The State of Pool

Surprise!  There is a discussion about the state of pool over on AZB Forums.  Again. 

One of my friends commented to me about my optimistic thoughts of pool I stated in that thread.  His ideals and mine are completely different.  I think "there's nothing wrong with pool" (even tho everyone else pontificates otherwise on the forums) and even though I WISH pool was mainstream as golf or basketball, I'm okay and can with live with that's it's not.  It's just a fact.  If I made my living off pool, maybe I'd be more vocally upset about pool not being as hot as poker (for example), but I still have plenty of pool tournaments to play in and pool remains my passion even without all the fanfare.  And let's face it - pool isn't the only "we don't have big name sponsors and aren't on tv" sport.  Darts, shuffle board, and foosball are in the same boat.

Anyway, I asked my friend to give me his comments for my blog.  It's always nice to have a different perspective.  It can prolly get annoying to you (as the reader) to keep reading my 99 % optimistic blog entries, and not read/hear some negatives that do indeed go along with the game that my rose colored glasses don't always see. 

**The following doesn't necessarily reflect the thoughts or ideas or how I really feel about pool. I love pool and everything about it. Please forgive me if you are offended.

I’m the editor for Poolstudents.net. Over there we believe there are lots of good things about the game of pool. We search for more of these good things. We post videos. We write blogs. We look for people to post videos. We look for people to write blogs. Only condition is somehow it all has to fit under the editorial umbrella of, “THE BEST THINGS ABOUT POOL.” Melinda has been a great partner in that project.

So Melinda says to me one day, “Why don’t you post on my blog?” Well, first of all, I have to ask her which one because we all know the girl thinks it’s her role in life to write as many blogs entries as she possibly can before she dies or she might not get into heaven. Or at least that’s all I can come up with.

I tell her sorry I use up all my goodness and patience at poolstudents and all I’d have left for your blog is the unwillingness and, in fact, deep resistance, in suffering the hundreds, if not thousands, of pool fools that are out there spilling their Color-of-money-pool-is-a-professional-sport-earl-strickland-is-a-god crapola all over the Internet at places like AZBforums.

I think the game of pool could have a much higher and respectful profile in the United States if long ago it hadn’t been hijacked by hustlers, gamblers and the pool hall culture that comes with it. Everything bad about Pool was born there. And because the people immersed in that life have no where else to go they successfully have held the game hostage. And if you don’t live their morays, values and way of life, well, you’re a sucker, loser, ball-banger or someone who wouldn’t bet that water is wet.

That last thing is the worst thing you could possibly be in their eyes. Idiots.

And if that wasn’t enough holding the game back the pool industry leaders often come from that same world or wish they would have been one of those guys traveling the country trying to rob people for a living. They want to be one of the hustlers. They wish they could have wasted their lives away in a pool hall, never working, living off women, whatever. So what’s the best thing they can be now? Enablers.

I read this recently on WPBA player Sarah Rousey’s blog. At some point she had tired of the whole pool scene thing. But something happened. The following excerpt is the TRUTH.

“And now we get to what has made me want to play pool again. I got the chance to help out at the Billiard Education Foundation Junior Nationals last week. I got to see a lot of kids that I have watched grow up and I got to meet a lot of new people that are so hopeful and excited to be playing pool. It was so refreshing to see kids that want to do nothing other than have fun playing pool. It was a reminder to me that that is what it is supposed to be about.” – Sarah Rousey