so all you league people out there would you pay a extra 2 dollars on your sanction fees to help sponser the pro tour???
Not willingly.
Just 2 dollars??? so lets say that every league APA BCA and VNEA and every other league all up their sanction fees 2 dollars would you be upset??? i dought it, especially if it went to the pros can you imagine how much more money would be in pool!!
It's not much and if it were built in then no one would care and no one would miss it.
lets say theres 200,000 league players out there just a number off the top of my head ok dont go hitting me with stats or anything im just talking here ok. anyways that would produce 400,000 dollars for the pro tour and help sponser the game!!
Seems very simple doesn't it?
Dee Adkins and I were yalking about this today and it really makes since! so lets here it
Hear what? That a small bit of money from each member of a large group can fund the efforts of a small group? That's how charities work.
I put forth this very idea many time over the years. Mark Griffin liked it so much that he put it into action, albeit with a new league rather than an existing one.
The thing I am interested in hearing is what will the professional players do with this influx of capital? What are they willing to do for the money? Anything else besides just show up and play? What does the little league player get out of it?
I mean let's be very very very real for a second and admit that the majority of league players could care less about the pro game. If there were no pro tour and no pro tournaments then it wouldn't affect their enjoyment of the game one little tiny bit. They will still show up on league night and drink and have a good time and go home and watch the CSI that they recorded.
would you pay extra money to sponser the pros ????
Maybe. If it were built in and I didn't know about it then great. I just pay it and don't know or care where the money goes. I have never once questioned any LO where and how the 4,5,6 bucks goes that I pay in dues and membership fees.
and who do we need to talk to, in order to get this done?
No one. No one can "get it done". There is too much in the way of unreasonable competition in this business for any of the leagues to work together on the common goal of promoting pool over other sports.
The APA is the largest league and they do not play well with others. They would want to exert major control over any organization that they are putting half a million into. Combined the other leagues make up about half of the APA's membership so they would all have minority stakes in this venture and I am sure that wouldn't sit well with them.
It's a good idea and one which stands to benefit everyone in pool. But the problem is that there are too many egos and not enough workers in pool.
We already tried the experiment of taking from the many and giving to the few called the Billiard Congress of America. Instead of taking that money and funding a pro tour they threw it down the toilet promoting home recreation shows that introduced all the visitors to ping pong, golf simulators, darts, spas, video games, air hockey and poker - basically they told they buyers don't sell pool stuff, put in foosball, ping pong, gold games, etc... and you will make more money.
To the point where the BCA even decided a few years ago to change their mission statement from one which stated that their mission was to promote billiards to one that said their mission was to enhance the business of their members.
So that is the problem - the leagues aren't about to ship money to a bunch of people they don't control.
To Mark Griffin - just start your tour. Don't tell us about how it's financed. Just start it and tie it into your league so that the members and league operators see the merit and benefits from being associated with your pro tour. Call me for plenty of JB Ideas on the subject.
But, I don't DO these things for you, I will give you so many ideas that you will be years realizing them.
Then League Ops from other leagues will WANT to be on your system. Until now you give them no compelling reasons to change the status quo and upset their investments into what they are presently doing.
You should forget about telling us how bad the APA is and how they don't want to cooperate to promote pool. There is nothing we can do about it.
You need to understand that the APA works as it is right now. The league ops are doing well without any changes. These are your target customers though, not the people with no experience. You want to have a reason for someone with one hundred teams to bring them into your system. The PLAYERS for the most part could care less as long as they can have their fun. But they aren't going to leave their friends behind because you tell them that your thing is better.
So do your thing. Start a tour, start small, grow it and in ten years you will have overtaken the APA and left them in the dust. You will have it all from top to bottom. But it's not going to happen through wordy campaigns on here.
And you know I tell you this because I BELIEVE in you.
Your friend,
John
??? Gosh Trent, you don't even know me and you've already put unsaid words in my mouth and called me a name. You just don't like me at all, do you 
