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I am constantly amazed how bowlers with ~10 years experience talk about the 70's as if they experienced it and how they know the industry. How come, when bowlers who have 30-40+ years experience speak out very few with less experience give them the benifit of doubt?

The bottom line is that we (the bowling community) should seak out all the knowledge and experience that we can to fix bowling to restore and guarnetee it's survial. And the vast majority of that experience comes from those who have been around the longest. Brian Voss has commited himself to doing what he can which includes teaching the bowling community. Sometimes listening and trying to understand is harder than expressing points of view with less experince. While I may not agree with all of which Brian may be saying, at least he is saying and doing something over than just talking words.

Finally, if you think Brian Voss is a lone voice in the wind, look at the foundation 300 organization (who has been proclaiming similar points of view for decades and doing thins differently) and listen to the phantomradioshow which has had 100's of guests over the years that are saying the same things. We all should do more listening and learning.

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I've listened to Voss's arguments. Chris Barnes took a 180-degree-opposite viewpoint on PBA.com's forums last year; why is Voss right and Barnes wrong?

Oh, that's right -- Barnes has a ball company endorsement contract. Well, Voss's mug is all over the Kegel site promoting the WTBA and standard ball argument.

My point is, I've listened to Voss. I gave him my open mind and ear, disagreed with his conclusions (I've carried a ABC/USBC card for nearly 20 years now -- is that enough time for me to be able to speak?) and got blasted for it on pba.com. I see part of that in your post too -- "We should do more listening and learning."

That's elitism (no pun intended towards the guy who gets paid by Elite) and I saw enough of it on pba.com to last me the rest of my life without getting the similar notion here.

To put it bluntly, I think Voss is full of s**t.

I think what's happened here is a combination of changing social factors in the United States, changing economic factors at the bowling center level, changing demographics in the makeup of the American blue-collar workforce and thusly the makeup of the potential bowler pool, changing attitudes in the amount of time one wants to devote to any recreational activity whether it's bowling or not (the "36-week phenomenon"), and vastly increased competition in the number of recreational activities that compete for people's dollars.

When you mix those ingredients up, you get a pretty strong cup of soup. But some bowling officials and bowlers like Voss think it's something internal in the bowling clock that's broken and they can fix it.

And, as I've said before, I think a little of it is jealousy and hurt pride.

As far as being "laughed at" if you shoot 300, here's my advice: Nut up. We've got such an inferiority complex to our sport where we look to outside sponsors, or the opinions of others for validation of our accomplishments. I don't give a tinker's damn whether some schmuck laughs at an honor score. People laugh at Mike Tyson today but I bet you they won't volunteer to go three rounds with him.

The standard ball is a perfect example of someone trying to force something onto me for my own good. Until you can point a direct correlation between the ball and bowling's troubles, it's just a bunch of hot air. I'm glad you know five guys who've quit because of the scoring pace; I know a whole league of 180 bowlers who got wiped out because the local tire plant dropped its entire third shift. I guarantee you that's had infinitely more to do with bowling's downturn than the ball.

And as for who's saying it -- Brian Voss, me, you or the janitor -- a good football player won't automatically become a good football coach. When it turns to words instead of athletic skill, there are many more variables that go into the equation.

Jess

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