Pool Celebrity or Active Pool Pro?

Pool Celebrity or Active Pool Pro or Other

  • Pool Celebrity

    Votes: 19 30.2%

  • Active Professional Pool Player

    Votes: 35 55.6%

  • Other (please explain)

    Votes: 9 14.3%
  • Total voters
    63
  • Poll closed .
JAM said:
An invitational is an invitational is an invitational. It truly does not matter what the public thinks should be the selection criteria. The promoter calls all the shots, to include the rules that will be used in play.

In times gone by, I have observed than many of the ESPN matches are based on a pro player's celebrity status, more so than the strength of their game. IOW, the number-one pro player in the world may not make the cut, and a well-known pool celebrity like, hypothetically speaking, Minnesota Fats would make the cut.

Which do you think is better for pool to be on display in mainstream America today? This is a private poll, so lurkers can feel free to vote. :)
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hi Jam....not fair......you have both in keith....a celebrity and a pro..:):):):):grin:....lolololol....love ya both............mike
 
cueball1950 said:
hi Jam....not fair......you have both in keith....a celebrity and a pro..:):):):):grin:....lolololol....love ya both............mike
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Hi, Mike. Hope you are doing well.

There is a reason for this poll. I'm just wondering which has a stronger draw: personality or talent. Some players have one without the other. ;)

I do believe, like others in this thread have suggested, that if promoters would figure out a way, like Mr. Bond said about the Olympics, to share a little human interest story about the pool player, it would attract new pool enthusiasts.
 
Ken_4fun said:
I often have phone calls to and from the Phillipines.

When I do, I always ask, "like a stupid American", "Do you know Efren Reyes?" That is a great icebreaker and I have NEVER had someone not recognize who he is, and what he does.

I always say he is the best pool player I have ever seen. (Of course they agree)

So are there any pool celebrities? Yep.

Efren Reyes is truly a pool celebrity in the PI.

Kne
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Yep, he is very much a celebrity. I found out that the good looking receptionist at our office is from the Phillippines so that was a good conversation-starter. She knew exactly who Efren Reyes was and was actually impressed that I did. Sadly, she was married though.

She also knew who Busty and Orcullo were too. She doesn't play pool herself.
 
We would need a mix of both. And when i mean pool celebrities i mean pool players who might be top ranked but are quite popular. Eva, Allison, Eric and Efren and a few who are popular.I knew their names and have seen them play quite often before i even started playing pool.

As it is an invitational, it still depends on the person organizing the tournament/event.
 
JAM said:
I always thought Mosconi Cup was more of a made-for-TV competition than a who's-the-best-of-the-best competition.
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I think it is very clear that Matchroom wants it to be a "best of the best" competition in the style of the Ryder Cup. Their model with snooker shows that ratings will follow if the players are skilled and the competition is legitimate (no WWE wrestling type "exhibitions").

For that model to work, it requires a cadre of skilled, dedicated, professional players who CARE desperately about winning (ie. care enough to train like elite athletes). Only time will tell if the US can field anyone like that other than Shane (and of course Earl is so close that it's heartbreaking to see him fall short of his unbelievable potential). Just my opinion.


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Celebrities arent born, they are made.

As far as personalities are concerned, there are lots of robots, and just as many earls out there already. But we're not being told the story of who they are and where they're from, so how would we know?

Greenleaf would have been just another drunken monkey without the media, same with fats, efren, earl, jeanette..pick a name. They all have one thing in common, we found out, in one form or another, who they really are and what they are really like. Don't think for a moment that there aren't more of them out there, the difference is, nobody is telling us the story of who these people are.

Obama, Steve jobs, the kardashians, Salvador Dali, Mozart, Donald trump, ....all of them were just another face in the crowd till you heard the story. In some cases, their accomplishments have brought them attention in the first place, but again, how would we even know about their accomplishments without the media bringing them to our attention.

Even for the boring players, how does a player build that kind of reputation without someone having seen or heard it, from somewhere?

There aren't pool celebrities because they arent being made.
The public doesnt recognize any pros because they arent being shown who they are.
If nobody knows who they are, they won't watch matches.
If they don't watch matches, sponsors wont waste money.
No money equates to less marketing and poor production.
Poor marketing and production means no celebrities are being made.
 
Mr. Bond said:
Celebrities arent born, they are made.

As far as personalities are concerned, there are lots of robots, and just as many earls out there already. But we're not being told the story of who they are and where they're from, so how would we know?

Greenleaf would have been just another drunken monkey without the media, same with fats, efren, earl, jeanette..pick a name. They all have one thing in common, we found out, in one form or another, who they really are and what they are really like. Don't think for a moment that there aren't more of them out there, the difference is, nobody is telling us the story of who these people are.

Obama, Steve jobs, the kardashians, Salvador Dali, Mozart, Donald trump, ....all of them were just another face in the crowd till you heard the story. In some cases, their accomplishments have brought them attention in the first place, but again, how would we even know about their accomplishments without the media bringing them to our attention.

Even for the boring players, how does a player build that kind of reputation without someone having seen or heard it, from somewhere?

There aren't pool celebrities because they arent being made.
The public doesnt recognize any pros because they arent being shown who they are.
If nobody knows who they are, they won't watch matches.
If they don't watch matches, sponsors wont waste money.
No money equates to less marketing and poor production.
Poor marketing and production means no celebrities are being made.
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Man, I couldn't agree with you more. :yes:

Your post reminded me of a funny happening that Keith and I both had recently. With the beautiful spring weather in full bloom, we have been going to the park a couple times a day with our Mickey dog and taking advantage of the fresh air. The exercise is good for all three of us, and it's starting to really show. Mickey sleeps better, and Keith and I both are feeling great.

We went deep in the woods one day, and it was almost magical, walking alongside the creek. We saw beavers, ducks, birds, you name it. Along comes these two runners dressed in running gear, and after they passed us on the trail, they both stopped. The taller one said, "Keith? Keith McCready? Last time I saw you was at Orange Ball in Rockville. Where are you hitting 'em these days?"

Keith and I both got a kick out of that. Of all places for a pool player to be recognized, in the park walking his dog. :rotflmao1::rotflmao1::rotflmao1:

This is the path we were on.
 

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franko said:
I never thought I would say this, but I went with Pool celebrity. If the non Pool playing public is drawn into it the TV people will go with it. Pool needs more exposure.
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Bingo! Celebrities draw the audience. Therefore, it's wise to add celebrity to the mix.
 
Just thinking... How about a Junior Mosconi Cup? Might get the interest of younger players.
 
I think in the present climate of professional cue sports, it really doesn't matter what level of celebrity anyone has cuz It's super hard to fill out a field like they could 25 years ago. So I think that a person should be allowed to either get a nod from a trusted authority in the cue sports community like AZ or some equivalent. Alternatively. There should be the option of a Kumite entrance test..... Where you break and run a rack at the door and pay your fee.... Or whatever criteria the operator wants to allow people into such an event.

I really do not want to see a day of 37 inning 9 ball and having a skills demonstration is a good way of weeding put the lightweights and weak shortstops. Break and running a rack of 9 ball is pretty basic and you should be able to get one of three racks out. That would just be my litmus test. Can't do it on command? Have a nice day.

Regards,

Lesh
Incidentally, there are some.pool celebrities I would like to see more of.... Yes, I' talking to you Keith McCready and Jim Rempe. MOAR!!! You aren't.in the ground yet.
 
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Well, then I guess it begs the question. If you were a pool promoter that was going to have your event televised live on American TV and it was limited to four players, who would you invite? The total purse is, hypothetically speaking, $20,000, and it will be one winner take all in a 9-ball competition for the 60-minute TV show.

You could have plenty of time to provide a promo piece on each player, a bio, so to speak, to lure in the audience.
 
Okay, here's my picks. I would be looking for someone who is current but also enjoys a modicum of celebrity in the pool world. I would try to include representatives from all around the world. So these are my four picks:

Alex Pagulayan
Earl Strickland
Darren Appleton
Jeanette Lee

What do you think?
 
JAM said:
I like that group. I can see the bios coming forth too. I love that Skylar. :smile:
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I think the energy they bring to the table is something even a non pool fan can appreciate.

There are lots of players out there though. Those just came to me off the top of my head when picking four to promote.
 
Talent, there's nothing more painful to watch than pool being played badly. Celebrity is overrated in the world today, how many celebrities are there today whose only claim to fame is being famous? No real skills, accomplishments or worth other than the trash magazines they sell at the checkout counters which are nothing more than testimonies who they're screwing or their excesses? Pool doesn't need to have anything else hold it back like whats gone on through modern times for almost 50 years now. The last thing it needs is people dropping their pants & showing their butt AKA "personalities". I've heard people in this thread say Earl is entertaining but if you really look at it how many times has his behavior been held up as the example of why pool has never gone anywhere? Petulant childlike egotistical hissy fits that some call personality, it may sell to the reality tv crowd but will also serve to make our sport look more like a circus than it already does to many.


Why am I the Colonel? Because I always get the chicken
 
Danny Harriman
John Schmidt
Kieth
Mike the Mouth

Outa get the juices flowing

The question is ,, How can you get enough money in pool to support more than just a handful of players ,, there's way to many pros for the current market to support
There's no hatred by the general public on pool players in fact just the opposite there's far more people in tune with pool than their used to be ,, that may be where the problem is ,, the general public does not see pool in the same light as it did when they looked at Willie as some kind if god in the pool table ,, hell he barely cracks the top ten here in a poll ,, simply put people don't think it's that difficult and that makes it a hard sell

1
 
one stroke said:
Danny Harriman
John Schmidt
Kieth
Mike the Mouth

Outa get the juices flowing

The question is ,, How can you get enough money in pool to support more than just a handful of players ,, there's way to many pros for the current market to support
There's no hatred by the general public on pool players in fact just the opposite there's far more people in tune with pool than their used to be ,, that may be where the problem is ,, the general public does not see pool in the same light as it did when they looked at Willie as some kind if god in the pool table ,, hell he barely cracks the top ten here in a poll ,, simply put people don't think it's that difficult and that makes it a hard sell

1
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Now, that's a motley crew. :grin-square:
 
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