Oh, I’m far from beating the drum. I think this is the second time I’ve mentioned my opinion that 4.25” should be standard for all competitive events. And I’m only talking about professional events. Bars and the like can do whatever they please to let customers enjoy playing pool.And what percentage of the market do you represent? Just wondering.
I’m just thinking on the run here. It seems to me that a lot of the enjoyment of spectating competitive events comes form the knowledge that you, the viewer, can not do what the professionals do. Snooker for example (sorry, that’s just where I have most experience). Snooker fans, even those that make century breaks, know how much tougher the professional tables are than their club tables. They appreciate what the professionals are able to do on those tables and therefore enjoy watching them do it.
I think this logic applies to any sport. If everyone could run sub-10 second 100 meters, I doubt there’d be as much interest in watching the likes of Bolt do his thing. If everyone had minus handicaps in golf, I suspect golf viewership would be way down (sorry if I said something wrong there, I don’t know much about golf). And even though as pool players we know that it’s much harder than it looks, most ball bangers have potted 7 or 8 balls in a row. When they see pros do it on tables not much different from their local bar or club, I’m pretty sure a lot of them wonder what’s so special about professional pool.
Before I switched from snooker to pool, I used to quite literally be in tears watching professional 9 ball; commentators being amazed at someone playing short side position or making an 8 foot pot, balls bouncing half way up the rail and still dropping in the pockets, and so on. I really had zero interest in watching it because I was pretty sure I’d be able to play those same shots on my first attempt.
Of course, I now know that pool is not as simple as that. However, in the very first big pool tournament I played in, 2 months after starting to play pool, and after a year of not playing anything, in the final, I beat a Korean pro that played for Korea in the World Cup of Pool. Yes, Korea is not a powerhouse in men’s pool. It didn’t do much to make me want to watch pros.