TAR 25 and the forums

PoolSharkAllen said:
Scott,
Your being a friend of Neil's is clearly clouding your judgement. Neil's post shown below is an example of blatantly unsportsmanlike conduct. Instead of condemning Neil's conduct you're apparently condoning it.

I stand by my comments that Neil has a lot to learn about ethics, integrity and especially sportsmanship.

Originally Posted by Neil
You aren't going to stop all the sharking, it starts the second there might be a match. It's all head games. And, I'm not against a little head games.

Once had a yearly 14.1 tournament around here. Most of us played pretty even, a few a little better but still beatable. Dan Whitten (yes, cue case Whitten) used to live up here. He won it one year. The next year I was already there when he arrived. He had been practicing a lot, and was ready to defend his title. He came in with that look in his eye. I saw it, and walked right up to him. I told him I hope I drew him right away. He looked at me, and asked "why?" I then told him "well, you won it last year." He then replied, "yes, so why would you want to play me first?" I then told him "Well, Dan, we all play pretty even, you won last year. The odds of you winning two years in a row have to be astronomical! I figure you have the worse odds here of winning again!" Needless to say, poor Dan went two and out that year. Am I a cheater for playing a little mind game on him? I don't think so. He lost because he thought about what I said, and it made sense to him. So, he went from a winning confidence to a losing mentality.​
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Neil is all right in my book (and a damn good player) and his little attempt to distract Dan here could have backfired and only motivated him to win again. No big deal either way in the overall scheme of things.

I was playing a match last year at DCC and a guy who was a friend of my opponent walked over to me and said, "I didn't realize you aim with your left eye." It was so obvious what he was trying to do I just laughed silently and went on the beat the guy easily. That's the best revenge!
 
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jay helfert said:
Neil is all right in my book (and a damn good player) and his little attempt to distract Dan here could have backfired and only motivated him to win again. No big deal either way in the overall scheme of things.
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I have to respectfully disagree with you Jay.

Neil apparently didn't think he was good enough to win at the table. As Neil said, he was scared of Dan and decided he "had to to something about that." So Neil engaged in unsportsmanlike conduct by blatantly sharking Dan. Part of being a good sportsman is knowing the difference between right and wrong and having a good sense of ethics and integrity, of which Neil demonstrated neither. So Neil cheated and rationalized it away by saying Dan cheated himself. JoelPope said it very succinctly: "What a scumbag move" that Neil did.
 
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Neil said:
I'll agree with you to an extent. But, when everyones focus is soley on the sharking, then much is lost. And, that is what has happened here, tunnel vision. Everything else seems to have been lost.
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Well, apparently that's a reflection of just how bad the behavior was. And not just to cast a dark cloud on the match but over the whole topic of how pro pool players should conduct themselves.
 
I'm sorry to the OP but I really don't care if pool gets big or not. It should have been a long time ago. It's a dying sport.

If I want to watch good pool, I would just watch the local guys. It's the same stuff.

Nothing spectacular....what's the difference between one guy running 3 racks to the other running 4?

Not much and it's really hard to watch these guys if you don't know them personally.
 
Neil said:
I have to say, I am rather disappointed in the forums response to TAR 25. Not just disappointed, but somewhat baffled by the responses to the match. I didn't get to watch the match, wish I could have. The updates on the match were next to non-existent. Wonder why that is??

Then, I read a lot of posts about the match. Strangely enough, all were about one of two things- a possible bad hit, or the two players acting unprofessional. What, are a number of people on here ticked off because they bet on the wrong guy to win?? I can't help but wonder just WHY some of you bothered to watch it in the first place?? For entertainment value?? Well, then why complain, sure seems like you were entertained. What is up with all this nonsense about them not acting like pros?? What, you want them to just sit there like Soquet does, and you find that entertaining??

First off, this wasn't even a pro match. It was a money matchup between two pros. Why are they pros? Because they are that blame good at the game. Seems like that is exactly why they were given this opportunity and a lot of others will never get the chance to play there. So, are you watching for the so called professional attitude, or are you watching for the professional caliber of play??

If you actually watched it for the caliber of play, then why hasn't there been a single comment that I can find about the actual games on here? Where there no great outs? No great safes? Nothing at all that surprised anyone in pattern play?? Nothing at all pool worthy of even mentioning on a pool forum??

Why all the talk about them not acting professional?? Really, who gives a rip how they acted?? Some are saying they couldn't watch anymore because one of the players actually was talking! Really? Do some of you even play out in the real world anymore? Guys talking is the least of the problems one has to face out there anymore.

Really, all you guys can talk about is how they dress and act?? You wonder why pool will never make it big, look no farther than yourselves, the fan base. You don't even care about how the game is played, just how the actors talk, act, and dress. What entertainment do you possibly find in a couple of guys wearing a tuxedo and being mute? What's next, at every players meeting the players have to sign a form verifying that they have read a manual on etiquette?? Apparently many of you have never seen the likes of Keith McCready at a table. Now, THAT is entertainment!

As to Dennis, and I really hope you are reading this- Shame on you! You were a road player for many years, you have a ton of experience. Yet you allowed yourself to fall for the oldest tricks in the book?? Come on man, you deserve to get slapped in the back of the head by your dad for what you did!

First off, you underestimated your opponent. Doing that, you lost day one. Day two, you used your experience to win. Day 3, head totally up your rear! You once again underestimated Mike because you won day two, and to top it off, you committed the cardinal sin of a road player...you actually let Mike get into your head! With all your experience, how on earth did you fall for that one???? You actually let him make you mad KNOWING it would affect your game.??? For THAT, yeah, you deserved to lose. You know better than that! Yeah, it stings like crazy, but now all you can do is learn from it and go back to your roots.

I imagine that if Mike were to take you up on your offer, he wouldn't like it. But....ONLY if you actually USE your experience and don't act like you are green at this stuff.

Back to the forum members... when I first started playing, it was in the room in Va. Beach where Lassiter would practice from time to time. Don't have a clue of the name of the place, but the counter guy was the ref at a number of Lassiters exhibitions. Ten foot tables, and if you talked above a whisper, you were asked to please leave. All you heard in the place was the click of the balls. Fast forward to today. Music so loud you have to shout to talk to the person next to you. Balls flying all over the place, people running into you, waitresses asking you if you want anything while you are down shooting the case 9 ball.

It's a different world out there today. I have had a tough time dealing with it. I like the quiet atmosphere myself. But, saying no talking allowed, have to wear a certain type of clothes because some snob doesn't happen to like the clothes I like to wear, can't smoke when I want to, ect, it's all things we have to adapt to. To say something or someone isn't professional, not because of their play, but because they have some trait you don't happen to like, is B.S. of the first order.

You guys say you don't like to watch Soguet because he's too boring. Then, when you get something a little different, you complain because they aren't boring enough. Sheesh. Make up your minds already! Some of you sound like a bunch of old hens at the fence chatting away saying nothing of substance.
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...U mad...
 
spanky79 said:
If you want to be called a pro and paid like one ACT like one. Dennis shot himself in the foot for future matches with TAR and Mike should feel lucky if he gets to play again.

If you can't act like a pro don't expect to get treated like one. Time to grow up boys.
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lol @ pros

More like unemployed dudes that play for money.

Not anything that we haven't seen in a pool hall setting.
 
Jay...Having been around the game for 40 years, I've seen (I think) pretty much everything. I'm with Helfert on this one...not that big of a deal, and way overblown in this thread (especially when you consider all the of the good things that Neil has contributed here). I can honestly say that in my life I have never deliberately "sharked" someone, with the exception of playing some fun games where sharking was mandatory! LOL :D

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

Wags said:
Actually Scott, I would be interested in your opinion of the "move" by Neil.
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They should just allow sharking. The mental game is a huge part of pool and any other sport. If your excuse is me sharking than you shouldn't play this game. This game has gotten soft.

To be honest, why the hell do I have to sit still when someone is shooting.

I like to go grab a beer or reply to the waitress when she comes back to the table. Like changing my shaft or wiping down my shaft.

You just got to sit there and not breathe?..really?

I hate those players that say I'm sharking when I'm tying my shoe laces.
 
dom_poppa said:
They should just allow sharking. The mental game is a huge part of pool and any other sport. If your excuse is me sharking than you shouldn't play this game. This game has gotten soft.

To be honest, why the hell do I have to sit still when someone is shooting.

I like to go grab a beer or reply to the waitress when she comes back to the table. Like changing my shaft or wiping down my shaft.

You just got to sit there and not breathe?..really?

I hate those players that say I'm sharking when I'm tying my shoe laces.
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I just don't agree that sharking is a huge part of our sport. It sure wasn't back it the 14.1 championship days, nor back when I used to watch players like Sigel, Miz, and Varner play at professional tournaments on the West Coast in beautiful hotel ball rooms. This idea that sharking is part of the game, the lore, the tradition of pool is way over exaggerated.

Yeah, we all have seen and heard of sharking stories from this or that player on the road, but these are usually isolated instances. But I tell you what, whenever there was a big match in any pool hall I've been in, the players and the rail were respectful. And if one player pulled a move it was usually addressed right then and there. Rarely if ever was it put up with by either player for very long. Not very often did a match turn into a sharkfest.

There's already plenty of mental toughness required without all the BS.
 
Thanks for your response. As someone that has been playing for 45 years and teaching for 30+ years, I get a bit bent out of shape when I think someone is actually teaching a student that the discussed move is a way to play pool. I have seen way too many poor instructors and it makes me nervous. Not that I doubted for a minute that you and Neil were in that ilk, I just get concerned.

That said, I do teach about sharking to upper/advanced students simply because as a player, you have to recognize it to combat it. I certainly don't teach making a move as a tactic to win.

Scott Lee said:
J... I can honestly say that in my life I have never deliberately "sharked" someone, with the exception of playing some fun games where sharking was mandatory! LOL :D

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
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I used to play in a weekly game that would range from 4 to 8 players playing golf, a type of ring 9-ball, ring-a-round partners and other variations depending how many showed up. We played all sharking allowed, not from just the players, but, the rail was allowed to do their share also. In fact, this became one of the entertainment games of the room. I mean really, when was the last time you had to shoot a game winning tough shot with a pair of beautiful boobs surrounding the corner pocket.

This game actually led the room to having a sharking tournament. Aside from the game rules there were only two rules about sharking, no intimidation tactics and the shooter always had 3 feet of minimum space. It turned into one of the most popular specialty tournaments the room had. Yes the rail was invited to shark anytime they wanted. It was always interesting to see the favorite get gang-sharked. In fact, I don't remember the favorite ever winning.

The air horn was outlawed after the 1st tournament just simply because it was too loud for non-participating patrons (which was too bad because it worked well). The laser dot on the cueball/table was outlawed the 2nd year because the room was nervous, rightfully so, about it being shined in someone's eyes. I think the Sharking tournament has been going on now for some 8 years and is always a highly attended event by players and spectators.

I do think this type of event would be hilarious at a pro level with everyone knowing that it would be an obstacle to overcome.

Sorry OP for moving away from the topic. Back to the regularly scheduled topic...
 
just my 2 cents thrown in...

Neil said:
Only because YOU asked, Barney. I thought about just p.m.'ing you, to avoid the obvious trolls like poolsharkallen, but some others just might learn something.

Once you get your fundamentals down, and know how to play the game, and can run out, the game becomes more of what's going on in your head than anything else. Make a ball and get shape on the next one, no big deal. Do it with pressure, makes it harder. What is pressure other than a mind game you play with yourself?? What makes a routine shot harder when you are hill-hill and live-streamed?? The balls haven't changed, it's the same shot you shot 100 times in a row in practice. What makes it hard now? Your own mind.

What makes you super confident one day, able to play two balls above your normal speed, and the next week you are right back struggling? The table hasn't changed, same balls, same cue. But....you have a different mind set. You have heard the phrase that pool at the upper levels is 90% mental and 10% physical. I don't quite agree with the numbers, but the premise is very true.

You are in a match, you have a shot that is a little difficult to make, but easy to get a great safe off of. Which do you choose? Why, you choose the safe, of course. Why? Isn't that cheating to make it difficult for your opponent? Just play the table, if you miss, you know what to practice. Well, that sounds all well and good, but we are trying to win, and using an edge of playing a safety when applicable is the smart way to play. You don't want your opponent coming to the table full of confidence because you just blew a shot, you want him coming to the table apprehensive on whether or not he is going to be giving up ball in hand to you. You want to lessen his mental confidence so you play the safety. 3-4 times of having to kick every time he gets to the table will mess with his head, and thereby mess with his game.

How many times have you heard someone say "I finally have a shot, and now I don't know what to do with it!" You practice before a tournament to build up your confidence on being able to do what you need to do when you need to do it. We all play our best when we are full of confidence.

In the example I gave of Dan, Dan was a little better than most of us. We all played even, but he would win most of the time. So, when I saw him come into the room, chest out, killer look in his eyes, full of confidence, yes, I was a little bit scared. But, I knew I had to do something about that, or I would play scared against whomever I drew. I wan't there to just play, I was there to win it all. (never did over the years, best was 2nd 3 times, lost one year by one lousy ball! OUCH!!!)

So, my talking to him was more of reinforcing my thinking of NOT being afraid of his game today, than it was of taking away his confidence. Two birds with one stone. It pumped me up, and destroyed him. Now, why did it destroy him? It did because his mental state wasn't strong enough. I essentially put a 4 rail kick in front of him, and he folded. He had practiced enough on making balls, but not enough on the mental side of the game.

As soon as he was confronted with a mental problem, that being the actual odds of him winning two years in a row, he focused on something irrelevant instead of his own abilities. He then doubted his abilities as being enough to win, and started thinking that he couldn't win no matter what he did. His play showed it. I talked to him at least two hours before the tournament even started. He spent those two hours defeating himself instead of reinforcing his mental state. I never did play him, but was told that he played real bad.

Kid I cheat him? Not at all. He cheated himself, because he wasn't properly prepared for what might come up. No different than someone playing a bunch of safes on him in a game. Was I prepared when I got there? Much more so than Dan was that year. Yes, I got a little tinge of fear when I saw his eyes. But, I dealt with it instead of letting it destroy me.

There's tons of people that can run a rack of pool. That's all it takes, right? Make the ball and get shape on the next one, and continue until they are all gone. Yet, most of those same people can run one, MAYBE two racks, and then they are done. Why?? Because of what's going on between their ears. They have the ability to run more, but don't believe they can. So, their subconscious short circuits their body movements and makes them screw up somewhere. Thereby confirming their beliefs that they aren't that good. The champions, the naturals, don't short-circuit themselves. They practice until they can do something repeatedly, and then just keep repeating it. They believe in themselves. They don't look for excuses to lose just because they don't believe in themselves enough to think that they belong in a higher category. They take what they have learned and just do it over and over again.

Far too often, we want to work on the physical part of pool and totally dismiss the mental side of pool. That's all well and good for beginners. But, once you reach a certain ability, you HAVE to start adding the mental side of the game to your practice. Too often we want to say "he sharked me! He's cheating!". That, when you really boil it down, is a bunch of doohickey. All it is saying is that you have totally ignored the mental side of the game, and as soon as it comes into play, and you dog it, you want to put the blame on someone else instead of where it rightly belongs, which is squarely, 100% on you. It's so much easier to blame someone else for our shortcomings than to actually deal with them ourselves.

Last night I was watching a stream of some fellow Mi. players. Rick was down on a ball, tough shot, and you could tell he was a sec. or two away from pulling the trigger, when someone walked right along the side of the table. He was prepared mentally. He got up off the ball, refocused, and got back down. Again, ready to pull the trigger, someone else walks right along the side of the table and almost fell onto the table. Again, Rick got up. He stood there a minute at least, you know he was thinking "you got to be kidding me!" He then realized he had totally lost focus, and went over to his chair for a minute to regather his thoughts. He didn't let it destroy him. He did what he had to do to overcome this mental distraction. He then came back to the table and took his time again, and then finally shot the shot. That showed me a lot about his mental state when playing. He didn't use it as an easy excuse to miss the tough shot, instead, he dealt with it as he should have. He didn't get upset, he took time to refocus on the task at hand.

You stated that taking advantage of someone weakness is wrong. I disagree. If you know your opponent is a poor banker, and you leave him a bank shot, are you a bad person for taking advantage of his weakness?? If you know he has trouble kicking, are you a bad person for leaving him a kick? If you test someones mental strength, and they fold, are you then a bad person? I think not.

When faced with a tough shot, there are two things you can do. You can talk yourself into making it, or you can talk yourself out of making it. It's all in your head. Same thing with someone doing a little sharking on you. You can let it bother you, or you can chose to not let it bother you. It's up to you, and you alone. If you choose to let it bother you, it's not his fault, it's YOUR fault, and your choice. Deal with what you chose.

I seen many accuse someone else of sharking when their opponent wasn't sharking them at all. Just because someone moves, doesn't mean they are intentionally trying to distract you. If you are getting sharked, start looking at WHY it is sharking you. Obviously, your focus is in the wrong area. Many times, once someone gets sharked, you will see them start to see sharking everytime they get to the table. Their focus is now on getting sharked, so they see it everywhere. Their mental game needs a lot of work and is nowhere's near where it should be.

I want to add one thing to this- I do NOT intentionally shark someone to test them. After my shot, I go off to my chair and just wait my turn. Have I ever sharked someone? Of course I have. If someone is obviously going out of their way to shark me, I'm not above giving it back to them. However, it won't be so obvious as moving in their line of sight. I might just tell them that everytime they miss, they are turning their wrist in. That usually will get them thinking about something they shouldn't be thinking about, and I can just sit back and say to myself "mess with me, ha, deal with that sucker!"
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neil... i really found issue with your initial post. of course no one would know how much i respect you [but hopefully you would] but still i felt free to express my objections. but at the same time i just felt something was wrong; over the years i felt i knew you pretty well [but it was only from azb - not the same as a more personal relationship; the internet is just the internet and forums are just forums - how do your really know someone?]. but for the life of me, i didn't know how to express my issue with you - i just felt that "pool is a gentleman's game" and it should be played that way

but then i looked at myself and realized i am a novice, truly. most of the guys/gals i play are novices too. so my experience is: if i foul and nobody sees, i call it on myself. i want to win every time i play, but i want to win because i played it better, not because i cheated. so i wanted the pool world to be 'like me'...

i hardly have run a two-pack, i am truly a novice so in my world so called 'sharking' or 'mind-games' is a no-no

many years ago i loved tennis, i lived in nyc and would go to forest hills every summer. i loved McEnroe for his touch but hated his histrionics, but of all the players i loved Borg the most - the Iceman. nobody could get into his head...

so i was so happy to read your above noted post today. what a valuable lesson for me. as i have said before, thank you for taking the time to make things clear

all the best,
smokey
 
skipping past the squabbling for a sec... I think one area people seem to disagree on is whether this is a professional match, or two guys gambling.

Seeing the match on a screen, in a consistent setting, with live commentary and sponsor breaks and an audience... we kind of get lulled into thinking of this as a professional televised sporting event.

But, at its core, it's not. It's two players who make their living at pool, gambling with each other.

These two players at some point arranged a set with each other (or their backers arranged it, or tar arranged it... who cares). The players have graciously given TAR permission to put their set on the internet so people can sweat it. But it's still a private gambling session between two players. It's not an invitational tournament or whatever we have to label it to keep it legal.

With that in mind, the 'antics' are about what you expect when two good players match up. The stakes are higher, but the behavior is pretty common between two guys playing a set. It's not as common between two guys in the finals of a televised tournament. But this... isn't that.
 
CreeDo said:
skipping past the squabbling for a sec... I think one area people seem to disagree on is whether this is a professional match, or two guys gambling.

Seeing the match on a screen, in a consistent setting, with live commentary and sponsor breaks and an audience... we kind of get lulled into thinking of this as a professional televised sporting event.

But, at its core, it's not. It's two players who make their living at pool, gambling with each other.

These two players at some point arranged a set with each other (or their backers arranged it, or tar arranged it... who cares). The players have graciously given TAR permission to put their set on the internet so people can sweat it. But it's still a private gambling session between two players. It's not an invitational tournament or whatever we have to label it to keep it legal.

With that in mind, the 'antics' are about what you expect when two good players match up. The stakes are higher, but the behavior is pretty common between two guys playing a set. It's not as common between two guys in the finals of a televised tournament. But this... isn't that.
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You're right. And that is how it is when money is short. It dosen't mean any of the guys are bad people, or are incapable of being laid back. If someone keeps stiffing me I'll probably crack a shaft over his head mid match. I have a short fuse now days because I have to deal with it all the time. Poker is no different. When you go to the higher limits ( dear father let me have one good week there please), most of your everyday players are really chill and easy to play with even if they are jacking your stack.

Because the money pool is so small, players tend to do whatever it takes to get it. I don't know what they did, so I can't say anything. As far as crap racking, that is underhanded....and picking your nose while the other guy contemplate getting out a big trap...thats pretty dirty too.

From a viewing perspective I do like seeing only playing. Walking around without purpose annoys me. Or when they don't concentrate in spots they should take time on and blew the shot to get out. That annoys me more than guys that take a long time. So when that spot comes up and the opponent is mentally distracting the shooter I can see how it makes viewing a little less entertaining. I like to read their thoughts also, not some guy making purposeful distracting gestures in the background. It'll break my concentration and I'm not even playing. I want my money back.
 
Wags said:
Thanks for your response. As someone that has been playing for 45 years and teaching for 30+ years, I get a bit bent out of shape when I think someone is actually teaching a student that the discussed move is a way to play pool. I have seen way too many poor instructors and it makes me nervous. Not that I doubted for a minute that you and Neil were in that ilk, I just get concerned.

That said, I do teach about sharking to upper/advanced students simply because as a player, you have to recognize it to combat it. I certainly don't teach making a move as a tactic to win.



I used to play in a weekly game that would range from 4 to 8 players playing golf, a type of ring 9-ball, ring-a-round partners and other variations depending how many showed up. We played all sharking allowed, not from just the players, but, the rail was allowed to do their share also. In fact, this became one of the entertainment games of the room. I mean really, when was the last time you had to shoot a game winning tough shot with a pair of beautiful boobs surrounding the corner pocket.

This game actually led the room to having a sharking tournament. Aside from the game rules there were only two rules about sharking, no intimidation tactics and the shooter always had 3 feet of minimum space. It turned into one of the most popular specialty tournaments the room had. Yes the rail was invited to shark anytime they wanted. It was always interesting to see the favorite get gang-sharked. In fact, I don't remember the favorite ever winning.

The air horn was outlawed after the 1st tournament just simply because it was too loud for non-participating patrons (which was too bad because it worked well). The laser dot on the cueball/table was outlawed the 2nd year because the room was nervous, rightfully so, about it being shined in someone's eyes. I think the Sharking tournament has been going on now for some 8 years and is always a highly attended event by players and spectators.

I do think this type of event would be hilarious at a pro level with everyone knowing that it would be an obstacle to overcome.

Sorry OP for moving away from the topic. Back to the regularly scheduled topic...
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Ahahahhahaahaha :lol::lol::lol::lol:

This is a tournament I would definitely have fun in. Why you may ask?? Probably because sharking is the main part of the game and it would be funny as hell!! Ive seen some moves before but a guy crop dusting the rail as the other guy is shooting would make me cry :rotflmao:
 
CreeDo said:
skipping past the squabbling for a sec... I think one area people seem to disagree on is whether this is a professional match, or two guys gambling.

Seeing the match on a screen, in a consistent setting, with live commentary and sponsor breaks and an audience... we kind of get lulled into thinking of this as a professional televised sporting event.

But, at its core, it's not. It's two players who make their living at pool, gambling with each other.

These two players at some point arranged a set with each other (or their backers arranged it, or tar arranged it... who cares). The players have graciously given TAR permission to put their set on the internet so people can sweat it. But it's still a private gambling session between two players. It's not an invitational tournament or whatever we have to label it to keep it legal.

With that in mind, the 'antics' are about what you expect when two good players match up. The stakes are higher, but the behavior is pretty common between two guys playing a set. It's not as common between two guys in the finals of a televised tournament. But this... isn't that.
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I get all that, but this isn't "just" a gambling match that we're privileged enough to see. This has all been orchestrated by Justin, and he appears to be striving for something more than "just" a gambling match.

He is looking to develop something that can attract sponsorships. He is trying to develop a professional pool product that can be viewed by more than standing room only. (At least that's what I believe he is looking to do, based on reading his posts and watching his podcasts.)

THAT is why behavior makes a difference. Attempting to create something that can generate corporate sponsorships, to create something even bigger in the future.

Just my observations.
 
justadub said:
I get all that, but this isn't "just" a gambling match that we're privileged enough to see. This has all been orchestrated by Justin, and he appears to be striving for something more than "just" a gambling match.

He is looking to develop something that can attract sponsorships. He is trying to develop a professional pool product that can be viewed by more than standing room only. (At least that's what I believe he is looking to do, based on reading his posts and watching his podcasts.)

THAT is why behavior makes a difference. Attempting to create something that can generate corporate sponsorships, to create something even bigger in the future.

Just my observations.
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I hadn't been keeping up with the podcasts and such... If he does want to make it legit and get corporate sponsors, then probably he will need to go to an espn-like atmosphere.

The thing is, will people watch that?

If keeping it clean makes it more boring, corporations will realize fewer eyeballs are glued to the screen, and therefore fewer people are buying the products they advertise. Maybe we need to keep it a little spicy to differentiate pool from, say, golf. Maybe the key to getting people to watch is playing up to pool's reputation.

I know that if I had a choice between tuning into poker (something I don't play that looks easy) or darts (something I don't play that looks impressively hard), it's poker all day, because the players can chirp at each other a bit and it's not a totally formal atmosphere.
 
CreeDo said:
I hadn't been keeping up with the podcasts and such... If he does want to make it legit and get corporate sponsors, then probably he will need to go to an espn-like atmosphere.

The thing is, will people watch that?

If keeping it clean makes it more boring, corporations will realize fewer eyeballs are glued to the screen, and therefore fewer people are buying the products they advertise. Maybe we need to keep it a little spicy to differentiate pool from, say, golf. Maybe the key to getting people to watch is playing up to pool's reputation.

I know that if I had a choice between tuning into poker (something I don't play that looks easy) or darts (something I don't play that looks impressively hard), it's poker all day, because the players can chirp at each other a bit and it's not a totally formal atmosphere.
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I totally agree but corporate sponsors won't get turned off by the action of pool players. They get turned off when nobody is watching. Look at the advertising that goes on during some of these shows on television.

What attracted us to the game of pool should be used to it's advantage.

The part of pool that I liked was it's reputation.

A pool match is very boring but a reality TV show based on pool and gambling and trash talking would be a hit.
 
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