What happened to mens pool ?

But it shouldn't be "the general public" watching pool on TV. It should be the 50 million Americans who participate in a pool game at least once a week that should be watching. Pool is the #1 participation sport in America. You'd think some of the millions would tune in to watch the game they love, wouldn't you???

Maniac

Why watch it, when it is so easy to go out and play yourself? Or go to a local pool hall if you are really interested in watching a pool match. I think some pool halls should try to take advantage of online streaming and how much that has blown up. Justin.tv and similar sites are great and more events could take advantage of setting up a camera and giving people a common place to watch and chat about a match.
 
But Hot Dog Eating contests and Spelling Bees are "eventful" :rolleyes:???

Maniac


Absolutely they are!! Last Year a little kid passed out trying to spell a word infront of hundreds of parents, teachers and fans, then made a spectacular comeback and won the event! When Joey Chestnut (aka Shane Van Boening) beat Takeru Kobayashi (aka Efren Reyes) of the Hot Dog / competitive eating world, thousands of fans who attended went CRAZY when he won. Hey, who can beat Natan's Famous Hot Dogs as a Sponsor!!

So, Yes, these events are eventful! :grin::grin-square::smile::rolleyes::wink:
 
Ever go to the Pro events during BCA in Vegas? They are never sold out even though there may be over 9,000 bar box players in the next room. I doubt that they would watch the Pro's on TV either. As was said earlier, some Pro events dropped out for they were not profitable.

Vegas is a great location and the Mosconi Cup bleachers were too few and horrible - I believe that they sold out. With the excitement and cheerleading at that event, it draws an audience for it is more interesting than ESPN.

The WPBA pays ESPN for the broadcasting. Did you see the fans at the WPBA event in FLA - one or 2 rows of onlookers.

One should ask Jay Helfert about how he filled the stands at the L.A. Open he put on back in 1993/94 now those were very tall bleachers indeed. Can that be replicated with streaming vid?:smile:
 
I do however think tha announcers could do a far better job of conveying those personalities and talk much more about them. Just let people know that there really is bllod running through those veins>
I have always thought announcers could do a far better job of pointing out crusical situations and what exactly players are thinking about or avoiding during the course of a run. Then, maybe, the game would not seem so boring and routine after all!

Follow these good examples of snooker commentary:grin::grin::grin:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZTiRdcURuI&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqztJoME1ww&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sH-rgwORW8&feature=related
 
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Why watch it, when it is so easy to go out and play yourself? Or go to a local pool hall if you are really interested in watching a pool match.

I do go out and play pool myself. I probably play as much or more pool as the average poster on this website (I am retired and have my own table, not to mention I play in 3 leagues and tournaments). But, as most Americans do, I watch a little TV too. Do you ever watch TV, or do you JUST play pool? What I am saying in my previous post is that as a pool player, when I sit down to watch me some television, I had rather be watching some unseen pool matches as opposed to the CRAP that is on most of the TV channels. Not all of the time of course, but it would be nice to watch some quality pool on the boob tube every once in a while.

I watch PLENTY of matches at my local pool halls!!!

Maniac
 
I thought I heard this on a live stream of a tournament, can't remember which, and it could be bad information, but...

The men were negotiating with ESPN and were holding out for the network to kick in some prize money. The women jumped in and agreed to play without the network kicking in any prize money.

I'm not sure if that is true because a few thousand bucks in nothing to ESPN, but that's what I've heard. There are other members on this forum who should know the details.
 
What happened to the organization of men's pool? There now seems to be quite a few smaller tours, but no dominant, large one.
 
They couldn't overcome the two biggest obstacles in life, GREED and STUPIDITY and now they are paying the price.
 
They couldn't overcome the two biggest obstacles in life, GREED and STUPIDITY and now they are paying the price.

TAP TAP tom.....very well said and straight to the real truth b/h the problem.

greed only usually helps one person at a time and stupidity hurts everyone...especially with it being of an unlimited supply
 
What happened to mens pool? One would have to blame the promoters. To many dirty deals behind closed doors. Kind of like our congressman and senators. Keep doing the same thing over and over and expect different results is insanity. After all I can name a few sports that the players were not making that much money in the early 90s. Poker, nascar, and ufc. Look what Dana White did for UFC. He changed the rules and promotes alot better.
 
Not sure if this happens with your buds, but it happens with mine.....everytime the summer Olympics come around, there is always someone throwing up a red flag that some of the female contestants used to be men......ie, some of the competing females are so jacked, and have something resembling an adams apple, and the drunk guy in the back yells, "she used to be a man - in Russia, they'll get a sex change just to get an advantage in the Olympics"......granted, sounds a bit conspiracy theory to me, but maybe it really did happen in the 80's or something, I dunno????

Anyway, when it comes to pool, the women seem to really have it together.....locally, they all support the OB Tour and run great events....on the national scale, they seem to do a great job marketing and working together to be successful....

So, my question is, if this success continues, is it out of bounds to think maybe a man might consider a sex change to get on the women's tour??? Just for a second, try to picture Jay, JCIN, or Easy playing pool with some boobs in a low cut top, with a nice 5 o-clock shadow....

:grin:

The men need to stop asking what's in it for me and find a way to work as a team.....that's all I'm sayin.....sounds like they need to take that teamwork from the Mosconi cup and spread it around....
 
Ever go to the Pro events during BCA in Vegas? They are never sold out even though there may be over 9,000 bar box players in the next room. I doubt that they would watch the Pro's on TV either. As was said earlier, some Pro events dropped out for they were not profitable.

Vegas is a great location and the Mosconi Cup bleachers were too few and horrible - I believe that they sold out. With the excitement and cheerleading at that event, it draws an audience for it is more interesting than ESPN.

The WPBA pays ESPN for the broadcasting. Did you see the fans at the WPBA event in FLA - one or 2 rows of onlookers.

One should ask Jay Helfert about how he filled the stands at the L.A. Open he put on back in 1993/94 now those were very tall bleachers indeed. Can that be replicated with streaming vid?:smile:

What filled the bleachers at the L.A. Open in 1992 is no secret formula. Other sports do it better than me. It's called PROMOTION and ADVERTISING! We set aside a $15,000 budget for these two things and advertised in the Los Angeles Times and four other major area newspapers, with a readership of nearly two million people total. I was informed that half those people read the sports sections, so that's where we placed our ads.

We also sent out press releases to all newspapers, and radio and television stations in Southern California. That was followed by phone calls to the various sports editors, following up on the press releases. During the event, I personally FAX'ed the results daily to all four major newspapers and they ran them in the back of their sports sections. We were also included in their daily calendar of local sports events.

Guess what, it worked! We had an 800 phone number for information, with two lines. The phone rang off the hook all day! We were constantly giving people directions on how to get there. I had reasoned that in a fifty mile radius with a population of nearly fifteen million people, I might be able to get 1,500 of them to come and watch a professional pool tournament, if they knew about it. This is not rocket science. I knew that there was already a hardcore of over 10,000 pool buffs who lived in that area as well. I reached them with posters and flyers distributed to over 300 billiard locations, including pool rooms, bars and retail outlets. We even had discount coupons (50% off) made up for the first two days to bring people in. They were handed out in all the above billiard locations. Hundreds of them came back.

It was a massive undertaking, but it paid dividends. I would not attempt it again without more help. I did this with the help of Dave Thomson (my publicist) and a couple of volunteers. I did a lot of driving and running in the months prior to the event.
 
What filled the bleachers at the L.A. Open in 1992 is no secret formula. Other sports do it better than me. It's called PROMOTION and ADVERTISING! We set aside a $15,000 budget for these two things and advertised in the Los Angeles Times and four other major area newspapers, with a readership of nearly two million people total. I was informed that half those people read the sports sections, so that's where we placed our ads.

We also sent out press releases to all newspapers, and radio and television stations in Southern California. That was followed by phone calls to the various sports editors, following up on the press releases. During the event, I personally FAX'ed the results daily to all four major newspapers and they ran them in the back of their sports sections. We were also included in their daily calendar of local sports events.

Guess what, it worked! We had an 800 phone number for information, with two lines. The phone rang off the hook all day! We were constantly giving people directions on how to get there. I had reasoned that in a fifty mile radius with a population of nearly fifteen million people, I might be able to get 1,500 of them to come and watch a professional pool tournament, if they knew about it. This is not rocket science. I knew that there was already a hardcore of over 10,000 pool buffs who lived in that area as well. I reached them with posters and flyers distributed to over 300 billiard locations, including pool rooms, bars and retail outlets. We even had discount coupons (50% off) made up for the first two days to bring people in. They were handed out in all the above billiard locations. Hundreds of them came back.

It was a massive undertaking, but it paid dividends. I would not attempt it again without more help. I did this with the help of Dave Thomson (my publicist) and a couple of volunteers. I did a lot of driving and running in the months prior to the event.

hence my sig !

and Jay Helfert immulates this.
 
For the ongoing benefit of Pool and future televised coverage I will offer my services. I will play any and all....Cheerleaders, Strippers, Grannys in Spandex, or Roller Derby Queens.....just cover pool on a regular basis....
 
it's always about money in US business

I read alot of wishing and hoping and should be's here but it's always about the same thing folks.

there's just not enough money in it to be a successful business venture for someone as big as an ESPN or even a national tour. look at the pro bowling tour. they have tons more paying customers at the grass roots level than pool (paid games and merchandise sold.) and are still an iffy proposition. They were bankrupt just a few years ago. They can put on a much more dramatic television package than pool and still are just hanging on. Pro pool has no chance of getting there dollar wise.

so when there's not enough money for everyone, everyone has to start digging and tearing at what's there making a mess of the rest. that's the state of mens pool. Nobody rules and nobody is making any money.

The best outcome is pay per view. But there is still a long ways to go there. Ultimately pool lovers will have to pay enough to support it.????
 
What filled the bleachers at the L.A. Open in 1992 is no secret formula. Other sports do it better than me. It's called PROMOTION and ADVERTISING! We set aside a $15,000 budget for these two things and advertised in the Los Angeles Times and four other major area newspapers, with a readership of nearly two million people total. I was informed that half those people read the sports sections, so that's where we placed our ads.

We also sent out press releases to all newspapers, and radio and television stations in Southern California. That was followed by phone calls to the various sports editors, following up on the press releases. During the event, I personally FAX'ed the results daily to all four major newspapers and they ran them in the back of their sports sections. We were also included in their daily calendar of local sports events.

Guess what, it worked! We had an 800 phone number for information, with two lines. The phone rang off the hook all day! We were constantly giving people directions on how to get there. I had reasoned that in a fifty mile radius with a population of nearly fifteen million people, I might be able to get 1,500 of them to come and watch a professional pool tournament, if they knew about it. This is not rocket science. I knew that there was already a hardcore of over 10,000 pool buffs who lived in that area as well. I reached them with posters and flyers distributed to over 300 billiard locations, including pool rooms, bars and retail outlets. We even had discount coupons (50% off) made up for the first two days to bring people in. They were handed out in all the above billiard locations. Hundreds of them came back.

It was a massive undertaking, but it paid dividends. I would not attempt it again without more help. I did this with the help of Dave Thomson (my publicist) and a couple of volunteers. I did a lot of driving and running in the months prior to the event.

Yes, it was fabulous! Newpapers, TV coverage on the News and Keither brought in and drew Movie Stars to sweat.:smile:
 
Pool needs a Dana White to promote and grow the sport, with money to back him. A reality show the Ultimate Pool player. Joe Rogan can be the announcer to add some fun and excitement. :grin:
 
Hey, that's not a bad idea... an "Ultimate Fighter"-styled show, with a bunch of good players hanging together for a period of time, having to play each other for survival. All different sorts of matches, trick shots, skill drill contests... In such a format, personalities could certainly be allowed to flourish. There must be some B or C level celebrity pool enthusiast that could be drawn into such a program, filling the Joe Rogan role.

Neat idea. Pretty much daydream-stuff, but I bet it could work. Spike TV needs to draw it up.
 
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