Worst thing to happen to pool in recent memory?

[Fat Jonny]

Here is a screen shot of the basic Alexa numbers. You have to have a paid subscription to have all the info but it shows how AZ members age and such is very different than the internet as a whole. Not necessarily a bad thing but it demonstrates why OUR opinion of what is needed in pool is probably not in touch with the general population thinks is needed in pool. I know several kids (under 30) from my room that have posted on here and get hammered for having "weird" or "stupid" ideas about pool and what is needed. Whenever we silence those critics, we as a community alienate ourselves from the next generations vision of what is needed in our sport to survive. Just my opinion.

Wow-Nailed me! :grin:
But is it 'us' who are out of touch or is it us who KNOW what we like, why we like it that way and why want/would PREFER it to remain that way?
And are the 'other' demographics merely interlopers on what we've loved and identified with for a good chunk of our lives?
Ah, I'm just kidding myself if I believe that what I/we built and developed
should be idolized by others different than myself.
Truthfully, I don't give a rat's butt if the 'game' doesn't appeal to the internet masses.
But then there are always folks trying to make a living at it and getting those other demographics interested in billiards is as simple as ABC-get the hottest young hunks and babes (i.e., movie 'stars' ) to be actors in some movie about 'the game'.
Trust me.
It would work.
And it wouldn't hurt to have vampires or zombies in it, too...apparently a big draw to those intellectual giants not thrilled with billiard combat.
:grin:

 

[LAlouie]

``````sharks`````

 

[cueandcushion]

Wow-Nailed me! :grin:
But is it 'us' who are out of touch or is it us who KNOW what we like, why we like it that way and why want/would PREFER it to remain that way?


:grin:

Not saying AZ is out of touch by any means. Just not a true representation of the masses. So its just difficult for guys in their 40s and 50s to work out the future of pool without the input of guys in their teens and 20s. Those "KraZeE" ideas coming from teens should be examined and tried out before dismissing them. Some one earlier said Facebook is hurting pool. I have found Facebook VERY helpful in bringing in a lot of new customers and staying in touch with former customers. My experience.

 

[TheThaiger]

Here is a screen shot of the basic Alexa numbers. You have to have a paid subscription to have all the info but it shows how AZ members age and such is very different than the internet as a whole. Not necessarily a bad thing but it demonstrates why OUR opinion of what is needed in pool is probably not in touch with the general population thinks is needed in pool. I know several kids (under 30) from my room that have posted on here and get hammered for having "weird" or "stupid" ideas about pool and what is needed. Whenever we silence those critics, we as a community alienate ourselves from the next generations vision of what is needed in our sport to survive. Just my opinion.

Still agree, but still don't know how that site collates its information. It has a breakdown of the nationality of visitors, and suggests about 30% of users are German. I find that very hard to believe.

 

[Pangit]

Earl did the same thing when he won a world championship not too long ago...?

I don't understand all the uproar about this issue (table not the cue). Think about other sports. Take NASCAR for instance. Every infield needs a new sod after every race because the winner loves to do donuts on it. It's part of the excitement of the sport. Small cost to pay for actually having fans and a TV contract.

You are using Earl as an example of decrorum? I don't know what you are smoking...but I want a Bud or two. Send it FedEx.

It's a piss poor display of "sportsmanship". Busch league at best. Any pool room owner would throw your ass out the door by the ear for that sort of borish behaviour.

Would a Snooker player do that sort of thing. NO.

 

[Hungarian]

Meh, it is tradition in india to break the large clay tabla on the last note of a performance.

They did that before Mingus was born.

dld

Meh, we're talking expensive stringed instruments Sir.

Not clay pottery that they stretch a pig skin over.

And I never heard of the Indians busting up a bunch of Sitars.

Did you enjoy the link?

 

[TheThaiger]

You are using Earl as an example of decrorum? I don't know what you are smoking...but I want a Bud or two. Send it FedEx.

It's a piss poor display of "sportsmanship". Busch league at best. Any pool room owner would throw your ass out the door by the ear for that sort of borish behaviour.

Would a Snooker player do that sort of thing. NO.

This, sir, is pool. Snooker is fine art created by great masters; pool is filthy graffiti, scrawled on a hooker's back.

 

[krupa]

This, sir, is pool. Snooker is fine art created by great masters; pool is filthy graffiti, scrawled on a hooker's back.

That's exactly how my mother described my fifth grade book report.

 

[branpureza]

This, sir, is pool. Snooker is fine art created by great masters; pool is filthy graffiti, scrawled on a hooker's back.

Ah shlt. Here we go...

 

[StraightPoolIU]

Not saying AZ is out of touch by any means. Just not a true representation of the masses. So its just difficult for guys in their 40s and 50s to work out the future of pool without the input of guys in their teens and 20s. Those "KraZeE" ideas coming from teens should be examined and tried out before dismissing them. Some one earlier said Facebook is hurting pool. I have found Facebook VERY helpful in bringing in a lot of new customers and staying in touch with former customers. My experience.

And facebook is nowhere near cutting edge any longer. Twitter could be huge for pool, but it seems highly underutilized. It's a free promotional tool and a way to interact with fans/other players and build buzz.

 

[uwate]

I dont think its even close. Its poker for sure. No other thing has taken more good players out of pool and with it so much of the juice that flowed through the pool room economy than poker did.

I personally think the magic rack is good for pool bc the avg joe public lacks the attention span to watch grinding defensive games that can result when tables break bad. Same goes with jump cues, shot clocks, emotional displays by the players....all of these make the pool purists cringe but all of them provide a pool product that is more accessible and interesting to the public. Pool is dying a slow death, you can either watch it die or try to get behind things that can pump some public interest into the sport before its too late.

 

[Banks]

This, sir, is pool. Snooker is fine art created by great masters; pool is filthy graffiti, scrawled on a hooker's back.

Yeah, the nerve. Graffiti is not art. It is filth, created by unimaginative swine. To associate such with the Magical U.K.ingdom would be akin to heresy.



Wait, wouldn't it be that the difficult nature of pocketing removes artistic characteristics from the game? Is a straight line considered art?