Jerry Forsyth
Well-known member
Please use this forum to express positive ideas for assisting the growth of professional pool in America.
Jerry Forsyth said:Please use this forum to express positive ideas for assisting the growth of professional pool in America.
Cameron Smith said:Furthermore I believe the statistic is that 50 million people play pool regularily in the US. If this statistic is correct or even close to being true, then there has to be a market for the game somewhere.
Island Drive said:......in a co-operative manner without forcing them into a rigid, pre-determined box.
FYI......I HIGHLY recommend you REMOVE this agressive statement from the main event on the AZ front page....
Jerry Forsyth said:Please use this forum to express positive ideas for assisting the growth of professional pool in America.
Jerry Forsyth said:Please use this forum to express positive ideas for assisting the growth of professional pool in America.
Jerry Forsyth said:Please use this forum to express positive ideas for assisting the growth of professional pool in America.
pooltchr said:I think the APA and other similar leagues have a golden opportunity to promote the game on a local level that would generate greater interest in pool as a sport. Every cable operator in the country is required to offer a local access channel at no charge. In our market, we have a city tournament 3 times a year. How great would it be to have live coverage of local area teams competing for the chance to represent our area at the nationals in Vegas? How many players would be encouraging their friends and family to watch them on tv competing? As someone pointed out, viewers need to have someone to pull for. If a team from Matthews is playing a team from Statesville, the local flavor would be a great asset.
I think building public recognition from the ground up would create a more solid foundation for viewership. Once people start watching the top local players, I believe there would be more interest in regional and top level professional events.
MJ....have you ever considered televising Viking events in the local markets where you hold events? Since air time is free, the only costs would be video production.
Steve
mantis99 said:I do not really see that statement as aggressive either.
I would suggest a good grass roots effort to get local pool halls and bars/leagues to advertise the tour. People can not participate in something if they do not hear about it.
Cameron,
The idea of a reality based pool show has been talked about fairly frequently on here. I think this would be a great idea. Especially if the contestants were coached by one of the greats, and the regular watcher could gather some instruction that they may be itching to try out after the show. If it actually helped them, they may be more likely to continue play. Pool is a very difficult game to become proficient at it, and when you first start out, it is frustrating enough to push most away fairly quickly. Success at some level will help people want to play more. Overall, I think it would be a great idea. Any media helps. Just look what the COM did for pool when it came out.
Beef,
I disagree with the 10 ball idea. I know it is a popular idea here, but the avg player can barely sink 2-3 balls in a row in 9 ball, so why make it harder. Anyone who picks up a stick to do what they see on tv will quickly realize that 9 ball is not too easy. If we want hard breaks, create rules to outlaw the soft break, some are out there already.
Island Drive said:Forcing...I feel is a poorly chosen word...thats all...I'm just trying to make sure there are NO waves made before hand, otherwise I like 99.9% of what's said, you guys asked me what I think, I responded
I guess in my previous post, what I am saying is that TV time alone will not do it. The players have to try and come out of their shells a little. It's hard when you are trying to focus on the match but there has to be a reason for the average Joe to either love a player or hate a player for reasons other than they can run the table.worriedbeef said:I also think ten ball is the discipline to further pool's growth. Nine ball just looks too easy sometimes and gives the wrong impression. A soft cut break and three balls down and watching a player make six hangers over the hole doesn't help the game. Pool is arguably the toughest game on the planet to master and we need a game that reflects that.
after watching plenty of action report events and coverage recently, it's become apparent to me that ten ball should be the main game on diamond tables. you need a good break too, which people like to see.
if pool could just get say a couple of matches on a week in a half decent timeslot i think it'd be a start. Nothing fancy, just a full race to 10-15 say with two top players and two good commentators to discuss the shots and the game.
An idea would be the action report producing regular matches for television. Just say 90 mins once/twice a week of SVB versus corey or something with billy and grady in the box. Nothing fancy or overblown on the production side either, just as it is on the dvd's with an introduction and a couple of interviews with the players.
people would enjoy watching a good solid high class match with intelligent commentary i think. to teach them about the game. people would be interested. as disillusioned as we can all get with society sometimes, i still feel the public would enjoy a simple, intelligently presented programme without all the razmatazz and dumbing down for tv.
it would be a completely different offering to the WPBA broadcasts too. no mitch lawrence creaming his pants over a two inch draw shot with a hanger in the middle pocket. people know the game is being dumbed down for them, they are not stupid. but they will still watch because the attraction with the women's game is just that - they are women.
Cameron Smith said:...One potential idea is to have a weekly show that spends a substantial amount of time, introducing us to the players involved in the match at hand. And by substantial I mean more than 23 seconds. It's very simplistic but given a decent timeslot, and a provocative presentation it couldn't hurt....