[sceptic]

I read as thread with Interest and think what is lacking is over the Top Characters that appeal to the masses.

can you come up with role models to popularise the game for the younger generation


bridge is cool sucks and is only something an old fart would think appeals to youngsters

so here a a few for starters, please add your own ideas for consideration

1/. Roland the Destroyer ( Stout fellow with beard, horned cap and bloodaxe)

2/. Zia Kubla Khan (a mass murderer and pillager of countries)

3/. Fred the mad proffesor (ability to take over the Internet and cause world wide havoc)

[the saint]

You have one thing right Wayne.

'Bridge is cool' does suck. To be cool, the one thing you mustn't try to be is cool. Bridge is cooler when is does its own thing and doesn't try to be something its not. I found that the coolest thing I had done that impressed the kids was the fact that I had played for England U25. Representing your country and going abroad to do it is totally cool. That is always one carrot I dangle in front of them - if you are good enough and work hard enough, you can do it too. The opportunities in Bridge are greater because the number of juniors compared to most sports are much fewer.

I still think Bridge could learn something from Poker when it comes to promoting itself. We all know that Bridge players would be far better at that than Poker players would be at ours - we have all the bluff, table presence and more besides (lets face it, you would back Zia against every single one of them!!)

I'm not saying that every player should have a nickname or a silly angle, but there are charismatic people out there who are ideal to promote the game. Likewise the fact that some people are uncharismatic (to a wider audience, obviously not necessarily in private) is also a selling point - take Steve Davis in Snooker in the 80s.

I suspect that big money prizes on TV is the way to do it. The only event I can think that fits the bill is the Cavendish. That has big names and big money.

Within each association and country (and I will use England as an example as it is what I know), I would like to see the technical side of the game promoted. IMO a lot of the bridge press over here is drastically dumbed down and this has an ENORMOUS effect on the club bridge masses who are now trained to play bridge purely as a social vehicle. That is all well and good at one level, but it doesn't stimulate the level of competition required to improve the overall standard in this country. As a comparison, chess players are so much into their technique, theory and analysis. I want to see more emphasis on that within bridge. That won't attract the cool crowd, but it will attract the mind games crowd.

As you might imagine, I have a lot of ideas and a lot more to say on this subject. It comes from loving the game too much I suppose...

Alan

[AceOfHeart]

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