The ESPN SMH Thread

Kickin' Chicken

Kickin' Chicken

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Some of you may recall me previously complaining about how some really bizarre 'sports' have been airing on ESPN instead of pool. The first one that appears to have really caught on is cornhole. What a ridiculously uncomplictedd game this is. A beanbag and a hole - put it through. They even have sponsors, one a big sausage xcompany.

Since cornhole there's been some real head-scratchers. A few have been, rock skipping, frisbee golf, belt sander racing, axe throwing and slippery stairs whick basically is ice covered ramp and stairs on which the contestants try to get to the top whiole being squirted with hoses and having balls thrown at them.

Two nights ago I saw what may be the new low: The alleged sport of Cimpetitive Air guitar. The overall winner that night was a middle aged chubby gal named "Mom Jeans Jeanie". Have mercy....

 
Well what this really tells us is not how bad the other stuff on ESPN is as much as the degree of utter disregard there is in the general sports viewing audience for billiards on TV. Pool has morphed into such a closed community of viewers and interested parties. Too bad for us who really love the game and all associated with it. I don't think a lot of us involved are completely aware or maybe we just don't want to acknowledge or admit just how far out of the mainstream billiards in America has become since the heydays of ESPN/ COM, etc.- frankly I don't care- I'll spend every day enjoying what I do about the game - I know that it is never a topic of interest among certain social circles and that is just fine with me to accept.

I wish that it were different, for many reasons, and I won't go into the blame game all over again, but I do think that every pool player, pool manufacturer, pool retailer/wholesaler, pool room owner, etc. etc. should ask themselves- what did you ever do to truly promote the long term sustainability of the game- I think that the answer is that most just cared about their own pockets, not all, but most - and that tells the whole story.
I'll continue to support the game every way possible, but what I see from the post, is that I feel like I am always walking up the down staircase.
 
Kickin' Chicken said:
Some of you may recall me previously complaining about how some really bizarre 'sports' have been airing on ESPN instead of pool. The first one that appears to have really caught on is cornhole. What a ridiculously uncomplictedd game this is. A beanbag and a hole - put it through. They even have sponsors, one a big sausage xcompany.

Since cornhole there's been some real head-scratchers. A few have been, rock skipping, frisbee golf, belt sander racing, axe throwing and slippery stairs whick basically is ice covered ramp and stairs on which the contestants try to get to the top whiole being squirted with hoses and having balls thrown at them.

Two nights ago I saw what may be the new low: The alleged sport of Cimpetitive Air guitar. The overall winner that night was a middle aged chubby gal named "Mom Jeans Jeanie". Have mercy....

Click to expand...
You apparently haven’t seen the “Pillow Fight Championships “.
 
The internet has created a youth attention span so fleeting that perhaps a game of “ 3 Ball” with a shot clock may have a chance to find a mainstream viewing audience.

To think that I remember watching straight pool on national TV on the #1 sports channel in America at the time - Wide World of Sports”
 
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ESPN The Ocho is a tongue-in-cheek alternate version of ESPN that showcases unconventional and obscure sports. Inspired by a fictional network in the 2004 movie Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, it features quirky competitions such as dodgeball, cornhole, professional tag, and other niche sports. ESPN occasionally rebrands one of its channels as “The Ocho” for special programming days to highlight these offbeat sports, embracing a fun, lighthearted approach to athletic competition.

To start a thread complaining about it showcases two things. (1) You don’t get the joke. (2) You’re not aware pool, in the form of a Bonus Ball variant called Professional Cuesports League (PCL), was also on EPSN during The Ocho a few years back.
 
I share kickin chicken’s frustration - we spent a lifetime with this game from the Hustler movie in the early 60s to now and the game just never really could sustain itself beyond a few brief flashes of general public acceptance. Most rooms that I walk in today - whatever is left now - are a disgrace.
 
I’ve been to many bars during the summer and if there’s cornhole going on outside, or even horse shoes at one place, that’s where the people, pitchers of beer and music are. Go inside and there’s two guys playing pool in a dimly lit room, one guy asleep at the table and bartender watching the game on tv.
A few times I just put my cue back in the truck and wound up dancing out back
 
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