Boy has the state of pool changed - new rooms opening with only 3 nine footers. I get it, I understand it, and I wish all the new room owners all the best in their businesses. This is just an observation, a room here in SW Florida just took out all the larger tables and installed Diamond 7 footers as well. Nine foot pool in the U.S. is dying a slow death, maybe it is almost dead, I don't know - but, to me, it is sad.
There was always something magical as a teen when you approached the bottom or top of a stairwell and heard the click of the balls and then after a few more quicker steps looked out to a room full of those 9 foot Gold Crown I tables - then that unmistakable smell of a pool room! There really was no music, no bar, no food, and almost never a woman in the rooms that I frequented as a kid - it really was just pool Mister - and there were no shorty tables in sight for sure!
I think that the scarcity of 14.1 play since the COM movie and ESPN's need for a fast game to replace 14.1 were the first warning shots fired in the direction of 9 footers in the U.S. Then, the internet and video games grabbed attention spans of our youth and shortened their mind's vision of what is needed to master the large table.
When even a pro player needs to affix his name to a room now dominated by shorties, we know where pool has gone here in America - again, I say, to me, this is very sad . I wish Johnny "All the Best" - sincerely, but sadly.
There was always something magical as a teen when you approached the bottom or top of a stairwell and heard the click of the balls and then after a few more quicker steps looked out to a room full of those 9 foot Gold Crown I tables - then that unmistakable smell of a pool room! There really was no music, no bar, no food, and almost never a woman in the rooms that I frequented as a kid - it really was just pool Mister - and there were no shorty tables in sight for sure!
I think that the scarcity of 14.1 play since the COM movie and ESPN's need for a fast game to replace 14.1 were the first warning shots fired in the direction of 9 footers in the U.S. Then, the internet and video games grabbed attention spans of our youth and shortened their mind's vision of what is needed to master the large table.
When even a pro player needs to affix his name to a room now dominated by shorties, we know where pool has gone here in America - again, I say, to me, this is very sad . I wish Johnny "All the Best" - sincerely, but sadly.
Last edited:
