Fran,
While he (Shawn) is citing some accurate views with regards to other professional league sports,
Many do not know the history or the pitfalls or the dealings and the collusion and all that went down with ESPN, PPPA, WPBA the IPT, and a couple of other short lived acronyms.
We'll get everyone up to speed soon enough.
I hope you're doing well!
I don't need to know the particulars. Or the history. Pool has been filled with shady characters that have found almost every way to short change sponsors, backers, and supporters. This is clearly evident in the fact that promotions are still screwing over people to this day.
Integrity is defined as doing the right thing even when no one is watching. Not ONE organization, to date, has tried to do the right thing for the game of pool. They have tried to make money. Or make a sustainable pro tour. It would be like deciding you want to become a farmer, and then going out and asking everyone else to plant your crops, till your fields, sell the crops, and then just hand you the money.
Not one kid I know aspires to be a pool player. Not one. And as a parent, I wouldn't want my kids aspiring to be professional pool players. We seem to honour the hustlers, the guys that blew their bankroll rolling balls on a table, or revel in the stories of players that put the equivalent of my house up their nose, but played one hell of a pool game. I guess I'm in the minority. I like the guys like Oliver Ortmann. Or Ralf Souquet. Or Thorsten Hohmann. The guys that play tournaments. And play in straight pool leagues. Who don't gamble, and treat the game with the dignity it deserves. They don't play pool in 3XL Hustlin' t-shirts, and Air Jordans. But this board seems to be filled with people that just want to argue about who Skyler can gamble with even, or whine about how new cloth has ruined the game.
If you actually want to build a pro tour, you need to get enough people interested in pool to tune in and watch an event. That starts at the amateur level. For every player in the NHL, there are 1000 kids playing hockey. For every MLB player, there are 1000 little leaguers. Those kids play sports through their school years, and college, and if they're good enough, they become a pro.
I like pool. I, for the most part, can't stand the majority of pool players. Let me correct that statement. I find that pool seems to bring out the underlying personality in most people in an accelerated manner. When people lose at league, they usually blame the handicapping. "That guy is a sandbagger". Well, I guess you could think that. You could also think about the 2 8 balls you missed, and the 3 shots you played horrible position. But...no...let's dwell on placing the blame on something beyond your control. That's more comforting. So....let's whine about the fact that pros aren't paid as well as we think they should. Let's talk about what's wrong with the game, and tell people that they should give more money to the pro players. Or let's petition leagues like the APA to give some of their money to the pros. That'll fix pool!
I knock out a 50 hr week. I get paid a salary, and commissions. The more I sell, the more I make. And I manage to play pool at a decent level. There were legends in the 50s and 60s that actually held full time jobs, and managed to compete at a pro level. So....how about those pro players take life seriously, and go get jobs? If pool isn't paying the bills....it's time to find a new gig. Pool in North America is dying. For a good reason. It's filthy and sleazy. It's hustlers hustling hustlers. No parent I know wants their kid hanging out at the pool hall. And it isn't the smart kid in the class that's running to the pool hall after school to play a few racks. Now....before you tell me about your darling child, nephew, granddaughter, etc....yes, there are exceptions to the rules. The best players in the room are usually the ones that are in dead end, medial jobs. The league players are the people with careers, and disposable incomes. Yet these are the people that most of AZ look down upon. Those stupid "league players". You laugh at them, and mock them. And they're the people with the bankroll to fund your dream. It's like a landscaper laughing at people who hire him to mow their lawn.
Promotions and promoters do not serve the game. They serve themselves. Organizations like the WPBA, WPA, etc....are purely self serving as well. They're kind of a "union" of pool players that negotiate "fair treatment" for their employees. Yes....you do a ton for your own cause. But you do nothing for the game. The APA, BCAPL, TAP, and any other league.......do more for pool than all of the pro factions put together have ever done for pool. A league captain has a few friends over for beers, and their buddy Bob, after seeing a pool trophy, says "I used to play pretty good"....and then the conversation starts....the next week, Bob buys a cue, and joins his friend's team. Or goes out and plays with one of his buddies after work. And another pool player is in "the game". No one watches TV, sees a professional pool match, and then hops on Seyberts, buys $2k worth of cues and accessories, and hits the table to try and do what they just saw. Pool is a social experience. It's playing around a table with friends, putting some money into the pot, and chasing a trip to Vegas, watching points on a weekly basis, and cheering on your 3 as they win their first match.
I think the pros would be well served to try and partner up with the leagues. Start showing up on a weekly basis, just as a drop in. Talk with the lowly leaguers. Maybe two could show up and play some games in the same pool room...give those people something to talk about. "Hey, these two pros showed up at league the other night, and you had to see these guys play!! They even signed autographs and handed out their cards!!". "That's pretty awesome....what were their names?". "I think one was named Corey....and the other guy was Mike". Then, those guys are on YouTube the next day searching up "Corey Mike pool", and they get links to the Mosconi Cup, and will see the jump shot by Corey that parked on the rail, and then fell back to the table.
Promote the game. Promote yourself. If the pro players keep leaving the promotions and marketing up to other people that pretend they're in this for "the good of the game", they'll remain where they are.
