Today, during the madness that is our holiday season, I decided to take a few minutes and check out an annual billiards tradition – The Mosconi Cup. For my non-pool reader(s), here’s the deal. Every year the best players from the US and Europe get together to play series of matches with the winner taking home the Mosconi Cup. It’s like the Ryder Cup, except it’s pool instead of golf. I’ll admit, I’ve made fun of this in the past. After all, how is this different than any other billiards tournament. What I found out was that it is really, really different.
I don’t know if it’s country pride, being on a team or what, but this was the first time I’ve ever (and I mean ever) seen pool players completely pumped up before, during and after a match. This had the feel of, dare I say, an actual sports event. The players were amped, the crowd was amped, the commentating was killer and the coverage by the camera folk was the best I’ve ever seen. I found it to be gripping, entertaining and downright awesome.
In a word (well, a series of words), this is what professional pool should be and just as much of it has to do with the audience as the players and the playing. When pool is on TV, generally speaking we are treated to a half filled audience of comped casino goers dutifully clapping for every shot, not because they are excited, but because they have been instructed to do so in order to be seen on ESPN. The Mosconi Cup on the other hand is rowdy, loud and filled with people who <gasp> enjoy watching pool. And that is the difference. Instead of filling bleachers with people who could care less about pool so the event doesn’t look downright depressing on national TV, this event attracts real pool fans. Then they go so far as to allow pool fans to actually get excited about the match rather than calling for polite golf claps between hushed shots. This is what I thought pro pool would be before I got into the billiards industry. This is how I pictured pro pool players before I knew better.
I’m not taking potshots at anyone here. I’m just trying to say that this is what pro pool should be. Those who are lucky enough to have their events televised should sit down, watch an hour of the Mosconi Cup and try and figure out how they can create the same atmosphere at each of their events. Who knows, if people actually saw pro pool events on TV where the audience and the players were both seriously pumped up, maybe, just maybe they’d keep watching and get excited for pool. Ah, to dream the impossible dream.
