Pool on TV All Time Low?

jhendri2

jhendri2

Rack'em Sausage
Silver Member
Veterans Day I was off, and had nothing better to do than sit around and watch TV. I flipped over to ESPN or ESPN2 to see if any pool was on, well it wasn't, but guess what was...CHESS!!!!

You mean to tell me that chess, not two people playing, but people playing against a computer, is more exciting than pool? You know they say pool is not very athletic, but heck at least pool players get up and walk around the table.

This being said, what changes in the way pool is filmed, do you think will bring it back to TV? Me, I hate watching matches where they show one player win, the match score is 1-0, come back from commercial and it's 3-1 or whatever. This irritates me. I would also like to see some of the gamblimg matches. How about a mix of a tournament and gambling, kinda like the World Series of Poker. Where you have so many "chips" to gamble with and there are minimum bets, but you don't actually win the money, it comes down to where you place. If you've ever seen the World Series of Poker, you may understand better than I can explain.

Just some thoughts. How about you guys?


Jim
 
Here in florida we get feeds from the Billiard Channel on Sunshine Network. They actually show a whole match, Not the crap espn shows. If I see that guy shoot balls into a pocket fast once more I will kick my TV! LOL! They consider that a TRICK SHOT? Not to mention the fact that they made up a Trick Shot Tournament...............wake up ESPN! I still say they should send a crew out to some Tournaments and just film random matches. Film a bunch of different matches, then get somebody that knows how to chalk a cue to edit the footage. That would be better than the junk they show now. .....................Welcome back from the break!!!!!!! Where the score is hill to hill now! ( and they just flipped the coin before the commerical break ). We jumped ahead in the action! LOL ........sound familiar?
 
look at it this way,,,,,,watching a grand master think and making his move is better than watching the computer do the same.
 
I'm a member of the US Chess Federation. Do you know the names of the human competitors?

The following letter was sent to BILLIARDS DIGEST the other day:

Dear Kierr Graff:

Re: October 2003 issue of Billiards Digest: 25 Things We'd Like To See

What I'd like to see included in televised Pocket Billiards (note the use of upper case) tournaments is a colorful announcer like the one who announced the 2002 Mosconi Cup in England. Here in the states, rather than listening to droning comments concerning plane geometry, I'd like to hear the announcer make more more colorful quips, innuendo and puns. A televised sense of humor would do more for the image of Pocket Billiards here in America albeit the level of concentration by each player equals that of a chess match.

Sincerely,
-------------
 
For everyone that saw the Mosconi cup on the Sunshine network, this is for you. Do you think the skit that was done at the beginning showing all the players being spotted and rounded up was something that should be done to make womens pool or any pool on espn more interesting. It seemed like just that heightened interest in the match because it was played out as a true rivalry. Also the announcers for the Mosconi cup are great. The introductions are great and the crowd makes you feel like you are watching a huge sporting event. Not saying we need to copy them, but maybe take some of the things done in Europe into consideration here. It seems to work...snooker and pocket billiards are two very popular sports in Europe.

Sarah
 
sarahrousey said:
For everyone that ,,,,,,,,but maybe take some of the things done in Europe into consideration here. It seems to work...snooker and pocket billiards are two very popular sports in Europe.

Sarah
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",,,in europe" says it all, sarah. i have a negative and bleak attitude about the prospects of pool in america, and believe it will all happen overseas. i didn't realize until recently just how deep was the negative public opinion about pool. and this opinion runs through all age groups and this is what surprised me the most.
 
Count backwards from, "Pool Hall Junkies" and name me just one positive billiards flick. Sure, some made $$$$ but they all put pool in a dark light.

Don't get me wrong, I love all pool flicks, even that fiasco, "The Player" staring, gag me, Minnesota Fats. But, ESPN and other sprots broadcasters have to make money, so they have to entice non-pool players to watch.

My suggestion: Give up on trying to put a dress on a pig. The best thing ESPN or anyone else could do to make money and generate non-pool players interest is to do like they are doing with the poker tournaments. Contact Grady Mathews or Greg Sullivan and negotiate a deal to broadcast the $30,000 winner take all Ring Game LIVE. If it were on a pay-per-view basis, how many of us would pay to see it? If it were under $100 I think most of us would go off. Even better if they took a shot and put it on ESPN2 live for FREE.
 
ESPN is a Decade behind on the poker. They saw how good the World Poker Tour did and copied them. Maybe the Travel Channel will do Pool. They could do for Pool what they did for Poker on TV.
 
i would not pay $100. the first thing they need is to attract a LARGE audience and i think $100 is prohibitive.

i was watching ken burns' "jazz" and it talked about a couple of new orleans musicians "HUSTLING" in pool halls when they were growing up(1900-10). i was surprised that the image reached that far back. it is a deep rooted image.
 
Sarah, I think anything that gets the fans more interested in cheering on a player (or team) is good for the game.

None of the players on the Euro team are going to win Academy Awards any time soon, but the whole thing came off very well.

Mike


sarahrousey said:
For everyone that saw the Mosconi cup on the Sunshine network, this is for you. Do you think the skit that was done at the beginning showing all the players being spotted and rounded up was something that should be done to make womens pool or any pool on espn more interesting. It seemed like just that heightened interest in the match because it was played out as a true rivalry. Also the announcers for the Mosconi cup are great. The introductions are great and the crowd makes you feel like you are watching a huge sporting event. Not saying we need to copy them, but maybe take some of the things done in Europe into consideration here. It seems to work...snooker and pocket billiards are two very popular sports in Europe.

Sarah
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I tend to agree with Hemi about the ring game idea. I think what makes poker so popular right now is the interaction you see between the players. Their personalities have a chance to come out as they're playing and you start to see that there is more going on in the game than just the luck of the draw of cards. If they televised a ring game and showed the interaction between some of the characters we have in pool, we could have the same success. People are interested in seeing how other people react in stressful situations. Look at how popular "real" TV has been. The best shows were those that put people under some duress and showed how they dealt with it.
 
I think the ring game pay-per-view event would be great. Especially if it was priced between $20-$50. I would spend the money. Imagine seeing 8 great players play a ring game and keep all the emotion televised. With good announcers it would be great. Imagine...."well...Player 1 just missed that ball and well...that will cost him/her big. they may be sitting for 5 games" and show the person and how it feels to know how big that shot was. Like Rickw said, "real" sells.
 
pooltablemech said:
ESPN is a Decade behind on the poker. They saw how good the World Poker Tour did and copied them. Maybe the Travel Channel will do Pool. They could do for Pool what they did for Poker on TV.
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We can only hope.
Jeesh, million dollar tournaments?
Hell, they had a million dollar bass fishing contest on Fox a few years back.
I'll be happy if pool got the same tv coverage as BOWLING.
 
hemicudas...
where could I get a copy of "The Player" ?...mine was loaned out, not to be returned..
 
Sarah, I thought that skit during the Mosconi Cup was pretty good. As far as the announcers go I would prefer to listen to Sigel, Rempe,Incardona, Mathews In the 2002 US Open. Especially when they explain the different variations the player could shoot.

Jhendri2, ESPN had an hour and a half of Kasparov playing the computer today. At the beginning they mentioned that Kasparov would receive 125K if he lost, 150K if he played to a draw and 200K if he won the match.

And since pool is all about gambling why not just admit it and structure the TV matches as gambling matches. That way people could bet on the outcome. Like horse racing, jai lai, and any other sport out there.

Jake
 
I've been saying for years that the gambling aspect of the game should be celebrated. Trying to mold pool after say pro Golf Won't work, because there is always the underlying "gambling" albatros around the neck of pool. Now that Poker has made a splash, the bandwagon is loading up to do the same thing with pool. Great idea. I'd love to see players losing there rent money, selling thier car to buy back into the tourny, losing thier temper is fun, I like to see emotion, not just a player miss a shot and calmly walk back to the chair with thier guts twisting (BOOOOOORING) no wonder nobody watches that crap. I wanna see somebody friggin lose it, get pissed, make a great comeback, anything with some emotional interest like Earl i might say. He's fun to watch even if you don't like him. So in short, the goody 2 shoes, Amish pool tour can go the way of the dinosour, and let the world see what we (pool room regulars) see daily. ...IMO...Gerry
 
Gerry said:
So in short, the goody 2 shoes, Amish pool tour can go the way of the dinosour, and let the world see what we (pool room regulars) see daily. ...IMO...Gerry
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Great post Gerry. Amish pool tour? Too funny but true.

By the way AJRACK, I don't have a clue where to get a copy of The Player. Watching it once was enough for me 30 years ago. When it opened in theaters Fatty went around with it and put on a bank pool demo.
 
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