Sad state of pool

Scaramouche said:
Just think what the state of billiards would be in Canada if all the grain farmers in the prairie provinces had started to play table games instead of curling to occupy the winter months.:D :D :D
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A very interesting thought, and likely there were many pool-playin' farmers when pool halls existed in our small towns 30 and more years ago ... But unfortunately curling today is also suffering as a recreational and competitive game.

Leagues are having diffuculty finding players, and because there are expen$ive facilities involved, many clubs are struggling. To extend the comparison, it is more difficult to re-open a pool hall than to re-establish a curling rink, so they are trying hard to stay afloat exploring all possibilities, but some lose the fight.

On the competitive side, playdown entries are getting smaller each year, only the pro's and dominant teams bother to enter. It's just that tough to win locally (anywhere in Canada), let alone regionally, let alone provincially (any), and never mind at the Briar.

There are many similarities between pool and curling, all due to their position as a second-tier sport when compared to the highly developed first-tier sports that our media bombards us with daily, bless their corporations.

Dave, with appologies to Jude for again bringing up curling :o
 
Fatboy said:
my point here is not him, but for all of us support pool, buy the products you like, cues, cases, magazines...whatever from companys pro's endorse. Our pros need it. again my point is, support pool how ever you can-playing aint enough-its a start but do more if you can.

This post applies to just about any pro out there, thats why i posted it.
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Buy their books, Buy their DVD's. Buy their endorsed cues and write the manufacturers telling them it was the endorsement that sold you. Buy the tables, gloves, chalk and shoe laces they endorse and tell the seller why you are buying that product. Take lessons from them, do eveything you can do to help them make a living.

We'll all be buying pool stuff so we gotta buy the stuff that helps the pros because if we don't they'll have to take a day job and their talents go down the drain. What a shame that would be and it will be on us if it happens and we didn't do what we could.
 
JimS said:
Buy their books, Buy their DVD's. Buy their endorsed cues and write the manufacturers telling them it was the endorsement that sold you. Buy the tables, gloves, chalk and shoe laces they endorse and tell the seller why you are buying that product. Take lessons from them, do eveything you can do to help them make a living.

We'll all be buying pool stuff so we gotta buy the stuff that helps the pros because if we don't they'll have to take a day job and their talents go down the drain. What a shame that would be and it will be on us if it happens and we didn't do what we could.
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Assuming that the suggestion here is that buyers inform the seller only when it is TRUE that their reason for selecting that cue was the endorsement of a particular Pro............and realising the answer to the following question will be difficult for anyone to quantify......... in the opinion of AZB'ers, in what percentage of USA purchases of pool cues/tables/chalk etc is the fact that the brand is endorsed by a particular pool player a very significant factor in the choice made by the purchaser?

On the other hand, I'm not saying the actual post by JimS does, but if by any chance there is any suggestion or belief circulating that purchasers should deliberately set out to mislead the brand manufacturer concerning the true reasons why the purchase was made, purely for the purposes of helping the Pro who endorses that brand........it is hoped that no AZB'ers are actually so short sighted as to think that doing this would be a good thing for Pros in general or would be a constructive way to encourage sponsors/brand owners to become involved with pool on sound commercial and mutually beneficial foundations or to remain involved with pool in the longer term?

To go back to the assumption that we are only considering "true" correspondence with the brand suppliers it should also be remembered that just entering into such correspondence is not in itself going to increase the overall total number of cues of each brand sold. Therefore in reality the overwhelmingly most important factors for a brand manager in determining how well his marketing tactics are performing (including his choice of Pro endorser) will continue to be the actual increase or decrease in total sales and the actual increase or decrease in market share. The endorsement contracts of those Pros who endorse a brand which has disappointing total sales or reduced market share are not going to be readily renewed just because they receive some correspondence about the endorsing Pro, especially if all brands are receiving some such correspondence. In fact if after a term of Pro endorsement sales figures for a brand do not show improvement from where they were before, they are not going to give much weight to letters or comments saying that the Pro's endorsement influenced purchases positively. In fact they are almost certainly going to conclude either that there are other Pros who endorse "better" or that Pro endorsement is not a cost effective tool at all, or both.

Couldn't agree more that pool players of all levels should support their Pros by only taking lessons from Pros. As regards books and dvd's produced by Pros the reality is that only those interested enough will make a purchase. Those players interested enough will already make such purchases, it stands to reason that those who don't already have that level of interest are highly unlikely to make such a purchase purely for charitable motivatons.

The bottom line is that what is needed is a genuine increase of interest in pool worldwide, not a smokescreen to give an illusion to sponsors that there is increased interest of the public. There is nothing in the last 30 years worldwide to suggest that pool is increasing in popularity with the public, nor that it is likely to. Against that background, preserving and focusing what interest pool's already got should surely be the priority and that's why many would agree with other posters that some form of consolidation of existing assets , resources and tours etc is the first logical step rather than daydreaming about blue chip sponsor saviours arriving in a blacked out limousine, "Richard Gere/Pretty Woman" style.
 
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Regarding league play. Supergreenman is right about how many leagues and teams are here in Edmonton, Alberta but remember the old days. (5-10 years ago) when you would have a league night out and like alot of you say... is for the boys night out etc and to socialize. However that night of league play would have you play on one table to prolong how long you would be in the pool hall supporting the room and showing the non leaguers how much fun these competative nights were. Now we play on two table because people just cant seem to get home soon enough. Busy lives and families. part of the problem has also become the fact that, at least in edmonton, there are not alot of quality places for youth to play in and be brought along on the subtle nuances of the game.

ON a wednesday night in our hall (huge) the Q Club we can fill one side of the place with people but by 10:00 pm the place empties out. If my back would have it I would play every hour my lady would let me.

I support pool by buying cusotm cues and some production cues, cusotm cases and spread the purchasing around. It gets some new products in the area and shows people a beautiful product they may never see. I also watch the streaming shows. Hell I am a B+ player playing in the upcoming Canadian 9 ball tour stop at the cue club and I dont have a snowballs chance in hell of getting far but watching is fun and being a part of it is a dream. Who wouldnt want a lesson up close against a pro.

My two cents for what its worth... two cents

Sean
 
memikey said:
(everything I agree with snipped)

The bottom line is that what is needed is a genuine increase of interest in pool worldwide, not a smokescreen to give an illusion to sponsors that there is increased interest of the public. There is nothing in the last 30 years worldwide to suggest that pool is increasing in popularity with the public, nor that it is likely to. Against that background, preserving and focusing what interest pool's already got should surely be the priority and that's why many would agree with other posters that some form of consolidation of existing assets , resources and tours etc is the first logical step rather than daydreaming about blue chip sponsor saviours arriving in a blacked out limousine, "Richard Gere/Pretty Woman" style.
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Actually, in the last 30 years pool has shown quite a bit of increased interest and awareness with the public - assuming that those people who have joined leagues as newbies to pool are counted among the public.

The increase in cue sales, and pool table sales both commercial and home types is an indicator of increased popularity.

However pool as a "sport" or a spectator sport has always been a niche thing. In the days of no television pool did enjoy a greater fan base among non-poolplayers simply because people respected any great achievements and needed heroes and news.

Now we are all deluged with information and things vying for our attention. We have all the "heroes" and "celebrities" we can stand. And if there aren't real ones doing real things then we'll just script some a'la Survivor.

Pool could make it if packaged right. And packaged is exactly the RIGHT word. Trudeau had it right on that point.

Until that day comes all the pool pros in the world will be continually on edge UNLESS they get off their asses and market themselves. One thing about being in a market that is not completely filled is that there IS room to carve out a niche.

Honest to God - I know so-called "professionals" that I can beat. That I have beat. And these guys are doing exhibitions for a grand a day. $1000 a Day!!! Think about it. Sure they don't do these every day but since the majority of the world has NO CLUE what a pool professional is then anyone who dresses up nicely and can run two racks seems absolutely amazing.

So for any real Player there is a WORLD of opportunity to succeed and make money through their skills. But most real players are used to the sometimes easy money from gambling and don't really care to do the work to get the gigs that pay the bills.

Anyone have ANY idea how many millions of events go on annually that have an extra $1000 or so in the budget for an entertainer? Anyone? When is the last time you saw a Professional Pool Player listing himself in the phone book with a $100 a year ad?

Maybe they shouldn't HAVE TO - but it's time we all realize that being a Pro Pool Player is very low on the list of things that are important to humanity. It's a choice that has well known drawbacks financially. So for any player to make that choice and THEN not to maximize their earnings potential is really sad.

yeah I know I went off topic.
 
You should change the title to "The Sad State of Pool in the US"

Over here in Asia, pool (9-ball, mostly), is HUGE. Major tournaments are broadcast (and rebroadcast) constantly- trick-shot contests are very popular, and snooker in on way too often.:p

Predator and Brunswick sponsor just about everything, and they put on a great show.

I think that in the States there's just too much going on, too many huge sports that monopolize people's TV-watching time- there isn't room for a "new" sport to grow (even something like the recent popularity of UFC is really something that emerged from other combat sports)- I'm not surprised that there isn't much (if any) coverage- I didn't start watching tournaments seriously until I moved to Thailand.

In Asia, there's soccer (or should I say FOOTBALL:confused: ), auto racing, a few other fringe sports, and pool- I think is just ain't gonna happen in the States, and the US players aren't going to be able to afford to come over here for the big tourneys- it's too bad.
 
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there are many thoughts in this thread that i agree with - i for one just want the sport to pay their professionals enough to live on and then some - just as any other profession would, however, because of the negative image, that has not come to fruition yet. funny thing, the things that drew me into the game was the hustling and the wild old guy stories in the pool room - the pool "characters" if you will - that is also what keeps me engrossed in the sport to this day.

the one positive thing that i can bring to the table is this - although the tournament payouts are not substantial at this time, if you are a road player of any sort, there are so many tournaments out there right now that it will keep you very busy - there are many strong regional tours (primarily on the east coast). the unfortunate side of that is that every big name out there is at that same tournament battling it out and if you don't have game, you won't have dough. the positive is you have the opportunity to participate and watch some of the greatest players of this time - the down side of course is the players are available to the public, leaving them with less $$$ in their pockets.

argh! is there no end :rolleyes:
 
Pretty hard to stay under the radar these days.. what with the internet and all.
 
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