Re: Robertson talking out of his backside
lhpirnie wrote:The problem is that there may not be a solution! Because 90% of the snooker fraternity are in love with the Crucible, there isn't any real prospect of moving, regardless of how bad the playing conditions or facilities are. A modern sporting event needs a media centre and corporate hospitality to maximise its potential. In that sense I do think snooker is being left behind.
My overriding concern is that in around 10 years' time, we face a crisis when today's top players aren't there anymore. The Crucible thing is a symptom of a wider problem: snooker not engaging with its future. Ultimately, keeping still amounts to falling behind in a changing world.
Indeed, I do recognise that there is something 'special'. But I think we should be thinking that the World Championship itself is special, and not focus on the building, as some kind of shrine.
But it's a combination of the both.
Yes, of course the World Championship is special and we don't want the format messed with. Doesn't automatically mean that you could or should just move it anywhere though. Like it or not, people do attend to feel The Crucible experience as much as they do for The World Championships. It goes hand in hand. If you're talking about appealing to younger viewers or whatever, surely changing the one tournament a year that creates more buzz than the rest of the tour combined in any way shouldn't be rushed into. If anything, finding a way for the rest of the tournaments in a season to capture that buzz is the answer.
It may be that at some point in the future, we need to move The Crucible. In 50 years it might not be fit for use any more, it might be crumbling. Or, for example, the seeds of international expansion we see at the moment have grown, and the sport might be being held back by keeping itself UK-centric. But, at present, the idea that we want to move the game into the future seems a poor reason to mess with one of the things in the season that truly works, and is truly loved.
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