I know Adam, and he is a very athletic and skilled individual. It's always fun watching him play, especially watching his backhand talk back to those 2300 players.
I do play; I've played for many years at Vegas at Nationals; Ft. Lauderdale at the Open; Baltimore at the teams; you name it. I've been around the sport for a long time; don't assume you're the only person who plays you ignornant fool.
You want to know why this sport ain't popular. Look at Brian Pace, he's an amazing athlete, but why is he not a truly elite player? Because table tennis does not entail great athleticism, which is why it will never be popular in this country.
I'll have to disagree with you on your athleticism remark. There are so many areas of athleticism you just can't narrow it down to one or two areas. Table tennis is about reaction time, technique and coordination with both the upper and lower body. That sounds like a good area of athleticism. Not to also mention is the mind game you play with your opponent. Personally I feel table tennis isn't popular in America simply because it isn't a contact sport and it's not a team sport.
sorry about my second distasteful post; that was for kian2k8.
About your views on athleticism, I would never argue that table tennis does not require great footwork, quickness, eye-hand coordination, etc. Unfortunately, this is only mandatory at the extraordinarily elite levels (~above 2500). Most players in the US won't ever see action at that level. There are so many players that can get by with much less at very high level (like Gao Jun, Waldner) and any other (continued on next post
world class player that can get by on serve/serve return, ball placement, spin variation, etc. and not move around at all and disarm very good players (around 2500)
Of why table tennis is not popular in the US, it is mainly because people don't see it as a sport. People treat it as a recreation game, which one paper blames it on, is large homes in the US. Also, table tennis requires exceptional knowledge of the game (like baseball) to truly enjoy watching. People (continued on next post)
miss serves all the time at the world class level, and people not into table tennis don't understand why this does happen on a frequent basis. As a result of not needing athleticism at almost all levels of the game, many young players get frustrated when they do drills all day long with loops, counterdrives and blocks just to run into an old senior who use long pips on one side and OX rubber on the other at a tournament. The senior simply uses unconventional tactics (continued one next post)
like flipping the racket, attacking backspin balls with the long pips, etc. to win the game when he doesn't even to have to move around much at all while in other sport you could've given that guy a heart attack by making him cover a much larger court. Only through many years of experience and lost matches will you be able to learn how to plays unconventional rubbers who make up an enormous population at tournaments up to a decently high level. By that time, most juniors would've become too
on the outlook of the sport, I don't think table tennis will ever be popular because of the basement game image it evokes. I've seen a lot of young players walk through clubs wanting to get better after playing it in a basement only to realize it's probably not worth it to invest so much time in it. To make matters even worse, many Asian Americans now turn to badminton which has become a popular new high school sport. I think the only hope right now
I agree with most of the points you brought up. I have to laugh at the old man with long pips analogy because I had that exact situation come up. Whats also funny is that he still moved around a lot, he had that true defender play you rarely see anymore, and from what I was told he used to play professionally for Germany years ago.
Yea to be honest with you all those old guys at those tournaments with unconventional rubbers and styles are the number one fixable barrier to better junior development in the US. Many juniors are sidetracked learning how to play those guys when they really don't need it at the advanced levels. Even worse, athletically talented juniors think pure athleticism isn't rewarded and turn away from the sport. Unfortunately the US never made the jump from the hardbat era to the sponge era.
i am a junior, just started, never played a tourny before but i beat the 1400 player at my club every week, yet sometimes an old basement player will come in and give me a run for my money, I have no idea why, i am great at looping and serving, but it seems almost impossible to play players with unorthodox styles...ive only been playing for 6 months
The reason you lose to such "unorthodox" players is that you have trained against only other juniors have very "conventional" styles. You train only against a very few styles, and you improve against those types of players but at the lower levels there are literally countless different styles, and only with experience will you be able to beat them.
Note "unorthodox" in quotes. This is because what we call "orthodox" nowadays was (continued on next post)
actually the norm a couple decades ago. Back in the 50's 60's and even a little in the 70's, pips rubbers (long, medium, short) and antispin used to be extremely popular and inverted was considered "junk" in the hardbat eras. This was when hitters and choppers dominated. However in the modern (sponge) era, this has changed dramatically due to dominance of the forehand loop. There are many people today (especially old ones) that look to rely on "junk" to survive for a long time.
@stuggie7 That's one of the reasons why ping-pong will never be more popular. There should be a set of rules that everyone should follow, such as standard equipments. The skills should be on the game, not on the rubber. This way, unathletic and not-so-talented players would not win with the help of their equipment.
You're essentially right. Interestingly enough, a Northern California table tennis league actually made a rule that you can only step inside a taped 5' x 5' box right off the table only twice during apoint to experiment with making the game more exciting. This makes more counterlooping points occur though unfortunately that alone can't sustain the sport alone in the states.
I made the comparison to baseball about how you have to understand the game to truly appreciate it. Look at all those Europeans who play baseball; I think only Andrew Jones from the Netherlands is a superstar. Thus, over the years since baseball isn't popular in Europe, they cut it out of the Olympics. Imagine all the Americans who realized they cut out baseball and kept in ping pong. It's amazing people in this country haven't realized table tennis is the world's second most popular sport
golf is poplar and gets lots of media attention because a lot of people who play it have lots of money. This makes promotion of the sport a lot easier and makes it generally more popular since there is m ore exposure to the general public. Pool at least in the US is not that popular.
Oh and by the way, thanks for the profanity all on this page. Oh yeah, why don't you go join Wang Hao and get drunk outside a karaoke bar and withstand arrest or better yet contact Barney for some roids. It's amazing table tennis hasn't got a better rep in recent years. I guess Blackwell is wasting his money investing in the sport thanks to people like you.
why do all the americans suck shit and have low ass rankings in ittf?!?!?! :(((((((( we need better people to represent our country
ipwnu241 1 week ago
Hugh? Did he get his name Americanized?!
dankaren95 10 months ago
Comment removed
dankaren95 10 months ago
Cheng is mostly arms but it works. Saw him beat Waldner in Atlanta in 95.
olaniyi570 11 months ago
I know Adam, and he is a very athletic and skilled individual. It's always fun watching him play, especially watching his backhand talk back to those 2300 players.
BLUeCLimbers 3 years ago
i can see why this sport ain't popular in the States
stuggie7 3 years ago
fuck you u try to play...faggot
kian2k8 3 years ago
I do play; I've played for many years at Vegas at Nationals; Ft. Lauderdale at the Open; Baltimore at the teams; you name it. I've been around the sport for a long time; don't assume you're the only person who plays you ignornant fool.
You want to know why this sport ain't popular. Look at Brian Pace, he's an amazing athlete, but why is he not a truly elite player? Because table tennis does not entail great athleticism, which is why it will never be popular in this country.
stuggie7 3 years ago
I'll have to disagree with you on your athleticism remark. There are so many areas of athleticism you just can't narrow it down to one or two areas. Table tennis is about reaction time, technique and coordination with both the upper and lower body. That sounds like a good area of athleticism. Not to also mention is the mind game you play with your opponent. Personally I feel table tennis isn't popular in America simply because it isn't a contact sport and it's not a team sport.
siegler1 3 years ago
sorry about my second distasteful post; that was for kian2k8.
About your views on athleticism, I would never argue that table tennis does not require great footwork, quickness, eye-hand coordination, etc. Unfortunately, this is only mandatory at the extraordinarily elite levels (~above 2500). Most players in the US won't ever see action at that level. There are so many players that can get by with much less at very high level (like Gao Jun, Waldner) and any other (continued on next post
stuggie7 3 years ago
world class player that can get by on serve/serve return, ball placement, spin variation, etc. and not move around at all and disarm very good players (around 2500)
Of why table tennis is not popular in the US, it is mainly because people don't see it as a sport. People treat it as a recreation game, which one paper blames it on, is large homes in the US. Also, table tennis requires exceptional knowledge of the game (like baseball) to truly enjoy watching. People (continued on next post)
stuggie7 3 years ago
miss serves all the time at the world class level, and people not into table tennis don't understand why this does happen on a frequent basis. As a result of not needing athleticism at almost all levels of the game, many young players get frustrated when they do drills all day long with loops, counterdrives and blocks just to run into an old senior who use long pips on one side and OX rubber on the other at a tournament. The senior simply uses unconventional tactics (continued one next post)
stuggie7 3 years ago
like flipping the racket, attacking backspin balls with the long pips, etc. to win the game when he doesn't even to have to move around much at all while in other sport you could've given that guy a heart attack by making him cover a much larger court. Only through many years of experience and lost matches will you be able to learn how to plays unconventional rubbers who make up an enormous population at tournaments up to a decently high level. By that time, most juniors would've become too
stuggie7 3 years ago
frustrated to continue on developing.
on the outlook of the sport, I don't think table tennis will ever be popular because of the basement game image it evokes. I've seen a lot of young players walk through clubs wanting to get better after playing it in a basement only to realize it's probably not worth it to invest so much time in it. To make matters even worse, many Asian Americans now turn to badminton which has become a popular new high school sport. I think the only hope right now
stuggie7 3 years ago
is Ariel Hsing. She is the last hope to catalyze an interest in the sport in the US.
stuggie7 3 years ago
I agree with most of the points you brought up. I have to laugh at the old man with long pips analogy because I had that exact situation come up. Whats also funny is that he still moved around a lot, he had that true defender play you rarely see anymore, and from what I was told he used to play professionally for Germany years ago.
siegler1 3 years ago
Yea to be honest with you all those old guys at those tournaments with unconventional rubbers and styles are the number one fixable barrier to better junior development in the US. Many juniors are sidetracked learning how to play those guys when they really don't need it at the advanced levels. Even worse, athletically talented juniors think pure athleticism isn't rewarded and turn away from the sport. Unfortunately the US never made the jump from the hardbat era to the sponge era.
stuggie7 3 years ago
i am a junior, just started, never played a tourny before but i beat the 1400 player at my club every week, yet sometimes an old basement player will come in and give me a run for my money, I have no idea why, i am great at looping and serving, but it seems almost impossible to play players with unorthodox styles...ive only been playing for 6 months
slu27 2 years ago
The reason you lose to such "unorthodox" players is that you have trained against only other juniors have very "conventional" styles. You train only against a very few styles, and you improve against those types of players but at the lower levels there are literally countless different styles, and only with experience will you be able to beat them.
Note "unorthodox" in quotes. This is because what we call "orthodox" nowadays was (continued on next post)
stuggie7 2 years ago
actually the norm a couple decades ago. Back in the 50's 60's and even a little in the 70's, pips rubbers (long, medium, short) and antispin used to be extremely popular and inverted was considered "junk" in the hardbat eras. This was when hitters and choppers dominated. However in the modern (sponge) era, this has changed dramatically due to dominance of the forehand loop. There are many people today (especially old ones) that look to rely on "junk" to survive for a long time.
stuggie7 2 years ago
@stuggie7 That's one of the reasons why ping-pong will never be more popular. There should be a set of rules that everyone should follow, such as standard equipments. The skills should be on the game, not on the rubber. This way, unathletic and not-so-talented players would not win with the help of their equipment.
dankaren95 10 months ago
@dankaren95 you still need to to know how to use the equipment to develop things like spin which takes a lot of practice
dragondude2256 1 month ago
table tennis is doomed to no interest in the US until the game is more interesting than 3rd ball kills and "unforced" errors.
albchu 3 years ago
You're essentially right. Interestingly enough, a Northern California table tennis league actually made a rule that you can only step inside a taped 5' x 5' box right off the table only twice during apoint to experiment with making the game more exciting. This makes more counterlooping points occur though unfortunately that alone can't sustain the sport alone in the states.
stuggie7 3 years ago
I made the comparison to baseball about how you have to understand the game to truly appreciate it. Look at all those Europeans who play baseball; I think only Andrew Jones from the Netherlands is a superstar. Thus, over the years since baseball isn't popular in Europe, they cut it out of the Olympics. Imagine all the Americans who realized they cut out baseball and kept in ping pong. It's amazing people in this country haven't realized table tennis is the world's second most popular sport
stuggie7 3 years ago
athleticism hasn't nothing to do with popularity. Look at pool, golf..
solidysnake1 2 years ago
golf is poplar and gets lots of media attention because a lot of people who play it have lots of money. This makes promotion of the sport a lot easier and makes it generally more popular since there is m ore exposure to the general public. Pool at least in the US is not that popular.
stuggie7 2 years ago
Oh and by the way, thanks for the profanity all on this page. Oh yeah, why don't you go join Wang Hao and get drunk outside a karaoke bar and withstand arrest or better yet contact Barney for some roids. It's amazing table tennis hasn't got a better rep in recent years. I guess Blackwell is wasting his money investing in the sport thanks to people like you.
stuggie7 3 years ago
how boring...
KillerSpiin1120 3 years ago