Kerry Liles just sent me this article:
ESPN to televise Rock Paper Scissors
Michael Hiestand
USA Today
Jul. 6, 2007 11:59 AM
Not so long ago, ESPN could startle viewers with hot dog gorgers, dogs jumping off docks and extreme TV close-ups of poker hands.
That seems so 20th-century. So ESPN will push the edge of the envelope in prime time Saturday with its debut coverage of the USA Rock Paper Scissors Championship.
Trey Wingo, who hosted coverage taped in May in Las Vegas, says the “unbelievable spectacle” went far beyond the technical aspects of the sport — in which rock crushes scissors, scissors cuts paper and paper covers rock. Some competitors wore “throwing gloves.”
Wingo says he was “shocked” by an event that ran “the gamut of human interactions” even as Vegas sports books took bets on its results and its winner received $50,000.
Here is the full article.
We need to get Paul to negotiate with ESPN on behalf of the USCF to get chess on TV. Has the USCF asked him to do this or are they too proud to ask?
Just leave it to Sam Sloan, Bill Goichberg, Don Schultz, Joe Lux and Stephen Jones. I’m sure they’ll get chess on TV in 50 years or so. What a bunch of imcomptetent people we have running the USCF and they still don’t want to relinquish their thrones.
It’s unbelievable that this board can’t get chess on TV while R, P & S can.
My wife and I actually saw the very end of this…she couldn’t believe it was real.. she kept saying “this is a budweiser ad” over and over…but it wasn’t.
I can see that there is strategy (trying to “read” your opponent), but I mean come on…this is rock paper scissors!
–Mike S
I hope paul will be elected because I don’t see anyone else who can bring chess to the next level of prominence.
The USCF needs to improve in the area of marketing and promotion. I also agree that Paul is the one who has the most experience and success.
I’m not sure that Paul can get anything done with Goichberg trying to block everything unless it benefits the CCA. Goichberg signed up his events to be associated with the ACP while he neglected all other USCF events. Isn’t clear to everyone by now about his agenda? He’s not going to let anything happen unless he can make money from it.
I seems to me that Rock-Paper-Scissors scores much higher than chess on shock value and humor, and that’s how it manages to get screen time. These things will wear off.
This election is getting critical. If there is anyone reading this who has not voted then let me know and I will shoot you with wet noodles if you do not get your votes in on time.
We just have to have all 4 win or not much will be accomplished. Goichberg already has 3 votes tied up and he only needs one more to control all votes.
I had expected a flood of Scholatic interested people to vote. But with the low vote turnout it does not look like they bothered to vote. I hope I am wrong.
I remember back in 1972 when Fischer played we all sat there saying uscf was not trying to get sponsorship. We all expected the uscf to have done plenty since then. but no. 35 years of doing nothing and opposing all good things. Now is our first chance to change things with Susan. I desperately hope people vote immediately for the team.
We need to come up with a good TV format for chess. We need to present the TV people with a solid proposal that will work. We understand chess and have to come up with some ideas.
Don’t discount the fact that we are looking at an entertainment issue not on the relative merits of rock-paper-scissors versus chess as games, intellectual challenges, sports, or any other criteria. It has been shown that if there is money and enough people behaving excitedly, it is possible to gather interest – note that over the weekend we also have the competitive eating showdown at Nathan’s Hotdog – it has evolved into another ‘major’ sport.
Y’all are missing the point. What we really need is to come up with a chess tournament with a $50,000 first prize.