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| EShoukry
- 14 Aug 2012
Total Posts: 67
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Well I finally got around to watching some of the matches from the last UNAP world championships and I was amazed at how well air hockey looked "televised." First off, Donovan's iphone app that keeps scoring real time makes a huge difference. I did not realize that at the end of every game it threw up stats on the screen that I found fascinating.
Also, I thought the commentary that Tim and Wil had during the finals was excellent and really added entertainment value for the viewers. I thought they had a good mix of commentary on the match with explanation of air hockey strategy and shots. This is very important as many viewers will not understand the dynamics of what's taking place.
Tim at one time talked about the speed of the puck over a short distance and I think facts like that will really allow viewers to gather an appreciation of the sport.
On a side note (but still very relevant to air hockey) I listened to Annie Duke who is a famous female poker player talk about the history of poker. My numbers may not be exactly right but the gist of it was that poker was a relatively hidden sport for many years with attendance at their world championships averaging around 200 players.
It was not until the invention of the pocket camera--which is the camera that allows you to see the two hidden cards that the player has in front of them--that poker really started to explode. Within a couple of years, the attendance went from 200 players to 8,800 players and each one was buying in for $10,000!!!!!
My point is that a small innovation created a massive difference in the popularity of that sport and I very much feel like we have a similar opportunity in air hockey. Keep up the great work and the hard practice and we will be close behind.
Thanks,
Ehab
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| TWeissman
- 14 Aug 2012
Total Posts: 210
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You have hit the nail on the head Ehab. Further developing our broadcasting could provide a huge benefit.
I had not realized the finals was already posted. In my opinion it needs to be advertised more.
Take care...
Tim
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| ajflanagan
- 14 Aug 2012
Total Posts: 509
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Great post Ehab. We are working hard with our limited budget and resources to make our sport much more packageable. I believe when we can fine tune things and present it as a watchable sport, we will get where we want to go. Your WSOP example is great. In reality, that event is a marathon. Nobody could possibly watch every hand on every table. Through creative post production and editing, a week of slow, relatively boring poker is widdled down to an incredibly fast paced, easy to watch series of hour long shows.
I believe our World Championship could similarly be produced as a 30 to 60 minute fast paced, quick cut summary with only the highlights with post production commentary added in to make it "feel" live.
We'll get there.
Tim, I agree there needs to be much more follow through after the event is over and everyone goes home. Momentum is important. I know I needed a little break after the event. Now it's time to pick up and make the most of the 2012 WC so the 2013 WC is even better. Mark your calendars now!
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| TheAirHockeyGuy
- 14 Aug 2012
Total Posts: 472
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ajflanagan said: Great post Ehab. We are working hard with our limited budget and resources to make our sport much more packageable. I believe when we can fine tune things and present it as a watchable sport, we will get where we want to go. Your WSOP example is great. In reality, that event is a marathon. Nobody could possibly watch every hand on every table. Through creative post production and editing, a week of slow, relatively boring poker is widdled down to an incredibly fast paced, easy to watch series of hour long shows.
I believe our World Championship could similarly be produced as a 30 to 60 minute fast paced, quick cut summary with only the highlights with post production commentary added in to make it "feel" live.
We'll get there.
Tim, I agree there needs to be much more follow through after the event is over and everyone goes home. Momentum is important. I know I needed a little break after the event. Now it's time to pick up and make the most of the 2012 WC so the 2013 WC is even better. Mark your calendars now! |
Just a small followup on whats going on with Ustream. I have been in contact with them and they are currently in the process of revamping their promotional offerings. Once they do that we will have a better idea of everything that could possibly be available to us. I also have an open invitation to meet with them on my next visit to the bay area.
Chris Lee
Co-Founder, CEO
Air Hockey Players Association (AHPA)
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| Q
- 15 Aug 2012
Total Posts: 497
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Great work with UStream Chris! Excited to see where this will lead for future broadcasts.
We're limited each week to the amount we can upload but more footage from the Worlds, http://www.vimeo.com/airhockey From Worlds, these will be most of the same matches that Donovan puts up on YouTube with a couple of exceptions.
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| carolina phil
- 15 Aug 2012
Total Posts: 1084
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Great post from Ehab, and replies, to get the creative juices flowing! Throw wild ideas on the table, some of them will be productive. For example, what about a see through table with a camera underneath looking up at the "cards" or pucks darting around the surface? Or, better, what about a small "goal eye" view from a small camera on the goal mouths for that perspective?
I like the post production idea alot. But, also, for the non playing public we could do a live promotional event for U Stream or ESPN where two players play just a two out of three set (three game max) for 1 $1000.00 winner take all. Maybe a four player event with the two finalists facing off for $5000.00 etc.
I think the public would watch one or two quick sudden death games between two greats with excellent commentary explanations. Especially if there were good choreography and a dynamic setting with players in exciting gear!
Phil
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| TheAirHockeyGuy
- 15 Aug 2012
Total Posts: 472
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carolina phil said: Great post from Ehab, and replies, to get the creative juices flowing! Throw wild ideas on the table, some of them will be productive. For example, what about a see through table with a camera underneath looking up at the "cards" or pucks darting around the surface? Or, better, what about a small "goal eye" view from a small camera on the goal mouths for that perspective?
I like the post production idea alot. But, also, for the non playing public we could do a live promotional event for U Stream or ESPN where two players play just a two out of three set (three game max) for 1 $1000.00 winner take all. Maybe a four player event with the two finalists facing off for $5000.00 etc.
I think the public would watch one or two quick sudden death games between two greats with excellent commentary explanations. Especially if there were good choreography and a dynamic setting with players in exciting gear!
Phil |
Just go keep with the comparison with poker, this idea would be very similar to the "heads-up" tournaments done in poker.
Chris Lee
Co-Founder, CEO
Air Hockey Players Association (AHPA)
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| therood
- 15 Aug 2012
Total Posts: 42
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ajflanagan said: Great post Ehab. We are working hard with our limited budget and resources to make our sport much more packageable. I believe when we can fine tune things and present it as a watchable sport, we will get where we want to go. Your WSOP example is great. In reality, that event is a marathon. Nobody could possibly watch every hand on every table. Through creative post production and editing, a week of slow, relatively boring poker is widdled down to an incredibly fast paced, easy to watch series of hour long shows.
I believe our World Championship could similarly be produced as a 30 to 60 minute fast paced, quick cut summary with only the highlights with post production commentary added in to make it "feel" live.
We'll get there.
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IIRC, when ESPN used to carry Billiards, they would only show the Final Four (8?) of a tournament and would sometimes recap the prior goings-on at the head of the show.
I believe professional bowling is the same way and the PBA Tour tournaments actually revolve around "Making the TV rounds." I honestly haven't watched a whole lot of professional bowling, but I do know that it's boomed as a sport in the television era based around a TV-centric tournament format.
I think that incorporating that kind of "broadcast" might be beneficial if there is any intention to package and sell air hockey for mass consumption.
As someone who watched a significant part of the Ustream feed, there was a lot of dead space. Is there any way that perhaps some pre-packaged video can be run in the dead time between games? Maybe someone can film and edit series of short "Air Hockey Primers" that cover things like shot types, rules, and/or some player profiles? Just kickin' rocks here; it's likely that UNAP has already thought of these things.
I'm Eric Rood and, luckily, you're not.
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| fupersly
- 15 Aug 2012
Total Posts: 231
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| therood said: I believe professional bowling is the same way and the PBA Tour tournaments actually revolve around "Making the TV rounds." I honestly haven't watched a whole lot of professional bowling, but I do know that it's boomed as a sport in the television era based around a TV-centric tournament format. |
Just a quick note about this quote - professional Bowling actually went from being massively popular in the late 80s/early 90s, to nearly collapsing under its own weight and disappearing from the TV landscape in the late 90s/early 2000s, to making a huge comeback and being relevant again in the late 2000s/early 2010s. It was quite a roller-coaster ride for the players and the league, but they were able to find success again after almost becoming irrelevant and disappearing for good. Take a look at a documentary called "A League of Ordinary Gentlemen" to catch the whole story - it's really quite fascinating. 
I guess the reason I wanted to point that out is that if we ever do make Air Hockey successful and turn it into something that people will get invested in, we should be incredibly diligent and never rest on our laurels assuming that just because we've made it to the top of the mountain, we never have to worry about losing that status. We obviously have to get there first, but we should look at a sport like Bowling and be keenly aware that it could all be taken away just as quickly as it comes around. Growing the sport and continuing to improve our offering should remain high priorities for a long time to come.
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