It was simply amazing!

Roger Long

Roger Long

Sonoran Cue Creations
Silver Member
I just came from Bull Shooters where Shane Van Boening showed up tonight unannounced and started hitting balls on one of the 9-ft Gold Crowns. I got the camera out and started taking some pictures, and after a few minutes of that, league players started coming up and asking me who I am taking pictures of. When I told them, they said they'd never heard of him before and wanted to know if he was any good. There must have been at least six or seven exchanges like that.

That got me to wondering...are lower eschalon players that disinterested in what's going on with professional pool these days; or is it that professional pool is just poorly promoted?

Roger
 
Roger Long said:
I just came from Bull Shooters where Shane Van Boening showed up tonight unannounced and started hitting balls on one of the 9-ft Gold Crowns. I got the camera out and started taking some pictures, and after a few minutes of that, league players started coming up and asking me who I am taking pictures of. When I told them, they said they'd never heard of him before and wanted to know if he was any good. There must have been at least six or seven exchanges like that.

That got me to wondering...are lower eschalon players that disinterested in what's going on with professional pool these days; or is it that professional pool is just poorly promoted?

Roger
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Most league players really don't have a clue about who the pros are. There was a guy who played in a league here in NYC about 10 years ago. He was an okay player and he was giving lessons to beginners...IMO he shouldn't have been giving lessons. Anyway, a friend of mine was chatting with him one day and it turns out this guy had no idea who Efren Reyes was!!! I mean can you imagine a tennis instructor not knowing who Roger Federer is? And what's even worse was when my friend explained how great Reyes was and all his titles and all the magic stuff he does, the guy didn't even care and acted as though it didn't matter. unbelievable!
 
If that happened to me, I would have to try and play him. Even if I was donating!

Thats awesome Roger. I would have sh*t a brick!
 
Some have people have no clue

They just have know idea what a great player is. I saw a real good player shooting in a tourament one time he was pulling perfect shape shot after shot. When he was done running the table and winning the match I heard an older fellow say well he he never had a tuff shot. He stood there and watched this guy with pin point control and it went right over his head. I just shook mine an walked away.
 
JUSTABANGER 2 said:
They just have know idea what a great player is. I saw a real good player shooting in a tourament one time he was pulling perfect shape shot after shot. When he was done running the table and winning the match I heard an older fellow say well he he never had a tuff shot. He stood there and watched this guy with pin point control and it went right over his head. I just shook mine an walked away.
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I've seen and heard that exact thing more times than I can count.

I remember this time at Amsterdam Billiards several years ago Jeanette Lee was practicing on one table just throwing balls out and hitting them, nothing serious. On the next table George "Ginky" Sansouci and Danny Barouty are playing straight pool...and lights out straight pool at that...On the next table Johhny Ervolino is playing someone and running what would be 140+ balls. Almost everyone in the room was watching Jeanette Lee! Everyone knows who the "Black Widow" is. I'm not knocking Jeanette's game but C'mon! A spectator says to me "she's incredible" I said she's okay and then I told him about the world class players playing next to her and he couldn't have cared less.
 
Roger Long said:
I just came from Bull Shooters where Shane Van Boening showed up tonight unannounced and started hitting balls on one of the 9-ft Gold Crowns. I got the camera out and started taking some pictures, and after a few minutes of that, league players started coming up and asking me who I am taking pictures of. When I told them, they said they'd never heard of him before and wanted to know if he was any good. There must have been at least six or seven exchanges like that.

That got me to wondering...are lower eschalon players that disinterested in what's going on with professional pool these days; or is it that professional pool is just poorly promoted?

Roger
Click to expand...



Roger, I think that professional pool is very poorly promoted. I have seen the same thing you are talking about here in my own pool room when I had professional players come in to do exhibitions. It seems to me that once the public ( Lower Level League Players ) see these guys play they are just blown away and their hero Minnesota Fats is forgotten forever!!!:D

I mean lets face it the biggest name in Pool in the last 50 years to the general public is the Fat man, everyone has an uncle or other family member who played or knew the Fat Man. This was not because he was the greatest player in history as we all know, but he was one the best promoted players that ever lived. Partly this is due to the movie the Hustler, but it was also do to the fact he became a house hold name during the late 60's and 70's due to products with his name on them and the matches and games shows he was involved in.

Now I know that many people think that Hustling pool is the dark side that many feel stops pool from making it a main stream past time. But I don't believe that is true because the man who draw all the crowds portrayed himself as nothing else and the public ate it up and because of this he is remembered to this day. Yes he was certainly a showman he could certainly control a crowd, and whether the average person or player wants to admit it the dark side can be fun and everyone some where deep down inside would like to be the Hustler. You see when it comes to proper marketing sometimes the big bad wolf can be a very desirable person to be and Fats proved this all to be true.

In my opinion this could all be done again today, it would certainly take the right front man and it would also take some big financing but if it were done correctly it could certainly start things moving in the direction we would all like to see. Some One could also see a big return on the money spent, at least in my opinion. It has been 40 years since this form of marketing was used in pool, and with gambling as big as it is in this country today I don't think people would be offended by the right guy or gal portrayed as a Pool hustler fictional or other wise.

JIMO
 
Bobby said:
I've seen and heard that exact thing more times than I can count.

I remember this time at Amsterdam Billiards several years ago Jeanette Lee was practicing on one table just throwing balls out and hitting them, nothing serious. On the next table George "Ginky" Sansouci and Danny Barouty are playing straight pool...and lights out straight pool at that...On the next table Johhny Ervolino is playing someone and running what would be 140+ balls. Almost everyone in the room was watching Jeanette Lee! Everyone knows who the "Black Widow" is. I'm not knocking Jeanette's game but C'mon! A spectator says to me "she's incredible" I said she's okay and then I told him about the world class players playing next to her and he couldn't have cared less.
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In that case maybe he wasn't refering to her pool game:thumbup:
 
JUSTABANGER 2 said:
In that case maybe he wasn't refering to her pool game:thumbup:
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LOL....but actually he was talking about her game. Every time she drew the cueball he oohed and ahhed along with everyone else. At one point she switched hands to shoot a ball hanging in the pocket. The guy was flabbergasted "did you see her shoot that lefthanded!!!"
 
Roger - That's really cool. Shane's the man right now.

Getting back to the average joe pool player and his not knowing the best pool players in America right now... it's not what interests them.

For most, if they can achieve a 4 ball run and win their game during their weekly 8-ball league... well, that's all they care about pool-wise.

They're not students of the game. If they were, they would know the best players in the world by name and on sight. It's that simple in my mind.
 
Roger Long said:
That got me to wondering...are lower eschalon players that disinterested in what's going on with professional pool these days; or is it that professional pool is just poorly promoted?

Roger
Click to expand...

All of the above.

Quick, look around your favorite pool room. How many top player's pictures and profiles are hanging on the walls? Any videos for sale featuring them? Any AccuStats DVDs for rent or sale? Any posters advertising upcoming exhibitions? Any posters advertising upcoming tournaments where the pros will be in attendance? Anything at all in the whole pool room that even suggests that pool is played on a professional level?
 
The only way anyone knows who any of the male pro's are in the US is if they go way out of their way to watch what they can online or in PPV online.

I don't even know if any of the mens stuff is on tv anymore, I gave up searching the hundreds of channels for the very very occasional mens pool coverage. I don't watch ESPN for anything else so if they advertise any coverage of matches or tournaments I never hear of them. I'm not a football or baseball fan or anything, so ESPN is a channel I never switch to anymore.

The WPBA is still promoted to some degree, and still on tv (I think). I don't know, I don't watch them on tv either any longer it's too hard to find and on too seldomly to make it worth searching for all the time. Mens pool I don't even know what it's called. Do they have a name like WPBA you can search in tv listings? Have they been on TV in the last several years at all?

I seach youtube for matches to watch and hear of things to see on this site, but that's about it. If I don't know what names or events to search for then like everyone else I can't find them, so I don't see them.

If it weren't for you guys and being a member here I wouldn't know who SVB is either.

Is there a place on here to see when things are on tv even? Seems like there should be a tv listings area on azbilliards but if there is I haven't seen it.
 
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I've come across situations like this several times myself. Not to take anything away from league players, cause they're not all going to fit in the category. But it's really my belief that for the most part, league players aren't interested in pool as a sport. To many of them, it's a game. And many of them have never seen a 9 footer. Yeah, they sure know who the top shooter in the league is, but they've never heard of Efren or Shane. To them, professional pool is all about "that hot chick they call the Black Widow."
dave
 
BOTH really!!!!!

Roger Long said:
I just came from Bull Shooters where Shane Van Boening showed up tonight unannounced and started hitting balls on one of the 9-ft Gold Crowns. I got the camera out and started taking some pictures, and after a few minutes of that, league players started coming up and asking me who I am taking pictures of. When I told them, they said they'd never heard of him before and wanted to know if he was any good. There must have been at least six or seven exchanges like that.

That got me to wondering...are lower eschalon players that disinterested in what's going on with professional pool these days; or is it that professional pool is just poorly promoted?

Roger
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However, with good promotion, the interest becomes generated. A good car salesman doesn't wait for someone ready to buy a car, they make them feel they NEED the car.

Jaden
 
There is sort of one cool aspect to this and I was just thinking about this today. Think about it from Shane's perspective. He gets to be one of the greatest players in the world, arguably the greatest player in the U.S. right now, but he also can live a completely normal life (minus the living out of a suitcase part). He can still walk the streets without being mobbed. He can go to a restaurant without being constantly approached by fans. But yet when he comes across someone that really loves the game he will be immediately recognized. That is sort of cool if you ask me.

At this point in time does this sort of story really surprise anybody? I've run across people that almost take it personal when some banger doesn't know who all the great players are. I don't quite understand that. I just accept the fact that not everybody loves the game like WE do. To each his own.
 
cigardave said:
Roger - That's really cool. Shane's the man right now.

Getting back to the average joe pool player and his not knowing the best pool players in America right now... it's not what interests them.

For most, if they can achieve a 4 ball run and win their game during their weekly 8-ball league... well, that's all they care about pool-wise.

They're not students of the game. If they were, they would know the best players in the world by name and on sight. It's that simple in my mind.
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They don't have to be students of the game. In England there are old ladies who can tell you the top ten snooker players by name and pick each of them out of a lineup.

The fact of it is that the pool room owners don't give a shit to actually promote pool beyond their front door. The BCA doesn't give a shit to promote pool beyond their trade show.

Anyone ever been to Cuetopia in Vegas? Sadly it's gone now. But when it was there you could spend a good hour browsing the photos on the wall and soaking in all the memories of great players.

If average players don't care about the pros enough to learn their names and appearances it's because no one is making them care.
 
BasementDweller said:
There is sort of one cool aspect to this and I was just thinking about this today. Think about it from Shane's perspective. He gets to be one of the greatest players in the world, arguably the greatest player in the U.S. right now, but he also can live a completely normal life (minus the living out of a suitcase part). He can still walk the streets without being mobbed. He can go to a restaurant without being constantly approached by fans. But yet when he comes across someone that really loves the game he will be immediately recognized. That is sort of cool if you ask me.

At this point in time does this sort of story really surprise anybody? I've run across people that almost take it personal when some banger doesn't know who all the great players are. I don't quite understand that. I just accept the fact that not everybody loves the game like WE do. To each his own.
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This is a good point. Very much a silver lining to being the best in the world but virtually unknown.
 
Roger Long said:
I just came from Bull Shooters where Shane Van Boening showed up tonight unannounced and started hitting balls on one of the 9-ft Gold Crowns. I got the camera out and started taking some pictures, and after a few minutes of that, league players started coming up and asking me who I am taking pictures of. When I told them, they said they'd never heard of him before and wanted to know if he was any good. There must have been at least six or seven exchanges like that.

That got me to wondering...are lower eschalon players that disinterested in what's going on with professional pool these days; or is it that professional pool is just poorly promoted?

Roger
Click to expand...


Which way did he go??? :smile:

td
 
BasementDweller said:
There is sort of one cool aspect to this and I was just thinking about this today. Think about it from Shane's perspective. He gets to be one of the greatest players in the world, arguably the greatest player in the U.S. right now, but he also can live a completely normal life (minus the living out of a suitcase part). He can still walk the streets without being mobbed. He can go to a restaurant without being constantly approached by fans. But yet when he comes across someone that really loves the game he will be immediately recognized. That is sort of cool if you ask me.

At this point in time does this sort of story really surprise anybody? I've run across people that almost take it personal when some banger doesn't know who all the great players are. I don't quite understand that. I just accept the fact that not everybody loves the game like WE do. To each his own.
Click to expand...

There is something to this.

I also truly believe that this is due to a lack of TV coverage of any sort with the men's game. The Jeanette Lee story above highlights it. Exactly how is Joe Six-pack supposed to know who SVB is? Where would he have seen him? The average guy doesn't look up pool online. Where else do you see or read about men's "pro" pool?

I got into pool a little over 2 years ago. Before I got the bug and started looking for pool related stuff online (inevitably finding AZB), I had no idea who SVB, Efren or even Earl Strickland was. To be fair, I didn't really know who Jeanette Lee was, but at least I recognized her.
 
Most amateur (league) players are only interested in playing the game, not watching other people (pros) play. IMO there's nothing wrong with that. Pool remains a huge participant sport in this country, with many millions playing the game each year.

As for Shane, in places where pool is shown on television frequently (the Philippines for instance) he is well known. He will often be recognized on the street there. More established players like Mika and Ralf are celebrities over there, being asked for autographs and photos wherever they go. If they ever showed the Mosconi Cup on TV here, live and unedited, pool might develop a following. It's a fantastic show!
 
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