Good points, Avabob.

Walk into any bowling center and observe the reaction of the open play bowlers. The overwhelming majority of them give every appearance that they are having a good time. Contrast that with the reactions of many players bowling in a classic league on bowling night. Many of them look like they are in pain. That's because
scoring well is not the PRIMARY goal of the average open play bowler, but it certainly is with the classic league player. The point being that bowling is easy to learn but it is hard to master (as that old saying goes). All of us who have played  this game at a higher level realize this deep inside. So when WE don't score well (or when our opponent outscores us), there is the human tendency to look outside ourselves for fault. That doesn't make bowlers "bad" people, it is simply the product of human nature.  Most bowlers I know who are leading their (THS) leagues with 235+ averages
show no desire to quit the game unless and until, another teammate ends up the league leader at 238 average. Then the complaints start, about the conditions being too easy.

I treat bowling as a sport. I cannot say that I felt this way the first few times I picked up a house ball as a young lad, but after I caught the (bowling) bug and took it up seriously, that is when it became a sport, and when I joined my first classic league
and donned my King Louie shirt, bowling became a Sport with a capital 'S'.  And so it remains, at least for me, some 55 years later.

The dark cosmic bowling prevents cosmic bowlers from joining a USBC because they can not see the dots to bowl better

The dark cosmic bowling prevents cosmic bowlers from joining a USBC because they can not see the dots to bowl better

Yea, I remember reading somewhere there is a law against that...

If this isn't a true statement, then I don't know what is.  That's where I got the quote I use every now and then:  CBS Sports - In more homes than the internet. 

Agreed Bill. The only problem with Bowling is the bowlers.

As usual pn this site, lots of belly aching and damn few constructive suggestions on how to fix bowling's problems.

"My wife went to the state usbc jamboree last weekend. They had a couple of speakers there from the usbc. The usbc told the people at the jamboree that when they are asked specific questions about sanctioning, awards, etc they are to ask questions back such as how long have you bowled, does your family bowl, etc. Basically not to answer the specific question at all. My wife replied to the usbc speaker no wonder why you have the issues you do because you don't address the questions that people ask."

Typical USBC response....

USBC, they are salesmen, plain and simple. Their job is to sell a product that nobody really needs, but makes people think they want. And, USBC is damned good at it.

aaayyyy, it's only a 25 bucksa, botta boom

^^^^

Doesn't value established rules, averages and league bonding.

Nobody "needs" those things, right?

**On Edit:  I am a USBC critic too!

The rules set forth by ABC / USBC have long been the standard for regulating bowling as a sport. But, any league could establish a set of rules too. As for bonding? I've been in the industry long enough, in the right place(?), to have witnessed, bonding does little or nothing for the league if someone takes off with the money. Averages? With technology today, it would be easy enough to set up a data base.

What USBC has done is, stick their nose where it doesn't belong and that's on the business side of bowling. Who needs them regurgitating what manufacturers can tell us themselves. And, ever noticed how long it takes for USBC to get past the shameless advertising of their product to get to a point?

Here's something that really irks me, certified coaching. It's not so much the learning aspect of becoming a certified coach, USBC turned right around and introduced free instructional dvd's. It stabbed all of those certified coaches squarely in the back. To think, the money that it costs to get certified was at least partially responsible for production of those dvd's.

Don't even get me started on the Learning Center, could go on and on.

Actually, I have been very vocal ever since the advent of short oil and other imposed regulations on the industry.

I can absolutely say, ABC / USBC has done way more harm than good.