A personal invitation from Robert Blackwell - Event Date: 12/27/2009

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   I hesitate to throw myself into the fray because I think arguing the popularity of TT in the U.S. versus other countries is futile.
However, one thing I will say that I think is "wrong" with some of the approaches to "popularizing" the sport is that many people don't want to take the sport as it is. That is, instead of accepting the sport as it is and then getting to know more about it, they want to change it to make it more accessible to them. 

@icontek: I very much respect pretty much everything you have to say, in every thread in which I've encountered you. That is, I value your opinion even when I disagree with it. So please don't view what I'm about to say as being in the unecessarily taunting tone that takaaki has taken. 

However, I've witnessed you critique the "third ball attack" strategy many times, saying that for most spectators, including yourself, it is boring. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, of course, but I feel such a perspective is a limitation. It's simply a fact that third ball attacks are a vital part of the game--boring or not. Personally, I love them... applying them or watching someone else. Ma Lin, the master of the third ball, is one of my favorite players to watch, even though I don't play c-pen anymore. That guy is just evil! 

I've played many sports throughout my life, and I cannot imagine a slower, more boring game than baseball. Yet, it is considered the A #1 American sport. I don't think it's the third ball attacks, or the frequent stops and starts of modern table tennis that are holding it back (in general). Personally, I think it's a result of two things: 1) Table tennis is a game that doesn't translate to TV very well. 2) It's a difficult sport to understand unless you play it.

I watched the same thing happen to the UFC. People would "Booo" every time the fights would go to the ground, but of course that's where the most technical aspects of the fight take place. It wasn't until the general audience came to understand the intricacies of grappling that they fully accepted the UFC and it has now taken off. 

The point is, people don't understand the complexities of table tennis, and they can't be understood by watching it on TV. If more people play it, then more people will watch it. 

But like I said, this is just speculation. It's futile to think we can put our finger on precisely what's "wrong" or how to "fix" it. Also, like I said, I hope we never do. I don't want to see table tennis popularized.

My > two cents. 