Lets play Golf!
catpool9 said:
Great post and thread Fatboy!
I think your post is opening a lot of different avenues for everyone to ponder about, how the public perceives the game of pool, and how to make it a much more enjoyable sport to view!
The best pool game on television to watch for viewers that know nothing about pool might be Golf. In that game the first player that pockets his object ball in all 6 pockets WINS the Game. You have to keep in simple, and almost everyone in the world just about that has looked at a television knows how golf is played on a golf course and Tigerwoods name is known almost world wide.
The underlining problems in pool is that someone that never really plays pool may not know anything about the bank options in Golf on a pool table that well, and they certainly will not have a clue on the safety and defensive moves in the game unless explained by a narrator. Often there are many shot options that they will know nothing about.
Given all that, unless a novice picks up a cue stick and plays for weeks on end, he or she will never see some of the strategies in the game and really understand the real game of pool no matter which game is played on the table.
Like in the movie the "Hustler" a novice player who picks up a cue only once every 5 years will never know "that the cue stick is part of you arm and it has nerves" and you know when you hit the balls they are going in the pocket, and you just know how hard to hit the shot, and you just know where the cue ball is going, etc.
Anyone who wants to really enjoy the game and excell in it has to pay their dues, so what I am saying is that the average housewife for example or man in the house that never plays pool, these folks will most likely never really enjoy watching the game of pool no matter which game is played. They will never know what we know and feel what we feel about the game.
The only other 2 real factors which will really help the game is that we need big money / prizes in the game and we need some great character role models like Tigerwoods in the game of pool, and we need TV to bring these folks alive like the the golf world and like what is happening in the poker world, creating drama & suspense characters that have talent.
One last thought, a couple of strong young players 13-16 years old beating world champoins for big prize money might help, but once again we all have to pay our dues and young players often just do not have all the experience to do what Tigerwoods did in the Golf world.
In concluding, great young players that are great role models bring a lot to any game, so what young player out there is going to take on this honored challenge in the pool world, for we are all waiting for you to step forward and take pool to a higher level. I challenge you to do just that!! Maybe my grandson who is only 3 will take on this challenge, or your kids, and hopefully the pool world will be refined and have a aura that often follows great golf players, when that occurs, we can sit back and enjoy and watch the next generation of pool players chalking their cue for a
million dollars, and that would be something to see and get people really talking!!
