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Interesting discussion.
Here's my not-fully-developed thoughts...
I think we need to accept that table tennis is never going to be a big stadium spectator sport, like football, rugby, basketball, baseball. Does this matter? Not really. There is a beautiful simplicity to football (soccer). Kick the ball in the goal. Anyone can understand this and get wrapped up in the excitement. The complexity of the use of spin in table tennis will never be fully understood or appreciated by a non-player table tennis. This is party why it will never have the mass appeal of other easier-to-follow sports. We will never be able to fill stadiums on a regular basis to watch table tennis.
Should we dumb the sport down, to make it easier to follow, in the hope we can fill stadiums?
No.
Why?
Because the nature of watching sports is changing and will continue to change with ever-improving video / streaming technology.
Filling a stadium is not the only way to popularise a sport. Table tennis is perfect for the internet streaming age. Table tennis has a huge global following. We may not want to sit for hours in a stadium watching matches, but we do love to follow action online.
I think it absolutely fine to have small, intimate venues, which can still generate a good atmosphere, but really invest in the quality of video coverage. With good quality video, streaming and commentary, table tennis can still reach a mass global audience, attract sponsorship and popularise the sport.
So no need for rule changes to make the sport more 'appealing' to non-players. The focus should be on improving the quality of coverage of existing tournaments and making it accessible to the millions of existing table tennis players and fans.
Here's my not-fully-developed thoughts...
I think we need to accept that table tennis is never going to be a big stadium spectator sport, like football, rugby, basketball, baseball. Does this matter? Not really. There is a beautiful simplicity to football (soccer). Kick the ball in the goal. Anyone can understand this and get wrapped up in the excitement. The complexity of the use of spin in table tennis will never be fully understood or appreciated by a non-player table tennis. This is party why it will never have the mass appeal of other easier-to-follow sports. We will never be able to fill stadiums on a regular basis to watch table tennis.
Should we dumb the sport down, to make it easier to follow, in the hope we can fill stadiums?
No.
Why?
Because the nature of watching sports is changing and will continue to change with ever-improving video / streaming technology.
Filling a stadium is not the only way to popularise a sport. Table tennis is perfect for the internet streaming age. Table tennis has a huge global following. We may not want to sit for hours in a stadium watching matches, but we do love to follow action online.
I think it absolutely fine to have small, intimate venues, which can still generate a good atmosphere, but really invest in the quality of video coverage. With good quality video, streaming and commentary, table tennis can still reach a mass global audience, attract sponsorship and popularise the sport.
So no need for rule changes to make the sport more 'appealing' to non-players. The focus should be on improving the quality of coverage of existing tournaments and making it accessible to the millions of existing table tennis players and fans.