Bonus Ball was specifically formatted by and through the surrounding rules and other dynamics that we saw.

NOT JUST SPARTAN--HOW ABOUT ANYONE TELL ME HOW 9 BALL WOULD WORK HERE.
I CHALLENGE ANYONE (JUST ONE PERSON) TO COME UP WITH SOMETHING REMOTELY LOGICAL.

This I gotta hear....

(By the way, yes, I was a complete fan of the Bonus Ball concept from the beginning)

Each pool game/rack lasts 6 to 7 mins
So yes format can be Mosconi Cup style with singles, doubles and triples and they can play race to 3 (about 25 min per match) or race to 4 (about 35 mins per match)

Heard of IPTL https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Premier_Tennis_League ?
If a slow sports like tennis can be played team club style, then obviously pool can be played same way. And there is no need ot invent new type of tennis :D
 
No. "if you build it, they will come" doesn't actually work.

They needed to tour and compete in the cities the teams supposedly came from. And they needed to do pool clinics in each of those cities, and they needed to promote the hell out of it, and they needed to play basketball or football instead of pool. No one wants to watch pool.

You kidding, krupa?!

Tons of people want to watch pool.
It's just not happening here in the U.S.
I tell people on here all the time--pool is booming all over the world.
We need to stop looking at things from only a U.S. lens.

Do some research on it and you will see.
"They are building it, and they are indeed coming IS WORKING"
 
You kidding, krupa?!

Tons of people want to watch pool.
It's just not happening here in the U.S.
I tell people on here all the time--pool is booming all over the world.
We need to stop looking at things from only a U.S. lens.

Do some research on it and you will see.
"They are building it, and they are indeed coming IS WORKING"

I answered the premise of the original post (that we replaced bonus ball with 9-ball) and made the assumption that everything else remained the same: that the matches were held in Las Vegas, teams "represented" cities around the US, etc.

From that perspective, no I'm not kidding.

So ok, change Bonus Ball to 9-ball and go someplace where pool is more popular and you're golden.
 
Some good points but this ^^^ is not true.
If promoted and done right pool can enjoy TV popularity again.
Most don't even know it's on even when on ESPN.

I think it is true. Everyday pool has more competition for people's leisure hours. For sports, we have the big 3: football, basketball, and baseball. Golf's popularity is falling but is holding on, hockey is still around, soccer's getting more popular and as more and more kids play lacrosse, I bet we see more of that on TV as well. In addition to sports, we have 1000s of cable channels as well as original shows from Netflix, Amazon, and even YouTube.

Where, in the US, is pool going to fit in? Reality shows are the best bet. How did that Hustlers show ended up doing? (I'm not asking in a snarky fashion, I really don't know.)


Also forgot to mention the masses of people watching video game tournaments!
 
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