Snooker, A Shoot Out Or A Washout

[Khandro]

I love snooker, and have watched it on TV since Pot Black (in black and white!), but tonight I stumbled on ITV4's Snooker Shoot out, and it seems that this noble game is being reduced to ridiculous depths of slobism. The players now look foolish having been made to disgarb their waistcoats for lycra, brightly coloured short-sleeved shirts. The rent-a-mob audience - to which the players give high fives on entry, howl and jeer at every shot, and they are led out by scantily dressed tarts.
Do you approve?

[Everhelpful]

I know what you mean,I stuck with it for 30 minutes (With the sound off),it was OK to start with, but got a bit boring and I changed Channels. Agree about the ridiculous Presentation etc,but obviously money talks.Also I had never heard of half of them. wish they could bring back Ray Reardon, Doug Mountjoy,John Spencer and other greats from a Bygone era.

[douglas9401]

Pretty grim fare all round.
The shot timer was hardly annoying at all though. :)

[david small]

Haven't seen it, and thanks to you warning will make sure I don't.

[Khandro]

Is there nothing these guys will not do for money? What happened to 'class'?
Still, as H.L. Menken said; “No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American[or British?] public.”

[DTCwordfan]

Pretty awful and the height of mediocrity.

[Ann]

OH says "thanks for the warning!" He is a real snooker fan - both to watch and he also plays snooker most weeks. He says it sounds like typical ITV rubbish!

[grumpy01]

This is another brainwave from Barry Hearn.Don't think the shirts were too bad but some of the shouting unnecessary.Also with so many matches became a bit boring after watching three or four.One bonus though,not having to hear John Virgo,Dennis Taylor and Willie Thorne saying Ronnie every other word.

[Khandro]

Answering my own question, what happened to class? I think its chief ambassador has to be Mark Selby, not only number 1 in the game, but also in style, with his tailor-made suits, shirts and impeccable manners, - a real gent!

[ToraToraTora]

sounds awful, glad I haven't seen it.

[jim360]

Didn't see it and can't say I wanted to, but a decade ago snooker was in the doldrums and facing death as a serious sport. Barry Hearn's turned it around since then. Not everything he tries has worked for everyone, but I suppose the point of an event like this is to try and open up the game to a different set of spectators.

[andy-hughes]

I watched a few minutes of it, but since to me, a large part of the appeal of snooker is the tactical aspect, accompanied by the silence of a church, this is an utter anathema.

If I want to hear audiences booing and hooting, I'll watch darts, which I don't - so I don't watch that either!

[Bazile]

Horses for courses I suppose .

[RandyMarsh]

No, i blame the success of 20/20 cricket for this.

[jno]

it used to be on black and white TV in my youth. Could be quite hard to follow. But if I ever watched it, it wasn't for the pretty waistcoats.

[ToraToraTora]

they had horses?

[Bazile]

//No, i blame the success of 20/20 cricket for this. //

Why - have they got ''scantily dressed tarts '' in cricket ?

[RandyMarsh]

Yep

[RandyMarsh]

http://www.asportsnews.com/cricket/ipl-t20/ipl-9-2016/ipl-t20-cheerleaders-pictures/

here you go.

[Khandro]

The most famous snooker quote of all; "Griffiths is snookered on the brown, which, for those of you watching in black and white, is the ball directly behind the pink. ” — Ted Lowe,

[Garaman]

I too love the game and have watched it and played it for over fifty years. I didn't see this programme and pleased I didn't by the sound of it.

That quote of Ted Lowe sounds funny but made perfect sense to anyone accustomed to watching in black and white. The brown was hard to distinguish from the reds, but the pink was much clearer.