Not on this subject. There is no room for Pollyanna wishful thinking on this one.
The only reason to spend money "helping" professional pool players would be to get something in return. As an investment.
I don't see the return on investment here.
If we are going to spend money on the travel for American professionals so that they can afford to compete abroad then why not spend the money on American businesses so that they can afford to travel to other countries and compete abroad?
I mean if I said to you that OB Cues would like to go to Shanghai and present their shafts to get into the Chinese market and would you be so kind as to donate some money towards that goal then I'd be laughed off the board.
Being a professional pool player means you do it as your job to earn your living. Along with that comes the expenses that every other professional in every other profession has to face.
Now, Jerry rightly pointed out that players have always received stipends from the BCA. He says I should learn my history. Well I don't know where I should have learned this from but it does not matter. As a former BCA voting member I was not aware of these stipends and I don't remember seeing them listed as a line item on the BCA's annual report. Doesn't mean they aren't there just that I didn't notice them if they are.
I have to wonder though if the membership would have voted to spend money on sending players abroad when pool is down at home? Remember this is the SAME organization that thinks it's a GOOD idea to allow any other sport and game and activity to buy a booth at their annual show and advertise to the visitors to that show. Hence the BILLIARD Congress of America puts on a Home Recreation show where they ENCOURAGE any company selling any activity to display. So visitors are pitched on Ping Pong tables, video games, video poker, golf simulators, foosball, spas, shuffleboard, poker, and probably several others I missed. Do you think that all the salespeople are not trying to convince the visitors that they can make more money per square foot if they put in those activities/sell those tables/games????
So now all the money is gone, the BCA's members have left, no one sees any value in it after they destroyed their own show and they go out begging for sponsors to toss a few bones into a side pot to send professional players to tournaments where they are up against hordes of local talent put in by the host organizations and promoters.
The players freely admit that there isn't much incentive to practice due to the low amount of good paying events in the USA. So we are then sending players who don't care to practice to events in foreign lands where they are ill prepared to fade the time differences/culture difference and tough competition?
I asked several people who have the means to INVEST in players why they don't back players for these events? I mean I certainly think that we have players who COULD compete. I said back an actual team, build a training facility and get them sharp.
You know what they said?
American players are lazy.
American players are lazy.
American players are lazy.
I said but if they had the opportunity to get together and practice then they would toughen up and get REALLY sharp.
They said American players are lazy and not worth the investment. How harsh is that?
I mean there are few people on this board more optimistic than me when it comes to believing in the potential that people possess.
IF I were very very wealthy then I might toss a couple million towards trying to build a super team of American players just to see if my ideas work or not. But the people I talked to about doing this (names withheld to prevent more controversy) who have the money to do it all don't think it's a worthwhile investment.
So why should I think that asking people to donate money to a travel fund for the pros is going to be any different? I certainly didn't know the BCA was providing money for the pros to travel and apparently it hasn't mattered at all since the pool player's jetsetting lifestyle encouraging more folks to pick pool as a career path hasn't really happened so far. So I doubt it will happen in the future.
America still has the highest GDP in on the planet. The really sad part is when we have to beg our industry for bread crumbs to pay for flights and hotel bills and can't figure out how to sell this great game to corporate America so that we can have WPA events on American soil.
We have a league system that pumps MILLIONS into pool every week during league season. And yet we can't skim a little off that to INVEST in building a tour and holding world class events consistent without worrying about whether the promoter will pay or not?
So no, I am not full of sunshine. I have a TON of respect for the professional players. They do put up with a lot to play pool for a living. But I also know that they could all do more for themselves that would in turn do more to promote pool. Baking a bigger pie is much better than begging for crumbs out of a continually shrinking one.
We may not have a lot of money but we have a hell of a lot of talent. If Frank Alvarez could get bookings for $1500 a night doing corporate exhibitions as a "UPA Pro" then there is no reason why REAL pros can't do the same. (I can beat Frank, sorry Frank but it's true.)
What professional players need is professional management and a professional work ethic to go with it. Every small businessman knows that he has to beat the street to drum up business. They don't need handouts, they need to work alongside the people who know the business to bring more people into the game. That takes two things that professional pool players have in abundance, immense jaw-dropping skill and time. If they won't use those assets then why should I care about donating so that they can go to foreign lands and spend time in 4-star hotels?
(hint: I stay in the same hotels they do)
