Who would be the best?

Who would be the best?

  • Total voters
    55
  • Poll closed .
Tennesseejoe

Tennesseejoe

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
If professional pool is going to get big ie. prize money, world championship, governing body, etc., it will have to be financed. TV will bring in the money by their acquiring sponsors. Sponsors will provide the money if there are enough TV spectators with buying power. It is a given that most viewers do not know the nuances of pool. What we as players like to see and what the general public would like is probably different.

So my poll question is:

Who would be the best to attract and hold a general public TV viewing audience?

Johnny Archer
Earl Strickland
 
Well, I will have to recuse myself from voting because my view may be prejudicial in nature or a display of favoritism! :D

You are going to get several types of responses, those who want to be entertained and those who desire to strictly watch pool at its finest.

My choice for a happy medium of these two qualities would be:

Rodney Morris
Earl Strickland
Ronnie O'Sullivan
Francisco Bustamante
Jeanette Lee

JAM
 
I haven't answered yet because with only those two choices, you pose a tough question. Why only two???

I will answer later after some thought.

Maniac
 
these do no reflect my personal opinions

more so it is conclusive from empirical data

the show most likely to attract viewers would be

like dog the bounty hunter except
its Group of hot chicks the pool hustlers

main concept hot chicks hustling, oh and the girls should have writers to prepare them for quick witted comebacks. They could do things from hustling to doing charity events, doing the motivational speech thing, say no to drugs, a whole line of public service annoucements.

It should only be like two seasons where the main goal is to travel somewhere a vast land mass and like the travel channel advertise the bonuses of certain pool halls and advantages in that location.

This is me entertaining myself at work do not take it seriously.
 
efren and thorsten ,experience against youth .......earl would turn the crowd away in no time and johnny would bore you to death.
 
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jimmy-leggs said:
thorsten.......earl would turn the crowd away in no time and johnny would bore you to death.
Click to expand...

As much as I think Thorsten is a great pool player and a good man, he's not exactly "Captain Excitement" :D :D :D !!!

Maniac
 
Why only those two? If I had to choose a pro player, it'd be Alex Pagulayan.

Now if someone can find a way to get Alex on David Letterman, and have him breaking and running an entire rack of 9-ball, and all the while cracking jokes and being his usual comic self while at the same time explaining the intricacies of his out...that could actually start something.
 
as an educator I find the attention span goes down during explanation of anything other than describing the mating habits of the human species.
 
Yeah, little Alex could get a few ratings (if that's possible with pool). Too bad some of the old timers like Jimmy Mataya and Ronnie Allen aren't around (competitively) anymore.

Just look at the old Mosconi/Fats ABC broadcasts. Mosconi was past his prime, and whatever prime Fats may have once had was well gone -- but he still entertained a crowd.

Maybe Bravo can add to their multitude of reality broadcasts, and bring on Alex as the star. Of course being Bravo, they'd have to make him gay but that's just a minor detail.

jsp said:
Why only those two? If I had to choose a pro player, it'd be Alex Pagulayan.

Now if someone can find a way to get Alex on David Letterman, and have him breaking and running an entire rack of 9-ball, and all the while cracking jokes and being his usual comic self while at the same time explaining the intricacies of his out...that could actually start something.
Click to expand...
 
jsp said:
Why only those two? If I had to choose a pro player, it'd be Alex Pagulayan.

Now if someone can find a way to get Alex on David Letterman, and have him breaking and running an entire rack of 9-ball, and all the while cracking jokes and being his usual comic self while at the same time explaining the intricacies of his out...that could actually start something.
Click to expand...

You're right. How could I ever forget Alex! He is Mr. Excitement whenever he's at an event.

JAM
 
I think Rodney Morris is fun to watch on television. He plays fast and cracks jokes.

but between the two I think the general viewing audience who doesn't know about pool would enjoy watching Earl more. He plays VERY fast and loose and TV viewers have very little patience to watch Johnny get up and down and take extensions.

However I think Johnny is very charismatic and enjoy all his little comments and his voice as well.
 
Maniac said:
I haven't answered yet because with only those two choices, you pose a tough question. Why only two???

I will answer later after some thought.

Maniac
Click to expand...


Why only two?--Very good question.
I picked two pool professionals, both with multiple championships, very well dressed,with a ton of talent, technically correct, etc. Now the difference is that one represents a fast action and firiery personallity while the other is slow and methodical.
To add other qualified and deserving professionals to the poll may water down the results. I hope no one is offended but the real question is centered around what the general public will watch on a continuous basis.
 
jimmy-leggs said:
efren and thorsten ,experience against youth .......earl would turn the crowd away in no time and johnny would bore you to death.
Click to expand...

I pick Thorsten, too! He could pull in certain demographics with his good looks if marketed right, i.e. teenaged girls. That would help pool.
 
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It's a tough choice, inasmuch as Earl's style of play is more likely to attract and maintain viewer interest. However, part of making pool a marketable sport in the U.S. is fan identification in terms of getting to know and admire the stars. At present, Earl's unpredictability on and off the table makes it almost impossible to build a marketing concept around him. What happens if he walks out of the match during the finals of a televised event?

Archer's methodical surgery of the table may not be as appealing as Earl's style for much of the TV audience, but the excellence of his game and his usually gentlemanly demeanor more than make up for it.
 
You have to have more options because if you're going to have a tour that appeals to the public, yuou need to remember that the public is an extremely large group. Thus, you need diversity.

Earl would be a great choice because he is so good and yet so contraversial. People would tune in to watch Earl because they know they're going to get either good pool, a great show, or both!

Efren is a choice that you could not overlook. He is arguably the best cue-sport player of all time and he's gotten the nickname "The Magician" for a reason. Efren is a staple of the game whose skill alone is entertaining. Quite. Humble. Polar opposite to Earl. But every bit as entertaining.

Then there is the European contingent, specifically the Germans - Souquet, Hohmann, Engert, Ortmann. All of whom play with extraordinary skill and yet, with the emotions of a robot. Stone faced in defeat. Stone face in victory. I think I saw Thorsten smile once but as for Ortmann or Souquet, I'm not even sure they have teeth! J/k

Everyone has a personality and, well, if trying to brand something like a pro tour, you need all of those personalities to truly sell the product. Not just one.

-Brian
 
Entertainment?????

Tennesseejoe said:
If professional pool is going to get big ie. prize money, world championship, governing body, etc., it will have to be financed. TV will bring in the money by their acquiring sponsors. Sponsors will provide the money if there are enough TV spectators with buying power. It is a given that most viewers do not know the nuances of pool. What we as players like to see and what the general public would like is probably different.

So my poll question is:

Who would be the best to attract and hold a general public TV viewing audience?

Johnny Archer
Earl Strickland
Click to expand...


Keith McCready
Scotty Townsend
Ronnie Allen
 
My two choices would be Jeanette Lee and Jasmin Ouschan, two fiery, attractive competitors.

Both Johnny and Earl could help, too.
 
sjm said:
My two choices would be Jeanette Lee and Jasmin Ouschan, two fiery, attractive competitors.
Click to expand...

C'mon sjm, you know as well as I do that these two choices have NOTHING to do with pool. You're just a horny 'ol man just like me ;) !!!

Maniac
 
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