olaniyi570

How do you fight the negative stigma that table tennis is suffering from in
this country. Most people still think of it as Ping Pong played with Sand
paper paddles. I played at a rec center the other day and people were blown
away when I showed them my racket and a paddle palace catalog. "You mean you
can buy the rubber and wood seperately?!?" some guy in his 20's asked me. I
guess education is the answer. Somehow we need to reach the masses.
-T

berndt mann

It's not as though the masses are waiting on bended knee to be
prosyletized. Even if you could go door to door Jehovah's Witnesses
style asking "are you ready to accept Joola Air RosNet as your personal
rubber and the step-around from the backhand corner forehand rip off a
third ball as your personal savior?" the masses are not likely to give
you much more than a befuddled "say what?" before they slam a
not-interested door in your face.

I think we've got it arse-inverse. It's the masses who need to reach
us. They, the dears, are still playing 21-point who knows how big the
ball is ping-pong with ping-pong paddles that don't explode like an RPG
in your face or cost an arm and a leg and God knows what other
extremity or offer more escape from dat ole debbil spin than Houdini
himself could ever have houdone.

Education is indeed the answer. It is, however, the ITTF, its member
nations, its elite players, and its organized competitors the world
round who need to be educated. They don't play ping-pong anymore;
for all practical purposes they're pong-illiterate.

Kapitan Kangaroo

ward

Bumper stickers from USATT:

TABLE TENNIS IS A REAL, SWEATY,
AND DIFFICULT SPORT

Actually that's sort of a joke.

What you really need is glamor, for which I can think of four common
sources in America: money, violence (or confrontational posturing),
intoxication, or ***.

greenapples2many

Thnx 4 your insights Kapitan,

In my lazy-ass life, I have had a chance to think about things a little

more........Competition style games arent for everybody here in the USA.

..i MEAN 1 ON 1 GAMES...I think EGO has alot to do with the whole

"T.T EVANGELIZATION THING"......It requires a certain attitude and

personna to involve oneself in the bare-ass-showing of ones genitals

in public....and to be beaten to a pulp while in the "woodstocks",

in front of everybody !!! I admore the guys and girls who can go week

after week, day after day, and put their EGOS's on the line !!!

How can T.T. be PROMOTED ?? WOW...the question of the Sages..

Let's think about this??....I keep getting IM's !! can't concentrate!

hmmm...it would HAVE TO BE some kind of "event" that would attract ALL KINDS

of levels of players...it's a tricky one, i tell ya...can't be too "cutesy",

who wants to be all fuzzy with fun and happiness?..cash prizes right down

to the last entrant?? A few sponsors, or a bunch of sponsors that could kick

in enough to pay out?? Some kind of 8 or 12 or 16 week league?? Man!, what a

special group of people the table tennis player is!! We have traveled 100's

to 1,000's of miles to play in a t.t. tourney with no payback other than


fitness and a good time..(whats wrong with that!) (pardon my schizo side)

So many colorful players..I remember Ray Guillan in California wearing a

mink coat...maybe it was at nat'l Teams??...or nationals?? I forget...

I don't know, and i don't know what to say....gotta go............

greenapples2many

uh huh.......

i think *** could be the kicker. So many sports have their

"beauties"..years ago USTTA had photos of USTTA's "beauties"..

Olga Soltez, Angie Rosal, ummm yes, Judi Bochenski....maybe

another?? I forget..maybe that "Friends" episode inspired

some people..........

musashi

So many other countries seem to have thriving leagues without 21
points, 38 calibers and no-sponge pips.

Based on the "American Way" it would seem that showing people how
fast, spinny and athletic the sport has become would sell more.

The stigma is overcome when ba*****t pongers see glock pong, but not
if they watched a hartbat match.

Musashi

PS I played a couple matches with my Hock 3-ply just yesterday.

rjw

But I've always thought there is a positive element to the negative stigma,
and fewer serious players. If someone wanted to become the best player in
their school or college in other more popular sports it is not easy to do.
Practicing a year in basketball, football , baseball etc, won't get it done
because so many people play those sports- there will always be others who
are more athletic, bigger taller, etc, and play alot. Table Tennis is
different. Practice at a good club for a year, and you very will could be
the best player in your school or even a college. That wouldn't mean
much if it were a game no one ever heard of, but everyone's heard of it.
Everyone's played it. Yet you can excell. ( Excelling at a club or
tournament is another matter though.)
I'm not saying I don't want to see the sport grow. Just pointing out
one benefit.
RJ

i taeb

Dear Aryan friends,

If you see a fellow Aryan using rubbers other than reglued inverted you have
the heavenly obligation to cure that person of that disease. Gently remind
him / her of the fact that only impure people (such as Jews, Africans &
Asians) use impure equipment (such as pips / anti). Make them understand
that a decent Aryan would never use anything other than inverted with
heavenly potions of speed glue. If this does not work drastic steps may be
needed such as taking a good sniffing of speed glue every night with your
head well covered (similar to taking Vicks evaporation under covers). It is
especially important that you treat children early this way. Believe me,
because as you know I was given this high job by Dr.JAS since I am a
children's doctor.