It is wicked fun. No doubt. Trying to take it to WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP OF P-BALL is where the bus goes off the curve.

I can't take people too seriously when they act like p-ball is some amazingly athletic event. It's not. Amazingly athletic people play it. That is altogether different though.

I suspect a lot of these amazing athletes of young age crushing the pro p-ball circuit are very good tennis players who aren't good enough. I've never seen a tennis player who can't immediately be decent at p-ball. Not top shelf but they always start with a huge leg up. As racket sports go, p-ball is pretty easy to pick up.

No pickleball magazine? Of course there is...

https://viewer.joomag.com/pick...1001662746907?short&

Remember guys you gotta donk your dinks. DONT dink your donks.

My favorite is how they have names for things that sound like dirty sex tricks. The nasty Nelson, the dirty sanchez. Why? There is no good answer.

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
I suspect a lot of these amazing athletes of young age crushing the pro p-ball circuit are very good tennis players who aren't good enough. I've never seen a tennis player who can't immediately be decent at p-ball.

This reminds of an uncomfortable conversation I once had w/ a guy who went on & on about how amazing & hardcore men's semi-pro softball is. I held my tongue out of politeness, but the whole time I was thinking, "If these guys are so good, why aren't they playing baseball? Is there anyone in the World Championships of men's softball who wouldn't rather be playing in the MLB if given the choice?"

I have a friend like that. Now don’t get me wrong I love softball. It too is wicked fun. When home runs occur so often that after a couple they start counting as outs, when you hit one you don’t run the bases to save time, your bat costs as much as my first car, the bat is only good for one season, the players are very strong but mostly fat as fuck, I could go on and on. Just stop. These tournaments where they have matching uniforms down to the stirrups. I mean come on, just play the game and enjoy it. Its pickle ball or softball or lawn darts or corn hole. Which is a drinking game not worthy of espn Might as well make the string and loop onto a hook game into tournament play. Fuck.

My wife is a die-hard pickleball player.

Top Pros are making 200-300K between sponsorships and prizes.

36 million are playing in this country.

Laugh all you want, not as easy as it looks.

Easier than tennis, but not a cakewalk.

Passed up the 20 million tennis players a few years ago.

It has been around 50 years compared to the 150 years of tennis.

We will see how many tennis courts are around in 10 years.

quote:

Originally posted by sig2392:
Laugh all you want, not as easy as it looks.

Easier than tennis, but not a cakewalk.
...
We will see how many tennis courts are around in 10 years.

It's highly interesting to me watching which sports have staying power and which ones come & go. Remember inline skating and racquetball? Hardly a peep about them anymore.

I will take that bet. I’m a 3.5 to 4.0 tennis player. Pickle ball is fucking easy. I couldn’t play at “pro” levels but in a very short time I can play with most people. It’s not an inherently challenging game. At all.

As for your dollar figure. That is mostly sponsorships I bet because they are selling a ton of gear. These guys aren’t making money from tv rights, ticket sales, etc. They are selling outfits and paddles.

This sport isn’t hard unless you are unathletic. I’ve never seen any racket sport athletic person ever pick up a paddle and not be pretty decent from the start. They don’t know how to keep score or not step in the kitchen but they have zero issue playing decently. Try that with a real sport. Give somebody a lacrosse stick, tennis racquet, basketball, hockey skates who have never touched them before and watch the learning curve. Pickle ball? For tennis players it’s all about learning the rules and then the shots that are appropriate for the situation. In fact I would argue shot selection in pickle ball might be one of the biggest separating factors between ratings.

Ahhh another tennis player who doesn’t like how popular pickleball is getting so they say make fun of the game and those playing it for some reason. Just let people have fun and get over it.

You obviously didn’t read my posts then. On many of my posts I have stated I play pickle ball and think it is fun. Wicked fun is what I actually said.

It’s a fun game. I like it. I play it. I think the level of seriousness that the industry is trying to force onto the game borders on idiocy. They are trying to monetize a family game that is fantastic for people with physical limitations. Pickle ball ain’t American Gladiator. Go watch one of these ”pro events”. They are comically bad. This game does not have a future as a televised or spectator event. It’s not entertaining or challenging enough.

It is enjoyable enough to continue growing to a certain point.

I chuckle at the seriousness that is being pushed by the industry side of this game. There is serious money to be made building courts, selling memberships, selling the latest technology paddle, faster wiffleballs, etc. That is the part I hate. This isn’t worthy of professional status. I get it, I’m not the judge of that but that is my opinion. Corn hole has pro players too. I think that is stupid as well. The game itself has legs, the “pro” side of it won’t develop into much is my bet. Because it’s boring as hell to watch. Fun to play snooze fest to sit and watch.

They (industry) are pouring a ton of money into these events hoping they grow legs. Trying to cash in on the popularity of play. I don’t think it translates into viewership. The video of the stands during that “Masters” video seem to back me up.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: pedropcola,

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
Better to be Borg than Conners.

Not to be "that guy" but I think you are mixing up your sci-fi universes. Star Trek and Terminator never had a crossover, even when Abrams had his hand in.

That’s funny. Lol

I read your posts. You said a couple of times that it’s fun but then spend paragraphs degrading it. If you don’t like it then fine. I just don’t get your anger about people pushing it at the pro level. Of course people are gonna try to make money off of the fastest growing sport in America. They’re not pushing fentanyl at these events or anything so relax.

No I fucking didn’t. I said that trying to turn it into something it’s not is moronic. It’s a game that was invented at the beach, for families, that old people also can play, on a tiny court where movement isn’t a big requirement.

I like 5he game. I hate the obvious attempt to turn it into the next big professional sport. It’s ruining the game. It’s hard to take the silly posturing of young athletes acting like this game is Thunderball.

It’s a simple sport. It’s retardedly easy to play. It’s a tiny court. It’s fun as shit. It’s not worthy of “The Masters” or “World Championships” anymore than corn hole is. Yet corn hole has those too. I think that is silly as well. Fentanyl is optional.

You’re a grunter aren’t you? You grunt every time you hit that fuzzy yellow ball.

You’re a dick aren’t you? Can’t just talk and disagree with someone huh?

I agree that it's getting overhyped, but it's cool that a lot of people are getting enjoyment out of it. My dad is in his mid-60s and started playing a couple of years ago. It has kept him active and combined with some other activity and diet changes, he's lost close to 70lbs and kept it off. IMO he sometimes gets a little too into it, but I'm glad he's found something that he enjoys that helps him stay active and re-focus from work stress.

The town he lives in has put in some really nice courts, and I've gone and played with him a few times. It's not really my thing...I'd rather go to the range, fish, running, or biking, but it's not a painful experience and it's a good way to spend some time with him.

It's definitely popular. The park in the town where I work put in a couple of courts last year, and they are busy every day. There's usually a line of people waiting to play. I was skeptical when they spent the money to install them, but based on usage alone it seems to have been worth it. I also haven't had to go deal with people getting into physical fights and pulling guns or knives on the pickleball court like I have with some of the thugs on the basketball court, so I appreciate that, too...

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
You’re a dick aren’t you? Can’t just talk and disagree with someone huh?

I was just messing with you because of your hate. You call the game retardedly easy to play right after you say you’re not degrading the sport. That is absolutely making fun of the sport. I just don’t see why you’re so fired up about it and feel the need to make fun of it. People enjoy playing it. Some people enjoy getting together with friends and having casual games. Some people are really competitive and go all out in the frequency and intensity of their play. What does it matter? Neither group of people are doing anything wrong or affecting you in any way.

I know a group of people who get together to play dungeons and dragons. I have no desire to play and don’t see the appeal of that game. Is it ok to make fun of the people playing it?

What about shooting sports? I’ve met a lot of guys who are really intense about it and are trying to make it a “pro” sport. Companies are pouring money into it to try to capitalize on its popularity. Is that silly also? Should I stop shooting handgun competitions because they’re “retardedly easy” compared to 3-gun?

I’ve met a few tennis people who, for some weird reason, seem threatened by pickleball. You seem like one of those people. I’ll agree that it’s not as much exercise as tennis but who cares? It has millions of people outside and moving. People want to complain about kids being inside all the time in front of a screen instead of being outside. This sport has families outside and getting exercise together- young and old. And some of those people have found that they are really good and can make money at it. I guess we should demo all of the courts being built since it’s too easy to play compared to tennis.

You seem to think you know a lot about me. You don’t. I said it’s retardedly easy because I’ve never, never seen a decent tennis player struggle to pick up this game and play decently the first time they pick up a paddle. Retardedly was a bad choice of words. Let’s just say I think it’s a very easy game to play. Which considering its origins is a factual statement.

As for D&D I have no feeling whatsoever. If they try to go pro then yes I will mock that effort as well. Shooting sports should be absolutely have pros. I have never seen anyone pick up a gun for the first time and look like they have been doing it a long time. Pickle ball can’t say that.

Professional sports should be very challenging. Hence no tiddlywinks pro leagues, no paper football leagues, no corn hole. I think the pro element of pickle ball will never amount to much nor should it. In my opinion. I might be proven wrong.

This isn’t a tennis vs pickle ball scenario no matter how much you really want it to be. I play both. I enjoy both. As a tennis player the only thing I hate about pickle ball is when they paint all those extra lines all over the court. Luckily for me they don’t do that on the courts I play at. There is no tennis vs pball animus here.