Maybe somebody can explain this to me..

[TSW]

The people writing those shows are marketing experts going for ratings (more or less). They seem to think that given the choice that's what the general public would like to see or they wouldn't put it in there?

Not necessarily. The TV writers don't have pool's best interest in mind.

 

[ARM9BALLER]

I'm not taking issue with risk-taking generally. I'm talking about the effect that gambling has on people. The problem occurs when participants care more about the wager than about the game, and pool becomes just another outlet for a gambler's tendencies. It's not a coincidence that so many pool players are branching out into poker now. That implies to me that these are people who care more about the thrill of the bet than about pool as a sport.

Of course nothing prevents people from gambling head-to-head in anything, whether it be pool or poker or archery or coin-flips. Pool's problem is that it has a public image of gambling/hustling/sandbagging etc. that absolutely cripples its ability to get sponsorship, and that image is pervasive among the professional ranks, too. It's very bad for the game to have Robb Saez mouthing off about long gambling matches on ESPN.

It's funny how some people will bad mouth a player about gambling, but the slight word of a match up playing 10 ahead for a couple thousand, those same people flock to the table to get the best seat in the house. BTW who asked the question on ESPN anyways? Roxanne right? Exactly. Who's the one not being professional? Gambling has been a way of life for Robb. That was the way he made a living until recently, and he was good at it.

 

[PlynSets]

Not necessarily. The TV writers don't have pool's best interest in mind.

Well follow me back on this one just a hair..

They seem to know what their viewers want to see (right?).

The problem with pool is that joe Q public isn't as interested in it as they used to be..

People say that's becuase of the gambling, or bad name etc. They say people would be more interested if it was more "family" and pure as the driven snow.. Yet my point is the people that would know (TV Producers, writers etc.. whom deal with marketing to the public against other shows that do the same) seem to always go for that aspect of pool (to get there viewers to watch that episode) when they are trying to attract people to it?

Kinda bad writing above.. wording sucks but I think you know what I mean and I'm feeling to sunburnt and lazy to retype it.. LOL

Basically, when those people bring up pool and are attracting viewers to their shows that's always the angle they play. If it's that terrible why wouldn't they play the more family orientated angles? League, tournaments? Father Son kinda stuff. I believe it's becuase the "Underground" kinda lifestyle that goes hand in hand with hustling is actually kind of mystical and appealing to those that aren't really involved in the game.

DJ