Pool Playing as a profession

[JoeW]

Ya’ll miss my point. It is about taking control of one’s destiny. Physicians started out as barbers – look at them now. School teachers could get the kids in school only after the harvesting was done and were constrained by parents who “owned” their children as social security for their old age. Education is a little different today isn’t it!

When you have like minded people who create a highly ethical group formed to further their area of interest it can become a very potent force to be reckoned with. When you clean up your own house, the community comes to you and asks you to set the standards for all of society.

Sure there will always be sand lot players and seedy characters who like the mystique of pool no one could or would want to take that away from those who prefer that life style. But these should not be the people who define what pocket billiards is all about. It should be defined by the people who dedicate some portion of themselves to the sport as evidenced by their ability and dedication. In one umbrella organization established to further the sport of pocket billiards the concerns fall under different committees.

Think about it, if you could get the top ten players who are also dedicated and ethical to form a group that listed 1. Admission criteria to their group, 2. Set forth a set of principles for play, and 3. Set forth a recommended style for admission to tournaments, do you think that anyone would want to join such a group?

Now assume that a few other pros read it and decide that they too would cough up a few bucks to join and get their pet projects on the list of things to do. Would it take off? I suggest that the principles set forth by such a group would begin to set standards that would be considered by any group that supported pool playing. Can't you hear the discussion. Well "X" tournament did not follow such and such as laid down by the Association so I don't think the tournament means much, yada, yada, yada

 

[thebighurt]

Lets see, as far as individual sports go people would like to see pool become like golf. The same people complain how pool players get tagged with unfair perceptions of how pool and pool players are. Well professional golfers call fouls on themselves. Greg Norman was leading a tournament one time after the 3rd round and he was in his hotel room that night and he pulled out the ball he had been playing and realized it was on the experimental/banned list of balls. Now he could have easily switched balls for the next day and NOBODY would have known-except him-. Well he called the tour director the next morning and DISQUALIFIED HIMSELF! Than you have Earl Strickland one of the all time best players on T.V. blantanly fouling the 5 ball with his hand and he yells out if the ref didn't see it it is not a foul. Real class and people wonder why sponsors don't put their money into the game! yeah right!! Just imagine if somebody new to the game or even a sponsor decided to watch that telecast and decide whether this would be a good investment for their company. They were in luck, they were getting to see a 6 time world champion, 5 time U.S. open champion perform. After the 5 ball move I left off 15 time world piece of shiit champion. The bigger joke was when the IPT was having players call fouls on themselves..yeah right!! I can just imagine it is double hill $ 350,000 money supposedly the diffference in 1st and 2nd and it is a real close hit anybody want to bet what the shooters version would be!!

 

[Scott Lee]

Ya’ll miss my point. It is about taking control of one’s destiny. Physicians started out as barbers – look at them now. School teachers could get the kids in school only after the harvesting was done and were constrained by parents who “owned” their children as social security for their old age. Education is a little different today isn’t it!

When you have like minded people who create a highly ethical group formed to further their area of interest it can become a very potent force to be reckoned with. When you clean up your own house, the community comes to you and asks you to set the standards for all of society.

Sure there will always be sand lot players and seedy characters who like the mystique of pool no one could or would want to take that away from those who prefer that life style. But these should not be the people who define what pocket billiards is all about. It should be defined by the people who dedicate some portion of themselves to the sport as evidenced by their ability and dedication. In one umbrella organization established to further the sport of pocket billiards the concerns fall under different committees.

Think about it, if you could get the top ten players who are also dedicated and ethical to form a group that listed 1. Admission criteria to their group, 2. Set forth a set of principles for play, and 3. Set forth a recommended style for admission to tournaments, do you think that anyone would want to join such a group?

Now assume that a few other pros read it and decide that they too would cough up a few bucks to join and get their pet projects on the list of things to do. Would it take off? I suggest that the principles set forth by such a group would begin to set standards that would be considered by any group that supported pool playing. Can't you hear the discussion. Well "X" tournament did not follow such and such as laid down by the Association so I don't think the tournament means much, yada, yada, yada

Although your ideologies are sound, the principles are not possible to present in the manner you suggest. First of all, WHICH top 10 players...in what game, what country, to what end? The "pro players" in this country can't decide among themselves who's best. Most say, "I'm the best, and if you don't think so, BET something." The few Europeon players that seem to dominate on a world stage, have their own ideas, and could care less about American players, as a whole. Asian players have their own organizations, tours, and/or sponsors, and aren't interested in American problems.

Sure, doctors started out as barbers 200 years ago, but the AMA was formed more than 100 yrs ago, and it still took decades for them to achieve the status they enjoy now. Now, for your idea of the players 'coughing up a few bucks'...that's impractical, as they, by in large, don't HAVE the bucks to cough up...unless you want to gamble (and in many cases, the $$$ comes from a stakehorse, who is another gambling addict). Who's going to decide who's conduct is 'moral' and whose isn't? Your ideas are possible in a utopian atmosphere. Sadly that will never be the real world counterpart in pool. The very people you suggest to 'umbrella' an organization would very likely fall victim to the same kinds of greed that have plagued pool (among other things) forever. All you have to do, is look to the current U.S. government to see how greed and power corrupt the entire group, from the top down.

I'm not badmouthing your concepts. I happen to agree with them, and consider myself one of those 'altruistic' believers who would love to see professional pool in the manner you suggest. I just don't believe it can happen here...too much apathy and/or greed (the "what's in it for ME syndrome"). Perhaps when the other pool power countries do their own thing, Americans will wake up and decide to follow suit.

FYI, the PPPA (Professional Pool Players Association) that you mentioned in your first post, was formed in 1970. Allen Hopkins was it's first president. It lasted less than five years...due to apathy and arguments among the very players you suggest should govern the organization you'd like to see formed, as a "governing body".

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

 

[PoolSharkAllen]

Lets see, as far as individual sports go people would like to see pool become like golf. The same people complain how pool players get tagged with unfair perceptions of how pool and pool players are. Well professional golfers call fouls on themselves. Greg Norman was leading a tournament one time after the 3rd round and he was in his hotel room that night and he pulled out the ball he had been playing and realized it was on the experimental/banned list of balls. Now he could have easily switched balls for the next day and NOBODY would have known-except him-. Well he called the tour director the next morning and DISQUALIFIED HIMSELF! Than you have Earl Strickland one of the all time best players on T.V. blantanly fouling the 5 ball with his hand and he yells out if the ref didn't see it it is not a foul. Real class and people wonder why sponsors don't put their money into the game! yeah right!! Just imagine if somebody new to the game or even a sponsor decided to watch that telecast and decide whether this would be a good investment for their company. They were in luck, they were getting to see a 6 time world champion, 5 time U.S. open champion perform. After the 5 ball move I left off 15 time world piece of shiit champion. The bigger joke was when the IPT was having players call fouls on themselves..yeah right!! I can just imagine it is double hill $ 350,000 money supposedly the diffference in 1st and 2nd and it is a real close hit anybody want to bet what the shooters version would be!!

Quite a few sports tolerate a certain amount of "cheating." In basketball for example, it's extremely common for the player committing a foul to point to the opposing player even when they were at fault. Ditto for football, wherein players for both sides of a controversial play will point to the opposing team as the one at fault.

That's why we have referees -- to keep the players and the teams honest...and to make the correct call.

Regarding Earl's controversial play, it's ironic that even though there was a referee present the referee was out-of-position to make the correct call. Earl cheated but to put this in context, players in other sports cheat too, hoping that the referee didn't see the play. It's not fair to single out pool for ball calls.