The REAL reason we keep losing the Mosconi Cup

[Celophanewrap]

The reason they lose? Because they play.
I don’t know what professional sports is like in Europe and Asia, but they seem to have
a fan base and support for pretty much everything they do. Track and field, Woman’s
Basketball, Cycling, many other things - among them, pool.
In the U.S. what does the American sports fan support? Football, Men’s Basketball,
Baseball, generally Hockey, and Soccer is gaining support, that is unless all the
immigrants get deported or go away, Major League Soccer is hanging on by a thread.
Pool, Rugby, Woman’s pro sports, and the rest of the fringe activities all have a small
but loyal base, but no big money, no big sponsor. They just kinda of remain as a hobby.

 

[SakuJack]

We lose because we are a single country playing against a whole continent.

A single country with way more active pool players than said continent.

I actually think you could put together a UK team that rivals this year’s Euro team (Appleton, Shaw, Boyes, Melling +1). The number of active American pool players in the UK is tiiiiny. It’s hard to explain how niche a sport it is over here.

Population is not the answer.

 

[capullo]

We lose because we are a single country playing against a whole continent.

You know that Iceland qualified for 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia?

here nice statistics for Iceland:

 

[gehawe]

Originally Posted by morris:
We lose because we are a single country playing against a whole continent.
@ Morris: Would the rest of your continent be of help?


@ Capullo: Very nice! BTW: Mexico qualified, USA not.
But Island is a whole island, not only part of a continent.

 

[SJpilot]

They play a lot of rotation in Europe right. If the Mosconi cup was one hole instead of rotation pool does Europe still dominate? Or if it was 9 ball, one pocket and banks like derby city.

 

[capullo]

They play a lot of rotation in Europe right. If the Mosconi cup was one hole instead of rotation pool does Europe still dominate? Or if it was 9 ball, one pocket and banks like derby city.

you are so funny

you forgot some ways, where it could be possible, that the USA will come closer:
- they should play on a bar table
- they have to play races to 200
- the winner will get the car, house and credit cards from the looser
- place a fog machine, so it looks like a pool hall where you can just see few meters because of smoke
- the referee should look like someone from the mafia with a gun
- they will place a camera in the room in the back, because there is the real action
- they could change the break format, ääähh wait, they already did and it was not successful
- maybe they can ask Marcus Chamat if he could help out, because he already was the coach of the winning team several times.
- you could annex the Philippines or better the UK when Brexit is done.
- you could give some european players the american citizenship, so they can start for the USA
- ask Canada if they want to help. Alex Pagulayan and John Morra can play very well.
- ...

... or just stop trying to find excuses, and figure out that the rest of the world already started to handle pool billiards as a sport.

yes, one pocket, banks are nice games, but there is not only the "american way".
if you follow your president with "America first" you will not win any "Blumentopf" (=flowerpot, german phrase *g*) in the future.

 

[Cujopro]

The US need a team of players that have Experience , Knowledge , Ability and are not afraid of Big time pressure. I've always felt that they need to assemble a mix of any of these players to be competitive.....before it's too late

Shane Van Boening
Johnny Archer
Dennis Hatch
Rodney Morris
Jeremy Jones
Shannon Daulton

Yes....I know some of these guys don't really play all that much anymore, and would have to practice quite a bit to get back in shape. But I would put their experience way over the new school.
Don't get me wrong, the "New school" players are very good (Dominguez , Woodward, Thorpe , Dechaine , Bergman) . IMO , They're just not there yet . Let'em win a few U.S Opens and/or World Titles....THEN IT WILL BE ON

 

[SeabrookMiglla]

I agree with your points in the sense that the average amateur player is probably stronger in Europe than in America. This means that players who move up in the ranks are exposed to much tougher competition even at the local level.

 

[Scott Lee]

Ridiculous! Amateur players have never been ones to watch professional tournament players in droves...even if they were in another room at the same hotel. It's no different today than it was 30 years ago...when there were a lot more pool halls with 9' tables. Sorry, but that's not the reason we can't beat the Europeans.

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com

The actual reason for our continuing beat downs is two fold:

1) Pool in Europe is played in clubs. It is considered a sport. These clubs are what we at one time in America, if you're old enough to remember, were called pool halls. These were serious places to play pool and learn the game of pool. In my native PA alcohol was forbidden to be served in pool halls and that was good thing. Jimmy Marino had a place in Bridgeville called the Golden Cue. All 9 ft Gold Crowns and Jimmy was more than happy to show you a shot if you asked. You went there to play pool not drink. In America today pool is considered a game.

2) The seven foot bar table (oddly enough always found in bars). In Europe these are rare (that's a good thing) in America they are like locust. Finding a 9-foot table in any city in America requires Dick Tracey like investigative skills. There are no incubators of fresh American pool talent since there are no real tables for them to play on.

If you doubt either of these I present the following as evidence: When Griff held the U. S. Open 10 ball at the Rio on 9-foot tables along with the bar table championships hardly any of the bar table people cared to watch the best players in the world compete against each other. Pool is poisoned in America and will never recover. Why they even play the Mosconi Cup is a mystery to me as the outcome is preordained. I look forward with great anticipation to the Efren Reyes Cup.

 

[lfigueroa]

We're a big country and events are few and spread out.

And unlike the old days, there really isn't any "hotbed" of pool where the players congregate and match up. Which brings me to how the gambling culture here becomes counter productive, in that the top level guys generally appear to be unwilling of competing against each other, unless a backer is conveniently available.

Even for events like the DCC, I often hear pros say words to the effect: No, I'm not going because it's too expensive and you have to finish high to make any money. So what often happens are pros coming in and competing at smaller events and becoming accustomed to a lower level of competition, against amateurs and local stars, rather than consistently facing the best in the game. The pros get used to their opponents making mistakes while the pro still triumphs. Somewhat obviously, that is not good training for a MC format and level of play.

I suppose to a lesser extent there is the bar table factor and guys playing 1pocket, (and little to no 14.1, which might actually help them). And one other thing: when a pro practices for hours on end, like say SVB and his break, or Cliff Joyner practicing 1pocket runouts, we comment on it because it is the exception and not the rule for American pros. That in and of itself is a sad commentary. It's almost as if too many of our guys take their ability for granted without the realization that there are higher levels of the game to aspire to.

So there are these and probably a lot of other reasons why we are not competitive at the MC. Unless there is a radical paradigm shift, it will remain so for the foreseeable future.

Lou Figueroa

 

[SakuJack]

Which brings me to how the gambling culture here becomes counter productive, in that the top level guys generally appear to be unwilling of competing against each other, unless a backer is conveniently available.

Even for events like the DCC, I often hear pros say words to the effect: No, I'm not going because it's too expensive and you have to finish high to make any money. So what often happens are pros coming in and competing at smaller events and becoming accustomed to a lower level of competition, against amateurs and local stars, rather than consistently facing the best in the game. The pros get used to their opponents making mistakes while the pro still triumphs. Somewhat obviously, that is not good training for a MC format and level of play.

I think this is a really good point. Iron sharpens iron, and the majority of gambling matches I know of (regardless of the spots involved) fail to do that.

And one other thing: when a pro practices for hours on end, like say SVB and his break, or Cliff Joyner practicing 1pocket runouts, we comment on it because it is the exception and not the rule for American pros. That in and of itself is a sad commentary. It's almost as if too many of our guys take their ability for granted without the realization that there are higher levels of the game to aspire to.

Agree again. You have a lot of European players at least aspiring to (if not matching) the practice levels and conditions of snooker players - i.e. a full time job requiring a full time commitment on the practice table. I don't see that as the norm in American pool (for a host of reasons).

 

[plyittothetbone]

Europe-Billiards is a sport.
USA-Pool is a hobby.


Just sayin.

 

[slider12]

Yes Indeed!!