Well good, cuz I was getting tired of this conversation.
(and yes, I read the sarcasm in your reply, no need to continue. I'm agreeing right now to disagree and move on) :thumbup:
Shanelle Loraine vs. Borana Andoni "Battle of the Billiard Beauties" @Sandcastle ,NJ
- Thread starter Sandman
- Start date
Well good, cuz I was getting tired of this conversation.
(and yes, I read the sarcasm in your reply, no need to continue. I'm agreeing right now to disagree and move on) :thumbup:
I used to play a lot of pool for fun when I was in college. That was 25 years ago.
I barely touched a cue in the last 20 years. Last summer my wife and I decided to find a hobby to do together. We joined a beginner pool league at Amsterdam Billiards in NYC. Plenty of other beginners and out of the 150 players in the beginner league, 25% are women. Most people have their own cue, order drinks, have fun and happily spend money. The more serious and advanced players move up to the intermediate/advanced league and possibly play against Mika, Tony Robles, Jennifer Barretta and yes, Borana.
What can be done to attract new people ? Young, old, men, women, kids ? People constantly talk about pool being a dying sport/hobby. I understand the criticism mentioned in this thread, but if pool is in fact dying, then something new and slightly different can't hurt much. It might help.
I barely touched a cue in the last 20 years. Last summer my wife and I decided to find a hobby to do together. We joined a beginner pool league at Amsterdam Billiards in NYC. Plenty of other beginners and out of the 150 players in the beginner league, 25% are women. Most people have their own cue, order drinks, have fun and happily spend money. The more serious and advanced players move up to the intermediate/advanced league and possibly play against Mika, Tony Robles, Jennifer Barretta and yes, Borana.
What can be done to attract new people ? Young, old, men, women, kids ? People constantly talk about pool being a dying sport/hobby. I understand the criticism mentioned in this thread, but if pool is in fact dying, then something new and slightly different can't hurt much. It might help.
Tons of girls would love to be on a stream. Tons of girls work full time and love pool but know they will never commit to getting good enough to make a living as a pro.
But hey, If they see two girls on a stream that look sexy and graceful and guys are cheering for them they might think, "Hey I can get as good as them and maybe I can challenge one of THEM!"
This could be a good thing.
But hey, If they see two girls on a stream that look sexy and graceful and guys are cheering for them they might think, "Hey I can get as good as them and maybe I can challenge one of THEM!"
This could be a good thing.
Dorabelle....I may be wrong, but it appears that the people that are arguing against you are men. I happen to agree with your overall opinion. It is degrading for women pool shooters. This event does nothing to promote women's pool. It was entertainment for the men at best. It placed value on their looks rather than their pool shooting ability. Basically it was the "Sex sales" thing.
And as far Janette Lee goes....she has/had the game, and she added the beauty to promote herself. Big difference in what went on here.
This is exactly true. Pool players already know to wear what is comfortable. Some chicks can play in skirts and low-cut tops, and some can play in heels. I seriously doubt this was the first time Shanelle played in heels. And if I recall, she's kinda short and could benefit from them.
I think she probably plays pool in heels a lot - she plays in a lot of exhibition matches.
Events like this alienate that 25% of pool players. Pool isnt dying. Its not going anywhere its just changing. There is no need for stuff like this.
Lots of good stuff here.
As I said, I'm just a dumb man (after you've been married long enough, you come to this conclusion, heh) and have no concept of wearing heels. I gladly defer to your experience, tho I believe I have read somewhere about some ladies being very comfortable in heels.... Beats the hell outta me.
I've never understood ladies wearing garments that they had to make regular "adjustments" to, either for comfort or for covering up the goods, so mini skirts have often baffled me. Yet ladies wear them in the strangest of settings, of their own accord, so I remain baffled.
I am not a true liberal, but I expect you got that impression because I disagree with the hordes in NPR upon occasion. You know, the folks who automatically brand you as a liberal if you aren't "with'em".....
. Politically, I straddle the line in the middle, mostly... No offense taken, I'm rather amused, actually. (My best friend, and the reason I took up pool, labels me a liberal quite often. He's just this side of LWW...heh.)
Who am I to try to give Shanelle any pool advice. Im sure she has talked with her coach Charlie Williams and they both think that heels is a good move for her pool game. I think he should talk to Jazzies coach and let them in on the secret. Pro pool really does take into account all of these small silly things.
If Shanelle needs all the help she can get, then that certainly explains why she wears 4-inch heels and low-cut revealing dresses.
My wife wears heels to home depot, and while gardening! :scratchhead:
(no, she is not a stripper, but thanks to those that asked)
She is not a pool player either, but my point is even if she knew her heels would take 10% off her game, she would still play in heels, its a "fashion thing".
I am still defending this event. I promise you my wife (and people like her) cannot tell the difference in ability between Shanelle & Jeanette Lee.
I would like to think that at least one person will be more interested in pool because of it. Some of us may think it was a waste of time, but not one of us is quitting the game because of it! :grin-square:
(no, she is not a stripper, but thanks to those that asked)
She is not a pool player either, but my point is even if she knew her heels would take 10% off her game, she would still play in heels, its a "fashion thing".
I am still defending this event. I promise you my wife (and people like her) cannot tell the difference in ability between Shanelle & Jeanette Lee.
I would like to think that at least one person will be more interested in pool because of it. Some of us may think it was a waste of time, but not one of us is quitting the game because of it! :grin-square:
Shanelle is only 5'1"
The heels help her I'm sure. Her stance looks rock solid. And under the lights the low cut breathability of her top was probably a good idea.
Truth is she is a class act, well spoken, very humble for someone that attractive, loves pool and just loves to shoot in front of people like so many other players.
But it's natural for people to have issues when they don't get the attention and can play better.
That is what happens when you are born into the human race. Jealousy is part of being human.
Fortunately, Shanelle is too cool to respond to any negativity.
The heels help her I'm sure. Her stance looks rock solid. And under the lights the low cut breathability of her top was probably a good idea.
Truth is she is a class act, well spoken, very humble for someone that attractive, loves pool and just loves to shoot in front of people like so many other players.
But it's natural for people to have issues when they don't get the attention and can play better.
That is what happens when you are born into the human race. Jealousy is part of being human.
Fortunately, Shanelle is too cool to respond to any negativity.
I think Shanelle should reply to any negitive comment,but what could she really say?I blame not just her but her camp behind Shanelle marketing her this way when she's clearly not ready to be put into this type of situation.Its like a Heavyweight boxer like Chris Arreola who fought Vatali Klitschko way to early in his career and got embarrassed as well as beaten up.To me Shanelle is being mismanaged cause its quite obvious her camp could careless how bad she plays and more about how good she looks.
To let her look this bad shows a lack of respect from the people that should be looking out for her.
To let her look this bad shows a lack of respect from the people that should be looking out for her.
I don't necessarily disagree with you and I respect your opinion. I am too new to know whether or not pool is dying. However, there are less pool halls in NY than there used to be.
I asked my wife what she thought. She basically agreed with almost everything said in this thread. The pool playing was not good, they are not good enough for TV which is why it was on internet stream, it was appealing to men, but she also thought young woman watching might find it interesting and be curious to give pool a try.
The women players in my league are a mixture of young, old, conservative and outgoing. On a Friday or Saturday night at Amsterdam Billiards, it is not uncommon to see women dressed similarly to Shanelle and Borana.
It could. Or it couldn't. Personally, I don't think having guys cheering for me because I'm graceful and sexy, instead of for my pool game, is necessarily a good thing. In my experience, there's a large percentage of women who consider themselves neither sexy nor graceful. And there's the rub. And I'm a guy. Just channeling.
The guys only clapped or cheered when Shanelle made a nice shot, not when she was leaned over the table.
Shanelle is not as bad as people say. Compared to the pros yes. On the toughest equipment yes. She would be the best girl in many leagues no doubt though. She was playing a league player as well. What's wrong with that. They didn't even have 100 guys surrounding them, drooling over them. There was like 10 guys watching there.
If either player wanted advice, I'm sure they'd ask, but that quote pretty much nailed it. The jump shot attempt was not the epitome of 4 years of training well spent. If this somehow finds you Shanelle, there's lots of good instructors out there that can give you some pointers if you want.
Either way, thanks to Simonis, Accu-Stats, and Sandcastle for the event.
It makes me wonder if Charlie is actually teaching Shanelle or just trying to get in her pants!
The truth is Charlie is not a good coach at all! At the pro level, he's not even one of the top pro's! At first he was coaching Yu Ram Cha and luckily she realized that her talents were being wasted with him as a coach and so she got a better coach in Stan Shuffet. Shanelle should really look at finding a real coach so that she has a chance! In 4 years with a "Pro", she should really be far better than this!!
Let's face it, this was not aimed at an audience that wanted to see high level pool being played! This was aimed at an audience that wanted to see two great looking girls play some pool!