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Author Topic: and you wonder why bowling is in trouble....  (Read 7671 times)

FBM357

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and you wonder why bowling is in trouble....
« on: March 12, 2007, 03:24:59 AM »
So very depressing...  I'm sure this topic has been beaten silly, but it hits when you actually become a witness to the sadness.

In a league, many of the bowlers were complaining the shot was too easy.  Many were tired of bowling 250+ and not winning any money (i.e. pots, brackets etc.)  So, the owner changed the oil pattern to something quite challenging.  Now that the shot has changed, many are still complaining that it's too difficult and have already threatened to quit.  With that in mind, the owner will more than likely dissolve the league at the end of the season and fill the spot with OPEN BOWLING.

I already know of another center who after this season will close leagues on Friday and Saturdays because it generates more money from open bowling, parties etc.

How can this (if any way possible) be corrected?  sure you introduce PBA Experience leagues, but the average 'house-hacks' aren't interested in participating.  With this in mind, how can a 'house-hack' justify his discontent with tougher/challenging conditions, yet spend his money participating in a tournament (i.e. Nationals, Hoinke, etc.) where not only the shot, but the competition can be just as challenging?  Logic seems a bit fuzzy.

What sayeth you?
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Necromancer

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Re: and you wonder why bowling is in trouble....
« Reply #16 on: March 12, 2007, 01:22:31 PM »
quote:
quote:
I dominate the house shot but I shot 117 on the Shark last night.  


What is cool about that is it will make the good games even more of an accomplishment.
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Thunderstruck $olid.


Yeah, if I ever do bowl a 200 on a PBA shot, I will feel like I just bowled 300.  And I'm not alone.  I was seeing several 220 average bowlers bowl 160-170 last night.  And my bad, I meant Viper.  Shark is supposedly even harder.  My goal in bowling now is to bowl a 200 game on a PBA or regional pattern.  Then I will celebrate.
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Sawuser

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Re: and you wonder why bowling is in trouble....
« Reply #17 on: March 12, 2007, 02:38:06 PM »
Well, a house switching from an easy shot to a tough shot is always going to draw a lot of whining & complaining. Everyones ego is at stake when you do that. If you think you are better than you really are, then find out the truth.....well! I think there should be some sort of down the middle standard set, but I realize that is difficult to control in bowling. Maybe someday something will be figured out to standardize sanctioned shots from house to house, but I'm sure it won't be in my day.
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Raven829

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Re: and you wonder why bowling is in trouble....
« Reply #18 on: March 12, 2007, 02:48:17 PM »
The only reason those bowlers are complaining is because they aren't winning money no matter what the shot is.  If it's a cake shot, of course you're probably going to lose when shooting big numbers on occasion, because someone will always shoot bigger.  On the tougher shot, those same bowlers can't put up crooked numbers and thus complain about losing money.  In other words, you can rarely please a house hack.  Rest assured that there's nothing the manager or lane man can do to please those whiners.  

Don
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"On-base percentage is great if you can score runs and do something with that on-base percentage.  Clogging up the bases isn't that great to me. The problem we have to address more than anything is the home run problem."
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Fluff E Bunnie

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Re: and you wonder why bowling is in trouble....
« Reply #19 on: March 12, 2007, 02:51:48 PM »
quote:
In other words, you can rarely please a house hack.  Rest assured that there's nothing the manager or lane man can do to please those whiners.  


This is true.
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RSalas

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Re: and you wonder why bowling is in trouble....
« Reply #20 on: March 12, 2007, 03:01:33 PM »
quote:
Many were tired of bowling 250+ and not winning any money (i.e. pots, brackets etc.)


I think you hit the nail on the head there.  Out here, people *want* to be able to bowl 250 and above every game, but they don't want their opponents to be able to do the same.  
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...formerly "The Curse of Dusty," and "Poöter Boöf" before that...
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J_L_B

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Re: and you wonder why bowling is in trouble....
« Reply #21 on: March 12, 2007, 04:58:30 PM »
The real reason bowling is in so-called "trouble" is that bowlers in general are mostly complainers and whiners and not do-ers.

No one wants to have to work at anything for it to get better.

Whether it be the House Hack who complains about the shot being too hard.
(Take Lessons and get better)

Or the PBA member who continually complains about getting his a** handed to him by previously stated Hack on a THS. (Suck it up and bowl better)

Or the bowlers who complain there are no PBA Experience or Sport leagues at their local center. (Organize and start your own damn league)

The fact is that bowling isn't in trouble. It's more popular now than ever before. The fact is that league bowling and those who are in charge of league bowling have been slow to change and adapt to bowling's new demographic.

Recreational bowlers are treated like cattle by the proprietors and like a nuisance by the league bowlers. This is where the proverbial ball has been dropped.

Find a way to harness the spending power of the recreational crowd and turn them into either league bowlers or bowlers who bowl more often and you have a powerful tool to expand bowling beyond our wildest dreams.
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Jon Brandon
Columbia Regional Staff 04-07
2003 PBA West Region Rookie of the Year
"You don't score, until you score......"
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demo40

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Re: and you wonder why bowling is in trouble....
« Reply #22 on: March 12, 2007, 05:37:49 PM »
I have a question for all the bowlers
that say a center should put out a PBA
experience shot.  Do you need a new lane
machine to put down that oil pattern?  If
so, some of the older centers are not
going to be buying an expensive new machine
when their old machine works just fine.  I
know that the machine at our house will only
put our four patterns.  Thanks,  Ryan
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agroves

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Re: and you wonder why bowling is in trouble....
« Reply #23 on: March 12, 2007, 05:53:09 PM »
quote:
Or the bowlers who complain there are no PBA Experience or Sport leagues at their local center. (Organize and start your own damn league)


I agreed with most of what you said.  However, the house controls the league schedule.  If they don't want the league, you won't get it.

We are lucky here in Spokane.  Last summer there was a sport league, 12 weeks, 2 patterns.  I didn't get to bowl in it, Uncle Sam decided to needed to see a far away land.  But this summer is looking good, I have already joined the PBA Experience league that starts in May.  

Andrew
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bcw1969

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Re: and you wonder why bowling is in trouble....
« Reply #24 on: March 12, 2007, 06:02:22 PM »
I remember reading just a few years ago, an article in a bowling magazine or online,forget which, and the writer was suggesting taking the conditions of the lanes out of play and having an "oil-less" lane so that then the results would soley rest on the bowlers ability and NOT on the lane conditions. I'd go for that, that would even things out a bit I think.

Brad
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J_L_B

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Re: and you wonder why bowling is in trouble....
« Reply #25 on: March 12, 2007, 06:53:40 PM »
quote:
quote:
The fact is that bowling isn't in trouble. It's more popular now than ever before. The fact is that league bowling and those who are in charge of league bowling have been slow to change and adapt to bowling's new demographic.



???????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Are we talking about the same sport?

Your profile reflects a person well experienced in the sport, but that statement reflects otherwise.  Where are the 5 deep at the control counter during open play times, where are the classic leagues in double shifts on a regular basis?  Where are all the bowling centres that have gone to the wall?  Where is the prizemoney in professional bowling compared to a couple of decades ago or back int he 60's when it compared favourably to golf and tennis?

I really am curious to hear how you believe that bowling isn't in a perilous position, especially compared to 30 years ago.



I should have said it this way...."Bowling, as a recreational activity, is more popular now than ever before."

It's our own fault for letting league bowling fall by the wayside. The fact is that proprietors of bowling centers see no upside to having leagues anymore.

It used to be that leagues were the bread and butter of the bowling center's income. Now leagues have become 36 weeks of complaining and whining by league bowlers who are never happy.

Why would an owner of a bowling center cater to a league bowler base that wants breaks on lineage when the open play and recreational crowd pay a premium price for the same entertainment?

The key to building a new league bowler base is not getting back the old fundamental bowlers who quit, it's figuring out a way to get the new recreational bowler interested in league play. The current long 36 week format of league play is not enticing to a recreational bowler.

I do everything in my power to help the game grow. I run a PBA Experience league, the first one in Southern California, and I educate all recreational bowlers who come to my pro shop about league bowling and bowling in general.

The point is that if we all took the lead and did something, anything, in our local center to help bowling rather than complain about it, the game would grow.



--------------------
Jon Brandon
Columbia Regional Staff 04-07
2003 PBA West Region Rookie of the Year
"You don't score, until you score......"
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outdagutter

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Re: and you wonder why bowling is in trouble....
« Reply #26 on: March 12, 2007, 07:03:55 PM »
I wish they would put a slightly harder pattern in. Not that I'm a 230+ bowler by any stretch, only around 210, I still have difficulty on the easy pattern a lot.
   The fact of the matter is, people are going to complain no matter what, it's just in their nature to do so. Once they get what they complain about, they'll find something else to complain about. Me, I just wanna bowl. Easy condition, tough, pro, it matters less. Just give me an alley to bowl in, I ignore those who don't enjoy it anymore. Yes, I'm competitive, but not to the degree where I cannot enjoy just being there. It's not worth doing any more if you don't love it, and if you're constantly complaining more than you're playing, the love of the sport and the fun in doing it is lost.
   What can be done is getting the younger generation to replace the old. Teach them the love of the sport, we're competitive by nature. Show them where it started and where it is presently, and how they can impact it's future. They are the future of bowling, not the whiners of today. Let them whine, that's how they get their attention.
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"You keep doing what you have to do until you're called to do what it is you were meant to do."

Edited on 3/12/2007 7:19 PM
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shimerisu

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Re: and you wonder why bowling is in trouble....
« Reply #27 on: March 12, 2007, 07:22:50 PM »
Did someone say DejaVu, oh ya Toledo, OH is a great stop. Bowled Postal Federal there last year and DejaVu was a great stop!!!!

I love to bowl on a challenge but the bad thing about that is when I get to an easy house shot and run the first 7-8 strikes I get nervous because 300 doesn't come as easy when I bowl on that challenge shot. Now if I bowled on easy every week i wouldn't get nervous. Hell I bowl where there has only been 9 300's ever and no 800's. I average 211 which is a great average there. Well have fun debating all this.
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Doug Sterner

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Re: and you wonder why bowling is in trouble....
« Reply #28 on: March 12, 2007, 07:29:54 PM »
The answer is quite simple....have the lane man design a condition less challenging than the current one and tougher than the original one.

It's that simple.

You will never make everyone happy but a competent lane man can design and shape a shot so that 90% of the bowlers will be able to get to the pocket, then it's up to them to make the adjustments needed to carry.

--------------------
Doug Sterner
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Owego, NY
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Doug Sterner
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BrianCRX90

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Re: and you wonder why bowling is in trouble....
« Reply #29 on: March 12, 2007, 07:34:34 PM »
quote:
It's simply the sad state of the current bowling world. People want to average 230+, shoot 5-6 honor scores per year and want to demonstrate absolutely zero bowling skill while doing it.

I've only bowled 300, but I've benched 345

http://members.bowl.com/FindAMember/memberView.aspx?mp=519&ms=9130&s=2006-2007



Too bad you can't do any of that
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Eddie M

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Re: and you wonder why bowling is in trouble....
« Reply #30 on: March 12, 2007, 09:24:14 PM »
The only league I bowl right now is a PBA Experience.  Minus 1 really bad week on the Cheetah pattern (that pattern was tough for everyone), I am averaging 195 or so. I would love to see houses abandon the walled up house shots, for tougher shots like you see in the PBA Experience leagues.  Seeing "220 avg bowlers" average 170 brings a smile to my face.  

Some would say that a tougher overall shot will discourage bowlers.  But I think it would bring a certain credibility back to bowling.  Honestly, how many honor score awards does an average league give out in a season now, compared to as little as 10 years ago?  I can remember 10 years ago, my Tuesday night mens league (14 5-man teams = 70 bowlers x 3 games/wk x 32 wks = 6720 games)gave out ONE honor score award.  ONE!  Nowadays, I see people who are disappointed they didn't get a 300 or 800 ring themselves in a season, when 10 yrs ago it was an accomplishment for 1 person in the entire league to get one.

Bring back the 'Honor' in Honor score.  Maybe league dues would go back down a little, if the USBC didn't have to dole out 1000000000 honor score awards every year.
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Right Handed
Motiv Venom Shock, Motiv Freestyle, Storm Mix
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Left Handed
Storm Street Fight, Storm Mix
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