Everyone, (including myself) complains about espn's coverage of pool, but any coverage is better than no coverage at all. Lately there has been pool on seemingly every day, i watched two hours of the mosconi cup yesterday, they didn't play with timers which i liked better than the regular timed matches. I liked watching because you could feel the pressure, and you could see players making mistakes that they normally wouldn't.
I agree with top muscle, if you can get people to rally behind someones personality that creates a bigger market of viewers. Earl is one of the top players and a total ***** but that's what people like, abrasive personalities, they will either love him or hate him. Everyones complaining about nine ball, but it fits tv, one thing i cannot stand is hearing guys talking about how they don't play 9 ball for money because it's mainly luck, isn't it funny how none of these guys have the slightest clue how to even play 8 ball, I myself prefer 8 ball because 9 ball has more pressure in it, you only have one ball to shoot at, and most people don't play with shot clocks which puts that much more pressure on you.
If i had my choice i would rather watch snooker on tv than anything else. I have watched some streaming video of the world championships and was throughly impressed, I didn't think that they would be that good. I think the problem here is that pool players are selfish and they want to see specific games on tv that they themselves like playing the most. One pocket would never work, 99% of the population doesn't even know what it is, straight pool is dead, i have played less than 5 times in my entire life, i think 9 ball on tv is fun to watch, 7 ball is way too offensive, the only other options i think would maybe work are some sort of bank pool, most recreational pool players are amazed by one dead bank shot someone makes, let alone someone banking out, i myself am interested in seeing that. I really think the game that people would relate to is 8 ball on a bar box, similar rules as 9 ball. 8 ball on a 9 footer the balls are more spread out and you have less balls to break out, on a bar box theres always something you have to deal with and anything can happen, i couldn't imagine what some of the top pros would do with 8 ball on a bar box, but i know i'd pay to see it.
One thing with pool is it's always going to have a bad reputation, any time you see someone playing pool in a movie or on some tv show they are always playing for something, i have a problem with this, I wonder how many people have been killed over $5 or less pool games, it has to be a lot, hell i've gotten into fights over the 50?? i had up on the table. One of the problems here is knowledge about the game, I will be out playing and someone tells me that i should be on espn playing pool, i just start laughing at them and i try to expain the differences in my skill level and a pros skill level, and it probably just confuses them. Some how the public needs to be more educated about pool, but i don't think this will ever happen, not in my lifetime at least.
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