Will Snooker catch on in the US ?

[acesinc1999]

SlickRick, I am not sure that I am understanding the point of your post, and I am even less certain that you are understanding the point of mine. I know that I do tend to be wordy so here I will try to be succinct.

The original question is "Will Snooker catch on in the US?". Simply due to space requirements, the answer is "No!" as far as private residences go. Of course there will always be a smattering of beautiful, private, home tables just like there are a few large homes that have indoor bowling alleys. Just not very many. So snooker will not catch on through personal, private means.

So that leaves public commercial enterprise to bring snooker to the masses as an industry. The point that I am trying to make is that many posters seem to be saying that if only there were more tables available, snooker would become more popular and then, perhaps, it would catch on. I am stating the exact opposite. If an entrepreneur opens a snooker venue with the attitude that "If you build it, they will come", he will be sorely disappointed. That is what I meant by "jamming down their throats"....just because you make snooker tables available does not mean that people are going to play the game. Players have to become aware of and curious about the game first, then begin to think that they would like to try it out if they get the opportunity, then (and if) this were to begin to happen everywhere with a LOT of people (such as through exposure on television or some other means), finally the business world could fill the need for an actual demand for snooker rather than just speculating about it.

Many here probably do not realize that snooker's real popularity in England began with the advent of color television....early 70's. There had been very little previous tv coverage because, let's face it, a game that is based on colors doesn't make a whole lot of sense in a black and white world. The BBC experimented with coverage of snooker to show off the bright colors on telly and the popularity of the game itself surged as a result.

 

[SlickRick_PCS]

SlickRick, I am not sure that I am understanding the point of your post, and I am even less certain that you are understanding the point of mine. I know that I do tend to be wordy so here I will try to be succinct.
:shakehead:


The original question is "Will Snooker catch on in the US?". Simply due to space requirements, the answer is "No!" as far as private residences go. Of course there will always be a smattering of beautiful, private, home tables just like there are a few large homes that have indoor bowling alleys. Just not very many. So snooker will not catch on through personal, private means.
Fair enough, I suppose.

So that leaves public commercial enterprise to bring snooker to the masses as an industry. The point that I am trying to make is that many posters seem to be saying that if only there were more tables available, snooker would become more popular and then, perhaps, it would catch on. You convert a Coin-Op Table into English 8-Ball regulated table (make it $0.50 each game) and I promise you people will find the interest in that game. What does this relates to snooker? Simple: It is the closest thing to an English table more than anything. It won't happen, but it is definitely a causal possibility.

I am stating the exact opposite. If a entrepreneur opens a snooker venue with the attitude that "If you build it, they will come", he will be sorely disappointed. That is what I meant by "jamming down their throats"....just because you make snooker tables available does not mean that people are going to play the game.
No faith, huh? I will feel bad if you own a business with this attitude, seriously. But to each their own, right? :shrug:

Players have to become aware of and curious about the game first, then begin to think that they would like to try it out if they get the opportunity, then (and if) this were to begin to happen everywhere with a LOT of people (such as through exposure on television or some other means), finally the business world could fill the need for an actual demand for snooker rather than just speculating about it.
Let's put it like this: It begins with the (here's the keyword) youth. Their biggest rival: Other sports and past-time technological distractions.

Many here probably do not realize that snooker's real popularity in England began with the advent of color television....early 70's. There had been very little previous tv coverage because, let's face it, a game that is based on colors doesn't make a whole lot of sense in a black and white world. The BBC experimented with coverage of snooker to show off the bright colors on telly and the popularity of the game itself surged as a result.
Ok, if you draw up a map of the U.S.A. and the U.K., you will, geographically, see that one is more vast than the other. Ever wonder in the Crucible that the majority of the seeds are either from England, Scotland, and N. Ireland? Some of China are there as well as a sprinkle of others. My point is that the U.S. is sparse out in location (gas is not cheap for such long travel, you know). Is 14.1 Continuous popular in Texas? No, because there are more bar tables (coin-ops) and lack of knowledge outside of 8-ball (except for the enthusiasts). Do you hear about carom billiards being popular in the mid-country? Not at all. All of the vast games are primarily in New York City (or California, perhaps). Russian Billiards is in Coney Island, Snooker, and the many different games that some regular Joe would find extraterrestrial. But is it possible that snooker becomes popular in the United States? VERY POSSIBLE! What's holding us back? Americans' attitudes (I can get VERY real and detailed, but I will let you think about it).

I am sure that you have either played snooker or have knowledge of it. Either-way, anything is possible. It all depends on who will represent it, the attitude of the presenter given to those being presented, and the level of enthusiasm. Certainly we can say that billiards is the only form of non-contact sport (game... entertainment venue...whatever its genre) that will survive in an event of a technological blackout (a causal possibility, you know); but throughout all the injuries, controversies, and problems that are being presented with the other contact sports, you cannot beat billiards at all. It's the only sport that will strive and survive for centuries to last.

Still, acesinc1999, thank you for offering your point of view.