On the subject of the World Pool Championship, in a recent AZB thread, Doug Gordon wrote:
Before commenting on this, let me state that I think Doug Gordon and Luke Riches do a great job and are making a great and lasting contribution to our sport. It's in large part due to my respect for them and their work that I feel they deserve an answer. Nonetheless, providing an answer requires some speculation.
My traditional slant on the world Pool Champioships has been that as it is telecast abroad but not in the United States, Americans are less aware of the event than is logical. Still, it's also because American pool fans have traditionally been less patriotic in pool than in some other sports. Tennis fans love it when an American wins at Wimbledon, yet as a group we American pool fans care far less about whether an American wins at the World Pool Championship.
However, gentlemen, thanks to you, the winds of change are already blowing. I beleve that by bringing the Mosconi Cup to America last year, you have heightened our patriotism when it comes to pool. We also enjoyed watching the telecast. The Mosconi Cup, because it has now been played here and telecast here, has entered our consciousness, and our pool patriotism is growing and will continue to grow.
Not so for the World Pool Championships. It has never been played or telecast in our country. I do hope that will change somewhere down the road, and when it does, look out.
The reality seems to be that events played exclusively outside the United States and to which the American pool fan has no access are not likely to capture our fullest attention. You can view that as evidencing our apathy, but such a view is a bit myopic.
pro9dg said:
Before commenting on this, let me state that I think Doug Gordon and Luke Riches do a great job and are making a great and lasting contribution to our sport. It's in large part due to my respect for them and their work that I feel they deserve an answer. Nonetheless, providing an answer requires some speculation.
My traditional slant on the world Pool Champioships has been that as it is telecast abroad but not in the United States, Americans are less aware of the event than is logical. Still, it's also because American pool fans have traditionally been less patriotic in pool than in some other sports. Tennis fans love it when an American wins at Wimbledon, yet as a group we American pool fans care far less about whether an American wins at the World Pool Championship.
However, gentlemen, thanks to you, the winds of change are already blowing. I beleve that by bringing the Mosconi Cup to America last year, you have heightened our patriotism when it comes to pool. We also enjoyed watching the telecast. The Mosconi Cup, because it has now been played here and telecast here, has entered our consciousness, and our pool patriotism is growing and will continue to grow.
Not so for the World Pool Championships. It has never been played or telecast in our country. I do hope that will change somewhere down the road, and when it does, look out.
The reality seems to be that events played exclusively outside the United States and to which the American pool fan has no access are not likely to capture our fullest attention. You can view that as evidencing our apathy, but such a view is a bit myopic.
