If table tennis was suddenly as popular as tennis, that would be a great thing.

I pose an alternate view about the popularity of our sport. Would it really be of benefit to us as players if the sport became as big as soccer for example? If big money and corporates took over the game like they do other sports and the common man is left out in the cold for much of it....would that really be a benefit to the current grassroots player in the sport (and I'm hypothesising about grassroots players being pushed aside by these big money people in preference to the players THEY consider should play the game. This would include BIG MONEY directing the ITTF and Affiliates to run TT centres THEIR way). I'm not so sure that would be great for the sport.

I pose an alternate view about the popularity of our sport. Would it really be of benefit to us as players if the sport became as big as soccer for example? If big money and corporates took over the game like they do other sports and the common man is left out in the cold for much of it....would that really be a benefit to the current grassroots player in the sport (and I'm hypothesising about grassroots players being pushed aside by these big money people in preference to the players THEY consider should play the game. This would include BIG MONEY directing the ITTF and Affiliates to run TT centres THEIR way). I'm not so sure that would be great for the sport.

I think it's hard since the sport is to boring to watch for an not interested TT player. To much dead time during the points.

I think it's hard since the sport is to boring to watch for an not interested TT player. To much dead time during the points.

I find it funny that some people like Larry Hodges think it's not important to get table tennis in schools in the U.S. (leagues simply aren't working after all these years in L.A...too expensive and time consuming for most people due to constant traveling). From my experience in badminton, exposure to the youth in schools IT'S ALL THAT MATTERS. The same with tennis. Without formal acceptance by high schools and colleges table tennis will forever remain as a fringe recreational sport in the U.S.

If table tennis was suddenly as popular as tennis, that would be a great thing.

I just ran across this. This is NOT what I argue. What I've argued is that schools aren't the first step. The first step is to popularize the sport on our own by developing regional leagues and junior programs (like other sports do and how they do it for table tennis overseas) rather than hoping schools in the U.S. will suddenly get interested in a small sport like us out of the blue. They are only interested in us if we send volunteers for free, and we have no way of doing that except in a few isolated cases. When we grow the sport, that's when the people who run schools will notice us and be interested, and that's when we take that step and spread through schools. I'm not going to get into a debate here about how to popularize the sport U.S. other than to say it's been done all over the world and in other sports in the U.S., and we're not magically different here in the U.S.; we just haven't been going about it the right way. I've blogged about this many times. This might even be a blog topic for tomorrow (or rather, this morning).

USATT has tried going to schools repeatedly over the years, and it never works since we haven't done the groundwork first, i.e. developing the sport to the point that the schools see us as having potential instead of being a charity case. I wish there were an easier way, where we could just snap our fingers and schools would spread table tennis everywhere and we'd have millions of active, serious players, but it doesn't work that way. We have to create a foundation first, and then schools can take us to the next level.
-Larry Hodges

Blondie said
If this is the case then why isn't this "dead time" used in telecasts (or professionally edited videos) for slow motion replays and explanation of what has just occurred to the layman? I assume lack of money will be the explanation.

I think all sport can be boring to watch, just ask most women. An interest in any sport is a multi-faceted endeavour: early habits, participation (or some level of vested interested) and presentation. Regarding the latter, much of this is up to the organising bodies such as your local TT organisation or the ITTF. Popularity - mainstream appeal - of sport has a lot to do with money and the media bodies motivated by this. Sponsorship is one of the main sources of money outside of the sporting bodies.

Table tennis can be made more popular if compared to the trajectory of popularity in most other sports.

USATT has tried going to schools repeatedly over the years, and it never works since we haven't done the groundwork first, i.e. developing the sport to the point that the schools see us as having potential instead of being a charity case.

Thats very true.