The Mosconi cup is everything pool should be!

Shermanscs

Shermanscs

Steve sherman
Silver Member
I was watching some of the you tube video from day 1 and man, the Mosconi cup is everything pool should be! The crowd was so engaged, boustrious, cheering - totally into it. The video production and commentary is awesome. How anyone could not get jacked up watching it is beyond me. As I watched, it reminded me of the thread about why pool couldn't be an Olympic sport - and not to rehash that thread, I could totally see how pool could and should be in the Olympics. I wish more professional pool events would have the ombionce of the Mosconi cup - rock star quality. Tournaments I have been to in the U.S. seem to discourage cheering, lights - any form of bringing excitement and engaging the fans. It is like watching a tournament in a morgue. Imagine watching a pro football game if the fans were not allowed to cheer and show enthusiasm and passion for the game they are watching. How exciting wold that be? How many fans would attend?

The Mosconi cup is everything pool should be and I hope more tournaments can model themselves after it's production value.

Oh yea... And GO TEAM USA!!
 
I agree! Pool has been quiet too long. It is time for a real change in spectator appreciation. Isn't that what Bonus Ball is trying to accomplish?
 
plus 1000
enough is enough. Let the players and the audience feel and show the excitement.
 
rustystrokes said:
I agree! Pool has been quiet too long. It is time for a real change in spectator appreciation. Isn't that what Bonus Ball is trying to accomplish?
Click to expand...

The Cup is so unique in so many ways. And it is my favorite pool to sweat.

Bonus Ball, I believe, is trying to capture some of the "ambience" of the Cup. However, their seating is limited to 100, so... I do hope they can fill them, or most of them for each match as that IMO might make a big difference.
 
I think I'm in repeat mode. This post is cut and paste from a previous post of mine but it encapsulates how I feel about this event.

I think I've figured out the three biggest reasons that I love the Mosconi Cup:

The short race format
One of the greatest myths is that it takes a long match to sort out the real champions. I think it is just the opposite. Nothing sorts out the champions like late match pressure. In these short races, it's as if there is late match pressure from the very first ball of the very first rack. Every shot might be the shot that wins it, loses it or turns the momentum.

The wild crowd
The crowd gives the event a feel that is different from any other and
greatly escalates that level of pressure. I've attended pro pool events for almost forty years and I've never seen a crowd that was half as enthusiastic as what is typcialof a Mosconi Cup crowd.

The shot clock
No dithering allowed. Players are not afforded the usual opportunity to put the spectators to sleep with lethargically slow play, and the result is matches and sessions of fairly predictable length, something almost unheard of in pro events in the United States.

Yes, the short races make every rack crucial, the wild crowd provides an atmosphere that is electrifying, and the shot clock makes sure that the action never drags. This is pool at its very best.
 
I dunno that it was ever a huge mystery how to put on an event that's exciting and engages the fans. The hard part is finding the money. Don't they add like 100k to it, and pay everyone's room and airfare? I don't know the exact details but it sounds like everyone gets paid no matter what.

So the secret seems to be, secure a mountain of money first, then you can focus 100% on making it fun for the fans (9b, short races, screaming crowd) rather than fair for the players.

If the money's not there to start, then you're forced to focus on making it fair (a player needs to know he won't lose money IF he plays well). Then the races get longer, the crowd gets quieter, and nobody wants to watch.
 
sjm said:
I think I'm in repeat mode. This post is cut and paste from a previous post of mine but it encapsulates how I feel about this event.

I think I've figured out the three biggest reasons that I love the Mosconi Cup:

The short race format
One of the greatest myths is that it takes a long match to sort out the real champions. I think it is just the opposite. Nothing sorts out the champions like late match pressure. In these short races, it's as if there is late match pressure from the very first ball of the very first rack. Every shot might be the shot that wins it, loses it or turns the momentum.

The wild crowd
The crowd gives the event a feel that is different from any other and
greatly escalates that level of pressure. I've attended pro pool events for almost forty years and I've never seen a crowd that was half as enthusiastic as what is typcialof a Mosconi Cup crowd.

The shot clock
No dithering allowed. Players are not afforded the usual opportunity to put the spectators to sleep with lethargically slow play, and the result is matches and sessions of fairly predictable length, something almost unheard of in pro events in the United States.

Yes, the short races make every rack crucial, the wild crowd provides an atmosphere that is electrifying, and the shot clock makes sure that the action never drags. This is pool at its very best.
Click to expand...

I agree...but I really miss the 10 minutes spent racking the balls to get them perfect. Thank goodness for the "fast-forward" function of youtubes via Apple TV.
 
Shermanscs said:
I was watching some of the you tube video from day 1 and man, the Mosconi cup is everything pool should be! The crowd was so engaged, boustrious, cheering - totally into it. The video production and commentary is awesome. How anyone could not get jacked up watching it is beyond me. As I watched, it reminded me of the thread about why pool couldn't be an Olympic sport - and not to rehash that thread, I could totally see how pool could and should be in the Olympics. I wish more professional pool events would have the ombionce of the Mosconi cup - rock star quality. Tournaments I have been to in the U.S. seem to discourage cheering, lights - any form of bringing excitement and engaging the fans. It is like watching a tournament in a morgue. Imagine watching a pro football game if the fans were not allowed to cheer and show enthusiasm and passion for the game they are watching. How exciting wold that be? How many fans would attend?

The Mosconi cup is everything pool should be and I hope more tournaments can model themselves after it's production value.

Oh yea... And GO TEAM USA!!
Click to expand...


All of this times infinity. The Mosconi Cup IS what pool should be like!
 
Shermanscs said:
I was watching some of the you tube video from day 1 and man, the Mosconi cup is everything pool should be! The crowd was so engaged, boustrious, cheering - totally into it. The video production and commentary is awesome. How anyone could not get jacked up watching it is beyond me. As I watched, it reminded me of the thread about why pool couldn't be an Olympic sport - and not to rehash that thread, I could totally see how pool could and should be in the Olympics. I wish more professional pool events would have the ombionce of the Mosconi cup - rock star quality. Tournaments I have been to in the U.S. seem to discourage cheering, lights - any form of bringing excitement and engaging the fans. It is like watching a tournament in a morgue. Imagine watching a pro football game if the fans were not allowed to cheer and show enthusiasm and passion for the game they are watching. How exciting wold that be? How many fans would attend?

The Mosconi cup is everything pool should be and I hope more tournaments can model themselves after it's production value.

Oh yea... And GO TEAM USA!!
Click to expand...

Where are those videos on youtube that you are talking about ?
Thanks,
 
Totally agree; I love it. Especially love the shot clock, audience and the ref; no quibbling over racks ! Hell I found myself getting nervous watchin various shots and all I'm doing is watching.. This stuff is great ! should be two a year if possible !
 
sjm said:
I think I'm in repeat mode. This post is cut and paste from a previous post of mine but it encapsulates how I feel about this event.

I think I've figured out the three biggest reasons that I love the Mosconi Cup:

The short race format
One of the greatest myths is that it takes a long match to sort out the real champions. I think it is just the opposite. Nothing sorts out the champions like late match pressure. In these short races, it's as if there is late match pressure from the very first ball of the very first rack. Every shot might be the shot that wins it, loses it or turns the momentum.

The wild crowd
The crowd gives the event a feel that is different from any other and
greatly escalates that level of pressure. I've attended pro pool events for almost forty years and I've never seen a crowd that was half as enthusiastic as what is typcialof a Mosconi Cup crowd.

The shot clock
No dithering allowed. Players are not afforded the usual opportunity to put the spectators to sleep with lethargically slow play, and the result is matches and sessions of fairly predictable length, something almost unheard of in pro events in the United States.

Yes, the short races make every rack crucial, the wild crowd provides an atmosphere that is electrifying, and the shot clock makes sure that the action never drags. This is pool at its very best.
Click to expand...

All good reasons why the event is so good but you left out Michaela Tabb.
 
sjm said:
I think I'm in repeat mode. This post is cut and paste from a previous post of mine but it encapsulates how I feel about this event.

I think I've figured out the three biggest reasons that I love the Mosconi Cup:

The short race format
One of the greatest myths is that it takes a long match to sort out the real champions. I think it is just the opposite. Nothing sorts out the champions like late match pressure. In these short races, it's as if there is late match pressure from the very first ball of the very first rack. Every shot might be the shot that wins it, loses it or turns the momentum.

The shot clock
No dithering allowed. Players are not afforded the usual opportunity to put the spectators to sleep with lethargically slow play, and the result is matches and sessions of fairly predictable length, something almost unheard of in pro events in the United States.

Yes, the short races make every rack crucial, the wild crowd provides an atmosphere that is electrifying, and the shot clock makes sure that the action never drags. This is pool at its very best.
Click to expand...

I think you are totally 100% on the money. The short races not only make every rack crucial, it makes every shot crucial. The shot clock absolutely is the thing that puts this over the top. The one issue with American players, is the nature of their being encourages, shall we say, shenanigans. That is what every pro tour and events like the Challenge of Champions found out.

Bob
 
Mosconi Cup FTW!

This has been the most exciting event I have ever seen in pool.
The format builds suspense. The audience builds tension.
These guys are top class performers, their composure is unmatched.

It feels like the olympics of pool. I wish there were other countries competing.

Imagine a Philippines and a Chinese team!!

This event is worthy of broadcast in the US, much much more then the singles matches they continue to bore the audience with.
 
I have made several posts re getting the crowd involved in the excitement but the purists seem to think that this will ruin the sport. I guess we are just "stuck on stupid".
 
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