IPT observations.

mnorwood

mnorwood

Moon
Silver Member
1. I did not like the editing. I would like to see complete matches; not highlights.

2. Alot of rattling. They were not accustomed to the pocket sizes.

3. Visible discomfort with 8 ball. They looked like they were a little out of there eliment. Archer looked the most frustrated by 8 ball. The 9 ball tournaments I watch the game seems more instinctive for them.

4. Is Strickland's personality real?

5. I did not find the production quality to be as good as it was billed to be.

Final analysis: I liked it, but then again I could watch pool on youtube for hours grainy video and all. Do I think this will be a t.v. hit? NO... But I will watch it.
 
I would've liked to have watched full matches but hey, there was pool on TV and I had to watch (besides the usual ladies on TV or 9 ball matches).

I think the show would be a hit if it were on a mainstream channel like ESPN or Fox Sports 'cause not everyone has OLN.

They're either repeating it from 10-11 PM again tonight or it's another set of matches.
 
I watched the broadcast, and was have mixed feelings about what I saw. Trying to squeeze multiple matches into one hour obviously requires more editing of matches than I would have wanted. But honestly, these matches can take anywhere from 2 to 3 hours in real time. You had to know going in that you weren't going to see an entire match in an hour.

I thought the production was very good. What they did show was, in my opinion, a sampling of some great shooting by the players, some critical mistakes by them as well, and some nice angles on some of the shots. (Thank goodness they didn't have a "pocket cam"!)

The program did a good job of giving the viewer an idea of the atmosphere that existed, an insight into some of the players personalities, and a pretty good perspective as to what a professional tournament is. From that standpoint, I think they did quite well.

I did have a good laugh when they were interviewing Allison about how the men were reacting to playing against the ladies. I forget the exact words she used, but the comment was something to the effect that some of the players could be a bit nasty, while the image on the screen was Earl sitting in the chair during one of his matches. I don't know if it was meant to be an inside joke, but I thought it was pretty funny.

I would have preferred more actual match coverage, but as someone said, maybe they are trying to appeal to a much larger, and perhaps less educated (in the game of pool) audience. I don't think it was as bad as some others seem to think. I am happy that professional pool is getting exposure on tv. And I do appreciate the efforts of everyone involved with the IPT to make it happen.
Steve
 
It appears the IPT is marketing pool as a "show" rather than a sport. Ultimately, I think that's a problem. But I'm certainly excited for what sounds to be a great start.
 
pooltchr said:
I forget the exact words she used, but the comment was something to the effect that some of the players could be a bit nasty, while the image on the screen was Earl sitting in the chair during one of his matches. I don't know if it was meant to be an inside joke, but I thought it was pretty funny.Steve
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I think it was a bit of foreshadowing actually. If you go back and look at the shot of Earl in the chair look at his opponent. Gerta Hofstetter.

Earl and Gerta had a quite a nasty confrontation in this tournament which I am sure is going to get full play when the time comes.

In fact, it is right after his loss to Gerta that Earl is caught in the hallway by the interviewer and expounds to her about what a loser he is (this can be seen in the promo on the IPT website).

Hilarious stuff.
 
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mnorwood said:
4. Is Strickland's personality real?
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Indeed it is...

In addition to being an enormously talented player, Earl Strickland is also a colossal flake. This has been discussed ad nauseum on this forum.

Earl was my favorite player for years because when he is right no one plays better 9-Ball than he does. Period.

But he has inner demons that are just hard to understand.

I now am a huge Ralf Souquet fan because to me he is a lot easier to understand, even if he doesn't have the same natural talent as Earl Strickland.
 
Enjoy watching pool anytime.

I missed the 7 PM showing, but caught the 10 PM rerun. I really enjoyed the matches. Yes, it would have been nice to see a full match, but perhaps this was a better venue for a mass audience of amateurs. The big draw was to have the opportunity to watch a nice number of the big name players instead of focusing just on 2. I don't know if I care for the venue of the HOFers and Mike Sigle getting a free ride until the end. :( Even MS mentioned the worst he can do is 2nd place while all the others must bust their buns for 12 hours a day to get to the finals. I would gladly love to b in that position.

I'm pleased that pool is finally getting a showing on national TV. Also the prize money is finally large enough so the pro players can support themselves and don't need a 2nd career in order to feed their families. Both the TV coverage and larger payouts have been long overdue when compared with other sports.

The down side? It was over too quickly.:( Should have been 2 hours at least. :D Can't wait till the next broadcast. :cool: Hope they continue with the late re broadcast as I cannot make the 7 PM matches.
 
pooltchr said:
...
I did have a good laugh when they were interviewing Allison about how the men were reacting to playing against the ladies. I forget the exact words she used, but the comment was something to the effect that some of the players could be a bit nasty, while the image on the screen was Earl sitting in the chair during one of his matches. I don't know if it was meant to be an inside joke, but I thought it was pretty funny.
Steve
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I think the players have a very good point. There is added pressure from the embarassment of losing to a woman. I notice this playing in local tournaments. I play much worse if I am playing a woman or a kid that can actually make a few balls. Spend too much time thinking about my opponent. I see exactly where Johnny was coming from.
 
pooltchr said:
I am happy that professional pool is getting exposure on tv. And I do appreciate the efforts of everyone involved with the IPT to make it happen.
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I agree, but am still looking forward to seeing the IPT on Canadian (OLN or any other) network TV :(

Dave
 
What will draw the general population into the game is the characters, not the game itself.

The more stories and insights into the most interesting characters the better. Once characters become stars, then people's interest will gradually turn toward the finer aspects of the game itself.

Maybe later people will tune in to the live broadcasts to see cheer for their heroes and jeer their villains.
 
My Take...

1 Manalo has the weirdest looking break ever.
2 We got to see lots of players being themselves.
3 The ladies are getting alot of sh*t talked about them.
4 Korr needs to break out the Tahiti Tee Shirt
5 More players mean less matches Hopefully the play coverage improves as the field thins

McCue Banger McCue
 
Colin Colenso said:
What will draw the general population into the game is the characters, not the game itself.

The more stories and insights into the most interesting characters the better. Once characters become stars, then people's interest will gradually turn toward the finer aspects of the game itself.

Maybe later people will tune in to the live broadcasts to see cheer for their heroes and jeer their villains.
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I fully agree Colin. Johnnyt
 
It was said in the past that the show is going to be geared towards a non pool playing audience, while the DVDs and match downloads you can purchase are more for the pool players because they will be the complete matches.

This is how you have to show pool to the general public. You have to dumb it down and you have to only show the highlights, things that catch the peoples eyes, like the break, like a miss, like a player making the 8. The general public does not want to see someone just shoot pool and make balls over and over again.

They are using the same formula as Poker TV. If you ever watched the world series of poker, they do not show every hand. They show key hands at the TV TABLE. Thats right, the table thats designated for TV only, because these are the people who made it far in the torunament to get on that table, these are the people the public are going to be interested in.

Plus it was smart of the IPT to focus on some of the players they decided to. The focused on Keith because Keith is well... Keith. People like to watch him shoot. The focued on Earl because Earl is controversial, Earl can be a jerk, Earl will make good TV for the non Pool viewer. They Focused on Allison Fisher because she is one of the most reconignized players to the general public because she is a player with a ton of TV coverage on ESPN.

I think the IPT did the right thing for the general public regarding the show. For pool players though, perhaps no, but we have full DVDs to look forward too. I will still watch it though.
 
McKinneyMiner said:
I think it was a bit of foreshadowing actually. If you go back and look at the shot of Earl in the chair look at his opponent. Gerta Hofstetter.

Earl and Gerta had a quite a nasty confrontation in this tournament which I am sure is going to get full play when the time comes.

In fact, it is right after his loss to Gerta that Earl is caught in the hallway by the interviewer and expounds to her about what a loser he is (this can be seen in the promo on the IPT website).

Hilarious stuff.
Click to expand...


Keep in mind that a match in 8-ball takes about 2 1/2 hours.

I sat right behind Earl/Gerda during their match. The only confrontation that I saw was Earl and the table because he couldn't make a ball on the break. Gerda smiled all the time. And Earl kept saying, "8-ball is too easy". But then he lost the match.

Later he was chased down by the camera crew and he made his "I'm a loser" comment.

There was a lot of "interviewing" going on throughout the tournament and we will never know how much was said with tongue in cheek.

Jake
 
jjinfla said:
I sat right behind Earl/Gerda during their match. The only confrontation that I saw was Earl and the table because he couldn't make a ball on the break. Gerda smiled all the time. And Earl kept saying, "8-ball is too easy". But then he lost the match.Jake
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I won't debate you since you were there and I wasn't, but Gerda certainly thought different.

This is from her website:

http://www.gerdahofstatter.com/gip.htm

She talks at length about her KOH experience and basically calls out Strickland for sharking her.
 
I would like to see a complete game.

It was great to see the pros miss shots the same as I do.

It is a start, and a chance to see other players than the same group all the time.
 
Pretty....pretty......pretty.......pretty GOOD!

I thought the show was good. For only having one hour.....I don't think they could have squeezed in anymore than they did. For those of you *****ing about not seeing "matches in entirety"......go watch your Accustats tapes. I think the IPT people did a wonderful job and personally I can't wait until the next show. I thought it very interesting to have the 'after the fact' comments from the players..........Allison touching the cue ball behind the line like we all do......Johnny saying how he took Karen Corr lightly:rolleyes: ......Shawn Putnam talking about the 'water lady':rolleyes: ....Keither the Ether talking about wishing he'd had a couple of cold ones before he played :confused: .......all very intriguing. The telecast confirmed my opinion of Mike Sigel as a pompous ass just like when I saw him berate a waitress in a restaurant in Las Vegas in '92 or '93.....and the way he talks down to people at his booth in Valley Forge etc.........but I'm just thankful I have OLN and can see all this..........the main announcer could be a bit better......who is it anyway? It seems like he is talking more for the beginner or casual pool fan than diehards like us.......which I guess makes sense because the IPT is trying to gain a WIDER audience.......so he's sort of asking whay may seem to us like 'silly' questions but these are probably the types of questions the non-poolhall junkie audience would be asking......the whole thing is pretty cool:cool:
 
As for Archer saying he took Karen lightly????Why would Archer take ANY player lightly? I dont understand that at all. Anyone can beat anyone. Second of all - I dont think Earl was sharking Gerda during the match - I think it was the day before he had ALLEGEDLY said some nasty things to her, I dont know for sure, thats why I say alleged. I only know what I hear, true or un true. BUT am very interested in hearing what went down for sure!
 
Nice info. I recorded the program on my Comcast DVR, and will watch tonight.

Keep in mind that OLN is trying to promote a wide variety of "alternative sports", and Pool is one of them.

The IPT knows it has to suck in a large group of people by promoting a game they may recognize like eight ball. Also, the minority of viewers are going to be the hardcore players hell bent on becoming the best possible shooters they can, who care to use the program to raise the level of their game. Just some thoughts of mine.
 
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