The future...

Jeff sparks

Verified Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2015
Messages
3,317
From
Houston, Texas
Vapros last journal entry concerning the present state and future hopes of pool and it's players is an interesting topic... I'd like to make a couple of comparisons and just see where it leads... First I'd like to say that I love the game, I enjoy playing pool, and I like watching professional pool players battle... Why is that? I think it's because I know enough about the game to understand most of what's going on and I play the game well enough to continue to try to improve...

Pool is a fascinating game, there is no doubt about that...Its fascinating for me... However it's hard to explain to an amateur... It's a hard game to watch if you don't know what's going on...

IMO, to the average pedestrian, pool isn't a visual sport, it's a participation sport.. the honest truth is pool is only interesting to pool players who play the game and most would much rather play pool than watch it...

There are thousands of league players across the country, they play once a week in a bar and they drink and have a good time playing pool... Then they go home and watch the WSOP, or basketball or football, baseball, golf, soccer, tennis, hockey, or womens fast pitch softball.. Very few would watch the finals of the DCC... There in lies the problem with pool every having big purses...

The viewing public ultimately pays the toll.. In any sport, it's the advertising $$$'s, the TV rights, the commercials, the sponsorships... It's the fan base that buy the Nike's and the Cadillacs, the Budweiser and the Coke... Pool will always be a participation sport and although it's a sad situation for the professional player, it's a fact of life, he will struggle financially because there are only a few people with the financial means who care about promoting the sport and putting up the $$$'s necessary to have a tournament...

Will pool survive? Of course it will, it's a fascinating game... Some play it like a Strativarius... They are a joy to watch...:)
 
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