What's up with the WPBA?

What they should do to boost pool on TV is show the play of the Mosconi Cup!!! You have the European side and the American side in a VERY interactive, and at times loud, crowd. Not to mention colorful characters with nicknames to their personality's. If the world got to see Earl woofing at the europeans he would be an instance celebraty in the non-pool playing world.

So as you see in the WSOP the crowd element adds to the exciment to the outcome of the play. SO.... IMHO if the CUP was televised i think the public's perception of pool would be VERY different and well excepted ;)
 
Actually, I disagree. The "show opener" ought to be two (2) 4-Speeds playing for $100 a Ball, in 10 Ball on a 9 foot TV Table. Give them a mic & a commentator to visit about their play, between shots.

4 games would be enough for the public to be tired of laughing & ready for some REAL GOOD Pool Playing. That would give the public an understanding of Pool & Billiards being played well.
 
It isn't about the game. I know two guys that went to sleep during the Super Bowl. Me (a don't give a damn who wins kinda guy) & my friend (BigTime know the numbers & stats kinda guy).

Take a look at the formats...

FOOTBALL; 7-8 minutes of into the line, into the line, desparation pass, PUNT or Field Goal. Announcers givin' both teams what-for, every step of the way. The background is 80,000 idiots yelling come-here or sic-em. Then you get 5 minutes of high-dollar dumb-you-down ads & back to the action.

Basketball; similar format

Baseball: similar format

Golf; watching the players whack the ball ,watching the TV track the ball, while the announcers are going on about what happened & why or why-not. Then the announcers multiply the distances to the cup by 2 or 3 in their heads & make you wonder if the pitch or putt is an impossibility & improbability or a gimme.

Pool; shhhhh... we have to be quiet while Earl shoots, can't have Earl losin it & spearing a member of the audience with his duct taped Cue-Tech Cue. Jeannete has missed another 4 ball, why can't Jeannete make the 4-ball. Then we listen to two announcers trying to upstage the players, by drawing the route of the cue ball or object ball.

Give the players, the ref & the stakers a mic & let -em go... have the announcers hollerin'... did you see that, Earl jumped up on the table & performed a 2 foot jump shot, the cue ball jumped 18 inches into over a blocking ball... WOW!

or Staker #1 says.. if Earl's gonna hook himself like that, I ain't bettin another 10K on him... or Staker # 2 says ... Gawd... I was already countin' my dough, dagnabit the luck... or or or ....

Put some life into the game, just like downtown. Let the audience see some money change hands... let 'em see some pool cues get broken.. that'll get 'em going.
 
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I agree with the comment about thw world series of poker being on fairly often.

The biggest reason that the WSOP picked up a ton of popularity was the small camera on the table that showed their two dealt cards. All of the sudden, you knew more than the players playing the game (b/c you knew each player's hand). You knew who was bluffing, you knew the percentages of who had the better hand as each community card flipped, etc. It was almost like knowing two trains were on the same track and you were just waiting for them to collide and to see which ends up derailed.

It made a fairly unexciting game fairly exciting! You can't go into a casino in Atlantic City now without a huge dedicated hold 'em room.

Telivised pool needs the same type of hook, gizmo, angle, etc.

Time to start thinking out of the box. What about a miniature camera on the cue that shows the same angle as the sightline of the shooter, all the way through object ball contact?

High quality, high definition broadcasts with several different angles, not just the top of the table (think how boring boxing would be with just this angle).

A tournament requirement that each miced up player think out loud (or talk through) before each shot?


Maybe even time to think in terms of pro wrestling type-hype?

At the end of the day, most ideas cheapen the product for all of us that are enthralled by the pure game already. But extra popularity sorrounded by glitz would only mean more to watch...
 
Pool compared to poker is again, comparing apples to oranges. Poker is gambling and can be played on the internet (and even by cell phone), at a home and in casino's. all you need is cards, cash or electronic connection. One can transfer their internet skills to live games and vice versa. one can play with the best of the them online or live and have and an equal chance to beat them at their game. Poker is an easy travelled game 24/7 !!

Pool not so much. Its more like bowling. Large equipment, specality cues, limited times to play, getting action is at most times like pulling teeth and the skills required to play pool at a top level are extreme. And if you want to complete with the best in the game, well it can be too much time out of ones life. Poker, not so much.

No limit poker is fast and simple to follow on tv. First time tournament players who have been playing for mere months are winning hundreds of thousands of dollars at the wsop. Plus there is enough money to be made by everyone at almost every level.

Tens of thousands of poker players pay thousands of dollars to play in events from the WSOP, WPT and local tournaments (Vegas/California/Atlantic City/Florida etc) just to have on average only 10% of the field being paid with about 200 to 10000 players entering a tournament. Most pool players are reluctent to pay $50 to play. Let alone $500 to 600 dollars to play in the US Open. Why such a difference? Pool requires too much skill, too many years, limited amounts of time to acquire those skills and no pool halls to do it in.

There is nothing wrong with pool and nothing wrong at the top level. People who watch pool on tv wish they were playing pool. People who watch poker on tv can go play on the internet.....
 
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another reason pool isnt very popular to the public is because u cant bet on it. if u could bet on it, a lot more people would be interested. it would take time at first but once u get people starting to bet on it then it will naturally become more popular.

as it stands very few sportsbooks have pool bets. they might have snooker offered but not pool. but the problem with pool is that even tho it's a skill game, it's often really hard to predict a winner for a big tournament so it's hard to set lines. this is especially true for open events where anyone can register. jeremy jones and brumback for example, don't play in many tournaments but when they do they drill everyone. so it's hard to set a line. or some unknown from the phillippines or taiwan could come to a tournament and take it down without anyone knowing who he is. that's probably one of the reasons why vegas does not bet on pool.

i believe that a few times when u could bet on pool, a lot of shady things happened with ppl dumping matches and stuff so the sportsbooks just stopped offering it.
 
I want to know why, in 30 years of organized leagues not one of them has been able to get the national tournament finals broadcast on ESPN or any other network yet we get to see hotdog eating contests and spelling bees.

Want to get the "public" interested in pool? Give them a reason.

Want to fund pro pool and get it on TV? Start taking .25cts a week from all the league players in the USA and putting that into a fund to run a professional tour. Then you have a foundation to build from that has cash flow. THEN you can build a product that the American consumer can enjoy and that networks will want to broadcast.

No money - no honey. Simple as that.
 
JB Cases said:
I want to know why, in 30 years of organized leagues not one of them has been able to get the national tournament finals broadcast on ESPN or any other network yet we get to see hotdog eating contests and spelling bees.
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ESPN did film during the VNEA Nationals back in the mid 90's. We were told the intent was to tape the masters division teams for future broadcast. I represented my team at that meeting. Funny thing though, I don't really recall them taping. :eek:
 
I remember many years ago having a similar discussion on why the UPA failed to have TV exposure. People who held an opposing view brought up the success of the WPBA on TV. My comment was "wait till the casinos stop paying the bills and watch what happens". Seems even the casinos have found pool does not draw gamblers to their tables. The casinos have enough problems to deal with without worrying about the future of the game we love.

I am pissed at Brunswick though. They are the major name in pool tables world wide. If they don't feel professional pool, whether mens or womans, is worth supporting in hard times, then why would any of the smaller suppliers feel they must step up. Greg Sullivan can only do so much for the game.

Lyn
 
The thing is someone in poker made a revolutionary decision to change the way the game is presented.

We MUST CHANGE the way pool is presented. There has been some realy good ideas presented here. I have a lot of my own but I feel I need someone who is popular to present them.
 
Luxury said:
The thing is someone in poker made a revolutionary decision to change the way the game is presented.

We MUST CHANGE the way pool is presented. There has been some realy good ideas presented here. I have a lot of my own but I feel I need someone who is popular to present them.
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And why is that?...................
 
If the WPBA can produce only one or two talented professionals yearly that's better than none. If they keep a few interested until they become adults that is worthwhile also.

As for mega bucks made easy ideas there really aren't many out there. Ask those graying CEOs at the super large companies scrambling for the same kind of idea. Or that person who was left without a pension because of a salesperson with a great idea.

Of the players from the WPBA I encountered in my travels most of them have great social skills.
 
Melissa,
I am asking again You told me how I was wrong, but you said nothing to address the big question. If I was incorrect with the information I had, would you please provide us with the facts? What has happened at the WPBA to bring it to this point? Many of us here follow the tour as the only real viable pro tour in the country. I'm sure I'm not the only one that would appreciate knowing what is going on. The best way to put an end to the speculation that you said bothers you would be to give us the real facts.
Thanks
Steve
 
RunoutJJ said:
What they should do to boost pool on TV is show the play of the Mosconi Cup!!! .... IMHO if the CUP was televised i think the public's perception of pool would be VERY different and well excepted ;)
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The Mosconi Cup IS televised in over 15 countries, including the U.S. on Fox Sports. The broadcasts DEFINITELY have a different effect in Europe than when they are broadcast in the U.S. but I think this has more to do with the fact that it is aired live in Europe rather than pre-recorded programming like it is in the U.S.
 
I used to watch NASCAR back when it was televised only 3 times per year. It took NASCAR 30 years to actually catch on. And similar to Vegas loosing its sleeze when the big names arrived (MGM for example), NASCAR came of age when it started to get companies like "TIDE" to sponsor cars.

When NASCAR sponsors were selling piston rings, performance parts, being a car manufacture, it basically went nowhere, even with personalities like Petty, Yarbourough, Wood brothers,...

It took mainstream sponsors to bring in other attendees (like the women folk who drug in the kids), and then soon NASCAR became a weekend activity--camping in the infield, cookouts, fireside storytelling at night,... None of which is applicable to pool except for the concept of "mainstream sponsors".

If you want pool to take off, figure out a way to get Tide, Nabisco, General Mills to have some reason to want to sponsor a tournament, a player, a team, a region,...

The Brusnwick's of the world are too small to properly sponsor anything in this kind of economy. They might be feeling lucky to have remained in business. But everyone needs soap, more or less, all the time.
 
MitchAlsup said:
If you want pool to take off, figure out a way to get Tide, Nabisco, General Mills to have some reason to want to sponsor a tournament, a player, a team, a region,...

.
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The only way to get those sponsors is to figure out a way to get fans into the stands. Why would any corporation invest a dime in a pool tournament that has the potential to reach, at best, a couple of hundred people?

There has to be something to offer those companies in return for their sponsorship, and the only thing that will get their attention is the potential to get their message to a large number of people.

Steve
 
pooltchr said:
The only way to get those sponsors is to figure out a way to get fans into the stands. Why would any corporation invest a dime in a pool tournament that has the potential to reach, at best, a couple of hundred people?

There has to be something to offer those companies in return for their sponsorship, and the only thing that will get their attention is the potential to get their message to a large number of people.

Steve
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Free Admission? Johnnyt
 
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