November Nine Now Necessary

It was bound to happen sooner or later. Poker’s popularity is plummeting and networks like ESPN are calling in the marketing mavens to raise retreating ratings. These advertising experts have advised ESPN to delay the final table of the WSOP by four months. The fortunate few players who fill the final table have been preemptively labeled the November Nine. Apparently this alluring alliteration is going to return poker’s popularity to levels not seen since Moneymaker made millions.

I suppose it was naive to think that poker would be the only sport to resist the influences of network television and sponsors. It seems that even when the players aren’t actually paid by anyone to play, a sport can still be corrupted by the almighty dollar.

I understand why ESPN wants to delay the WSOP final table, even if I may not like it. The network wants to spend the four months promoting the final table in commercials, in print, and online. They want to make sure that they have the largest audience possible when the final table is filmed in November. But what’s the price of the increased ratings? What’s the price to the integrity of poker?

While ESPN is happily promoting the WSOP final table, what will the players be doing? I’m willing to bet that these nine people will occupy their time in sponsorship negotiations and poker coaching sessions. But is this a bad thing?

In a word: yes and here’s why. For the past thirty-eight years, winning the WSOP has been about bragging rights─ about pride. The people who competed were the best of the best in poker. Money wasn’t the main goal. These players wanted the bracelet. They wanted to be able to say that they were the best in the world. Now, I’m afraid that the goal will be to get to the final nine rather than to win the bracelet.

Think about it. The final nine will have four months of fame; four months to sign sponsorships, four months to shoot commercials, four months to earn lots and lots of money. I’m afraid that’s going to translate into less passion at the final table. They’ve already made their money.

The players this year won’t have to fight the fatigue that comes with playing hours on end day after day. They’ll come to the final table well rested and sporting Ultimate Bet and Full Tilt Poker apparel. And I’m willing to bet that they’ll come to the table to find that all of their opponents’ tells that they painstakingly cataloged, have been washed away by months of intensive poker coaching. The opponents that they face in November will be completely different from the ones they faced four months earlier.

The maleficent marketing mavens have marred the soul of poker in the name of ratings. Whether or not the price poker pays will be worth it will be determined by the size of the popularity pop poker procures come November. Personally I believe that the best way to revive interest in poker in the United States is to lift the online poker ban, but until that happens; we’re stuck with tired and trite tirades from marketing morons.