There is nothing wrong with pool

gunzby

gunzby

My light saber is LD
Silver Member
For some reason this subject popped into my head today. I figured that I would blog about it and after I was done I actually decided that it was worth sharing. Hopefully I'm not completely delusional and some of you feel the same.

Over the two years and some odd months that I have been a member on this site (I am quite sure that it has been going on longer than that) I've seen many a thread with titles such as, "What's Wrong With Pool", "What Is Wrong With This Game" and others along that line. I suppose that I am an eternal optimist, which is certainly something of myth in this vast sea of self hating billiards pessimism when I say this:

There is nothing wrong with pool.

The last time I checked, and for as long as I have been alive pool has been played on a table of varying sizes, with varying numbers of balls depending on what game you were playing. The game has had six pockets, a cue and a cue ball for a lot longer than anyone on this particular site has been alive. If nothing has really changed about the game what is wrong with it?

Still nothing, nada, zilch, zero.

There is a poetic mastery to this game that amazes us. The clicking and clacking of billiard balls can make time stand still because they clicked and clacked long before I was alive. The hypnotic trance of balls falling into pockets and the cue ball ambling its way around the table makes us forget about everything that isn't happening under that light. When we witness mastery of this game it can be as riveting as any sport being played on this planet.

We seem to wonder why in the world do other people not see what I see? My answer is because we have a very refined palette for billiards. If someone gave me a glass of the finest wine the world had to offer and a glass of wine bought at Wal Mart there is a darn good chance I wouldn't know the difference. On the other hand when I see someone make a full table shot to draw the cue ball a half inch, and only a half inch to get the only shot they could make on their next ball I can easily recognize that as a fantastic shot. Some may recognize a kickshot to be just three to hit the object ball and see that as a good shot. Someone who is consumed by this game may see the same shot as hitting three rails with aim, speed and spin to hit the object ball for a precise safety.....a fantastic shot.

A hundred years from now there still won't be anything wrong with this game. The tables will most likely still have six pockets, a cue, a cue ball and various object balls. If more people today explain the nuances of this great game and help others refine their palettes maybe more can see the great poetic mastery that we see happening below that light.
 
Pool is still cool in my book too! In whatever form it takes and with all it's problems. I love pool, warts and all. :thumbup2:
 
Of course there's nothing wrong with pool. But there's a whole lot of concerned folks out there that thinks there is!!!

Nice thread gunzby!!!

Maniac
 
I agree, Gunzby. The sport of pool is outstanding. It allows people of different ages, sexes, backgrounds, etc. to compete against one another. It is also a great game for socialization.

However, the BUSINESS of pool will usually kick you somewhere below the waste if you try to make a living at it. The different organizing bodies of pool are like a herd of cats, each with their own agenda. This tends to prevent sponsorship and exposure like you see in other sports. I know damned good and well that more people play pool than tennis. Tennis stars are household names making millions of dollars. The best pool players in the world have an excellent chance of dying broke.

Running a pool hall is not the easiest gig in the world either. Most have to sell booze or have gambling machines to make their rent.

I feel that our sport is eroding. Kids aren't picking up the game like they once did. I feel that this goes back to exposure.

Sorry if I ramble a bit. But I love the game. I feel like the industry is simply running on inertia right now.

Danny
 
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A most amazing game!

Good post gunzby, I agree with all you said, pool is the most amazing game ever played, same story just different characters playing the parts.


David Harcrow
 
drawls13 said:
I agree, Gunzby. The sport of pool is outstanding. It allows people of different ages, sexes, backgrounds, etc. to compete against one another. It is also a great game for socialization.

However, the BUSINESS of pool will usually kick you somewhere below the waste if you try to make a living at it. The different organizing bodies of pool are like a herd of cats, each with their own agenda. This tends to prevent sponsorship and exposure like you see in other sports. I know damned good and well that more people play pool than tennis. Tennis stars are household names making millions of dollars. The best pool players in the world have an excellent chance of dying broke.

Running a pool hall is not the easiest gig in the world either. Most have to sell booze or have gambling machines to make their rent.

I feel that our sport is eroding. Kids aren't picking up the game like they once did. I feel that this goes back to exposure.

Sorry if I ramble a bit. But I love the game. I feel like the industry is simply running on inertia right now.

Danny
Click to expand...

I agree, good post, we do need to somehow figure away to get the kids off the cough and onto a pool table , or like in 100 yrs. this great game may only be talked about by most.


David Harcrow
 
I agree, too...as far as popularity and viability of pool rooms, I think that runs in streaks, and always has. A lot of us were playing in the late 80s during a boom following the COM movie, a handful can remember the post-Hustler boom. That said, I've played in rooms all over the U.S. and Europe and the quality of play from the average players you see everywhere is MUCH higher today than it was 20 or 30 years ago. We can argue about Buddy Hall in his prime versus Shane or whomever, at that level it's hard to see daylight; but the average bangers out there seem to play much better, local tournaments are tougher to win--then again, I'm getting older, too! I'm not worried about the youth or future of the game in terms of quality players. They're out there and they're getting tougher to beat.

As far as making a living at pool, when was that ever really viable? Most of the greats died paupers. Most of the players out there have day jobs or own part/all of a business that allows them to eat and keep the lights on while pursuing what is in effect a hobby--a wonderful, fantastic hobby, but a hobby nonetheless. Everyone wants pool to be like golf, but it's really more like competitive shooting in terms of trying to earn. I think Asia will eventually create a viable international business model for pro pool that will allow a number of U.S. players to make a living someday, but even then it will be rarified air. Why can't we just have fun?
 
Good post Bud. There never was nor will there be anything wrong with the game.
It would be nice if pool would make a resurgence and ensure a better income for the hall owners that are still trying to survive. Or maybe attractive enuff to make others invest in opening new halls.

That said, if the Mayan prophecies are correct, you might not get much playing in after Dec of 2012. If thats the case, I'm going out with a cue in my hand.
 
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I think West Point makes a good point about Asia providing a viable model. It will help that nearly all of the equipment manufacturers are there.

About pool never paying off, that may be true to a large extent. But that is what it will take to make quality people dedicate their lifes' pursuits to pool. The industry as a whole will never be more than a reflection of the people within.
 
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