03-19-2002, 12:34 PM
I saw some great pool this weekend. I only watched the WPBA events. I watched
from Friday night and all day Saturday and Sunday. Two matches really stood out and
need mentioning. The first match was Ming Ng versus Vivian Villarreal. Obviously Ming
was the underdog, but stayed right in there till the end. More importantly, both players
had PERSONALITY. Both appeared to enjoy themselves. They interacted with each other
and with the crowd. I think everybody in the crowd enjoyed watching those two. There
were also some AWESOME shots by both players.
The other match worth mentioning was Jeanette Lee versus Vivian Villarreal. Again, great
high caliber pool by two obvious rivals (probably more hype than reality- but hype is good).
However, again the most significant difference in their match from the hundreds of others
was their PERSONALITIES. Now I know all about the pressure to win, putting on your game
face, etc., but if you want this sport to move forward in the television end of it, the ladies
have to develop a personality or allow it to show in front of the audience. . . Remember the
NBA really took off when they decided to start marketing specific players. Jordan didn't get
all of those endorsements just because he is the greatest basketball player ever. His
PERSONALITY and clean image was a huge factor.
The four players in the television matches on Sunday are all GREAT players, but we
rarely see any personality. It's hard to change your personality and your style if that
is what you are most comfortable with, but . . . like the athletes in all of the other sports,
there are most importantly - entertainers. . . . The rest of the players can learn alot from
watching Ming Ng, Jeanette Lee and Vivian Villarreal. We've seen Vivian and Jeanette on
television and they are so entertaining. Now, if we can only get Ming to television
rounds. Look out - Those would be AWESOME BABY.
from Friday night and all day Saturday and Sunday. Two matches really stood out and
need mentioning. The first match was Ming Ng versus Vivian Villarreal. Obviously Ming
was the underdog, but stayed right in there till the end. More importantly, both players
had PERSONALITY. Both appeared to enjoy themselves. They interacted with each other
and with the crowd. I think everybody in the crowd enjoyed watching those two. There
were also some AWESOME shots by both players.
The other match worth mentioning was Jeanette Lee versus Vivian Villarreal. Again, great
high caliber pool by two obvious rivals (probably more hype than reality- but hype is good).
However, again the most significant difference in their match from the hundreds of others
was their PERSONALITIES. Now I know all about the pressure to win, putting on your game
face, etc., but if you want this sport to move forward in the television end of it, the ladies
have to develop a personality or allow it to show in front of the audience. . . Remember the
NBA really took off when they decided to start marketing specific players. Jordan didn't get
all of those endorsements just because he is the greatest basketball player ever. His
PERSONALITY and clean image was a huge factor.
The four players in the television matches on Sunday are all GREAT players, but we
rarely see any personality. It's hard to change your personality and your style if that
is what you are most comfortable with, but . . . like the athletes in all of the other sports,
there are most importantly - entertainers. . . . The rest of the players can learn alot from
watching Ming Ng, Jeanette Lee and Vivian Villarreal. We've seen Vivian and Jeanette on
television and they are so entertaining. Now, if we can only get Ming to television
rounds. Look out - Those would be AWESOME BABY.