There's been a lot of talk on here about the game's popularity (or lack thereof), and about whether or not certain players, or certain formats, are good for the game.
In the spirit of that discussion, I'd like to make the following suggestions as to how we can spruce up the game a bit and make it a little more exciting and fan-friendly, so as to gain a wider audience (I'm thinking especially of how these changes might make televised matches on ESPN a little more exciting).
General rule revisions:
--Allow players to stand around the table and move around the table while their opponent shoots.
--Allow players to verbally taunt one another during a match. Taunting can include, but need not be limited to, talking about how boring and slow your opponent is; ridiculing your opponent for using a jump cue; making fun of your opponent's cue, attire, or appearance.
--Institute a 20-second shot clock, with one 30-second timeout per rack. If a match goes hill-hill, reduce the shot clock to 10 seconds for the case game.
--Allow the fans to cheer and shout during play. This would include shouting just when a player is about to shoot, much like NBA fans do when an opponent shoots a free throw.
Special rule revisions (these could be optional for matches):
--Allow wagers during the match between players on particular shots.
--Allow a player to move one ball per game on the table before his opponent's next shot (since everyone would likely choose to move the nine ball each game, we can stipulate that the ball-move must be made before the seven ball). This would definitely lend some unpredictability to even the most routine looking runout.
--Randomly make one of the balls during one of the games in a match the secret 'exploding ball'--a ball that literally explodes and distintegrates upon impact with the cueball. The player shooting the cueball into the exploding ball automatically loses that game (we would have to find a way to prevent the ball from exploding during the break of course).
Other suggestions?
In the spirit of that discussion, I'd like to make the following suggestions as to how we can spruce up the game a bit and make it a little more exciting and fan-friendly, so as to gain a wider audience (I'm thinking especially of how these changes might make televised matches on ESPN a little more exciting).
General rule revisions:
--Allow players to stand around the table and move around the table while their opponent shoots.
--Allow players to verbally taunt one another during a match. Taunting can include, but need not be limited to, talking about how boring and slow your opponent is; ridiculing your opponent for using a jump cue; making fun of your opponent's cue, attire, or appearance.
--Institute a 20-second shot clock, with one 30-second timeout per rack. If a match goes hill-hill, reduce the shot clock to 10 seconds for the case game.
--Allow the fans to cheer and shout during play. This would include shouting just when a player is about to shoot, much like NBA fans do when an opponent shoots a free throw.
Special rule revisions (these could be optional for matches):
--Allow wagers during the match between players on particular shots.
--Allow a player to move one ball per game on the table before his opponent's next shot (since everyone would likely choose to move the nine ball each game, we can stipulate that the ball-move must be made before the seven ball). This would definitely lend some unpredictability to even the most routine looking runout.
--Randomly make one of the balls during one of the games in a match the secret 'exploding ball'--a ball that literally explodes and distintegrates upon impact with the cueball. The player shooting the cueball into the exploding ball automatically loses that game (we would have to find a way to prevent the ball from exploding during the break of course).
Other suggestions?
