Popularity of pool? Average age?

[HNTFSH]

Yep. American pool is very hostile in general. I'm not a fan of gentrification typically as it can remove spirit/culture, but American pool needs it desperately. It actually needs more glam and Paris Hilton. Anyone telling you otherwise is living in a suburb or something similar. It's fine for me, as I grew up incredibly poor, but in general American pool halls are not for children (teens are typically fine though). Let me put it this way, I knew parents that felt safer if their children were working in coal mines than in a particular "pool hall" (it was more like 6 tables on a bunch of wood called a floor, with dogs and the occasional "pet" rooster running around).

:lol: C'mon man, nothing needs more Paris Hilton.

 

[JusticeNJ]

This is pretty old at this point - but here's some info you might find interesting. Granted it only informally surveyed AZB, but here ya go:

https://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=58705&page=2

Click on "View Poll Results" to see what the answers were at the time without voting.

 

[jaime_lion]

Yep. American pool is very hostile in general. I'm not a fan of gentrification typically as it can remove spirit/culture, but American pool needs it desperately. It actually needs more glam and Paris Hilton. Anyone telling you otherwise is living in a suburb or something similar. It's fine for me, as I grew up incredibly poor, but in general American pool halls are not for children (teens are typically fine though). Let me put it this way, I knew parents that felt safer if their children were working in coal mines than in a particular "pool hall" (it was more like 6 tables on a bunch of wood called a floor, with dogs and the occasional "pet" rooster running around).

I always find stuff like this funny. Its like where do you live and how old are you? I don't know anyone with 6 kids who works near a coal mine. Everyone I know is white. because where I live like 95% of the population is white.

 

[Bob Jewett]

One of the pool magazines used to quote from this. Probably the best source of info on this subject.

 

[Cron]

:lol: C'mon man, nothing needs more Paris Hilton.

It really does. If I walked into a pool hall and saw a woman who is comfortable enough to bring in her poodle, things would be looking up.

I always find stuff like this funny. Its like where do you live and how old are you? I don't know anyone with 6 kids who works near a coal mine. Everyone I know is white. because where I live like 95% of the population is white.

So, you live in a suburb. BTW, for the area I was describing, 95% white isn't going to cut it, although I've been told there have been... "changes" (I'm gratefully out of that world now).

One of the pool magazines used to quote from this. Probably the best source of info on this subject.

$600 for that .pdf, am I assuming that correctly? I've seen prices of all sorts for spec's and such, but that seems a little steep for census data alone.

 

[Bob Jewett]

... $600 for that .pdf, am I assuming that correctly? I've seen prices of all sorts for spec's and such, but that seems a little steep for census data alone.

They do a survey every year of many sports and activities. I don't know if they sell info on just one sport. It's expensive to do a good survey or poll and the market for the info is limited. P&B runs a survey, but all of the responders are readers of the magazine who self-select to participate.

 

[jaime_lion]

It really does. If I walked into a pool hall and saw a woman who is comfortable enough to bring in her poodle, things would be looking up.



So, you live in a suburb. BTW, for the area I was describing, 95% white isn't going to cut it, although I've been told there have been... "changes" (I'm gratefully out of that world now).



$600 for that .pdf, am I assuming that correctly? I've seen prices of all sorts for spec's and such, but that seems a little steep for census data alone.

I live in south dakota. here are the demographics for the state.

https://worldpopulationreview.com/states/south-dakota-population/

 

[HNTFSH]

The dog and I would be busting Roosters every weekend. Pool at night.

 

[Charles Hartfield]

Ha! Agreed but the other side to that coin are folks like many of us that don't care much about "watching" rather like "doing". I never watch a hunting show. I never watch a fishing show or tournament. Don't seek Retriever Field Trial utubes and gave up on the NFL.

Most I might watch is a world cup soccer game and that's more patriotic than anything.

Watching golf, watching pool, watching horse shoes...would rather be doing something instead.

But I do hear what you're saying. :thumbup2:

I didn’t think about that but you are right. Some people like to play and not watch. I would rather play also but I enjoy watching the pros as well. I was thinking about popularity from people like me instead of the whole picture.

 

[Tennesseejoe]

I live in the Nashville area and since JOBs is a smoking venue you have to be 21 to enter. I think our ages may be higher than your line of 31. My pool friends are dying out quickly so I turned to leagues and really enjoy it. Many teams have a wide range of ages but the average age seems to be 45. I am 77.

 

[Geosnooker]

I always find stuff like this funny. Its like where do you live and how old are you? I don't know anyone with 6 kids who works near a coal mine. Everyone I know is white. because where I live like 95% of the population is white.

I was 8 years old the first time I saw a black person. I wasn’t even sure black people were real or just in stories. We called blacks ‘Golliwogs’. My father was sent as as liaison officer for a year to the USA to North Carolina, A few weeks later we white and black kids were all playing together as 8 year olds do.

Fast forward to today, one of my Snooker mates is from Trinidad...a changed world.

 

[HomeBrewer]

This. And it probably applies to lots of things - music, writing, pool, etc. I'm 40 and grew up without cell phones and I miss those times (which ironic since I work in IT).

I've now got friends my age who I don't bother seeing much anymore because to get lunch or a quick drink with them is to watch them stare at their phone for an hour. I don't know what happened.

I won't bring my phone to the dinner table because I don't want my kids watching me stare at it.

 

[animatedvmaker]

So I saw someone say pool was dying and I googled. It does look like the popularity of pool is decreasing. Do you think pool will die out entirely? Also I am curious what is the average age of pool players in your area? I am 31 so lets use that for an arbitrary line. How many people are older or younger than 31?

Thanks for the info.

Look at the average age of league players in your local region, for the answer to your question.

Also, is there a junior league in your area, and how many players does it have?

If asking about pool in the US, then yeah, I think that pool in the US is dying.

Pool will never die for the bangers though. The bangers will never stop buying pool tables for their houses, and there will always be pool halls, but they will come with restaurants and bars in them.

The real pool rooms are and have been dying for a long time.

I feel that pool with younger players was much more popular back in the 90's then it has been over the last 20 years. Young people just stopped wanting to play, and pool seems to have lost interest with the younger players, and college crowd.

 

[Geosnooker]

This. And it probably applies to lots of things - music, writing, pool, etc. I'm 40 and grew up without cell phones and I miss those times (which ironic since I work in IT).

I've now got friends my age who I don't bother seeing much anymore because to get lunch or a quick drink with them is to watch them stare at their phone for an hour. I don't know what happened.

I won't bring my phone to the dinner table because I don't want my kids watching me stare at it.

Last year the organizer of one of our pool get-togethers finished taking a shot and looked at the other three players who were playing at the table at the time. All three of them were staring at their cell phones. He didn’t say a word. He just took his cue apart, put it in his case and went and over to pay his tab. That’s when one of the other players realized he wasn’t there, Next week there was a new rule. No cell phones at the table. ‘Oh, is it my shot?’.

 

[jaime_lion]

Look at the average age of league players in your local region, for the answer to your question.

Also, is there a junior league in your area, and how many players does it have?

If asking about pool in the US, then yeah, I think that pool in the US is dying.

Pool will never die for the bangers though. The bangers will never stop buying pool tables for their houses, and there will always be pool halls, but they will come with restaurants and bars in them.

The real pool rooms are and have been dying for a long time.

I feel that pool with younger players was much more popular back in the 90's then it has been over the last 20 years. Young people just stopped wanting to play, and pool seems to have lost interest with the younger players, and college crowd.

Thanks you just gave me another incite. I live in an apartment. So do pretty much all the people I know and hang out with. So having a home pool table would be cumbersome with space being at a premium. Also if your renting you possibly could not afford one. Also also it would be something else to move. I mean those are things you can find ways around and such but they are one more reason pool might be loosing popularity.

 

[Geosnooker]

Thanks you just gave me another incite. I live in an apartment. So do pretty much all the people I know and hang out with. So having a home pool table would be cumbersome with space being at a premium. Also if your renting you possibly could not afford one. Also also it would be something else to move. I mean those are things you can find ways around and such but they are one more reason pool might be loosing popularity.

I’m in my mid 60’s. I didn’t know anyone with a Home table when I grew up and I lived in different places. Houses were mostly farm type houses with perhaps two generations and 10 kids. Or they were three-bedroom bungalow’s with an unfinished basement and three kids. The idea of a pool table was as as alien to my youth ( perhaps not others) as having a spaceship in the backyard. Certainly some people had tables but they would’ve been rare amongst working class people, farmers etc.

Today I live on a circle of eight houses. I know three of them, minimum, have billiard tables. I have friends who don’t even play pool and have a table. Just about every house built in my city in the last couple decades is over 2000 ft.² and has room for what people call a ‘games room’.

 

[TxBullDog]

Pool in Texas is on a upswing. I have seen several new pool halls open up in areas I never expected like in San Antonio and other areas. I lived all over Texas in every major city. I think pool will start to become even more popular. Heck we even have a new pool movie coming out next month... walkaway joe! I think the image problem is always there but the sport is not going away... I still would love to see it in the Olympics and a better sponsored Pro tour... Bottom line is just have fun playing pool and enjoy the social aspects once all this Covid-19 is over because it will always be a “pleasure of small motions” that helps everybody escape dealing with life on life’s terms.... This will always keep pool alive. Average age in Texas is either in your twenties or old as dirt cowboy ��. It’s a very wide range from what I have seen across the state.

 

[LHP5]

Out of the rooms I have played in or used to play in the average age would definitely be 40+. Not too many teenagers or people in their early 20’s. I agree with a post above and do notice a pretty big gap of people in the 30’s.

 

[trinacria]

pool will never die. ever. its the most fascinating game ever created in all forms, from snooker to Russian billiards to carom to American games. you need intelligence, have to be athletically inclined, its problem solving, its cleverness and on and on. that's why its so rewarding when you do things right. itll make a comeback again, it just shifted. I see the Asians are coming up big now in the pro circuit, eastern Europeans are more noticeable, eventually itll come back stateside. I don't think itll ever die.

 

[HNTFSH]

Thanks you just gave me another incite. I live in an apartment. So do pretty much all the people I know and hang out with. So having a home pool table would be cumbersome with space being at a premium. Also if your renting you possibly could not afford one. Also also it would be something else to move. I mean those are things you can find ways around and such but they are one more reason pool might be loosing popularity.

Confused. You think it was different for the generations before yours? :scratchhead: