Seeing ThongPrincess' post on her daughter's Reno experience got me to thinking about my worst tournament experiences.
I'm sure I'll remember others but the one that sticks out right now was the Alabama State Tournament in either 1992 or 1993 in Decatur. For starters, we had a team lined up and had already sent the entry form and fees in. Then a month before our scheduled date, two guys had to drop out. One of them was cool about things; the other basically demanded we refund his entry fee. When I told him I'd refund it if we found a sub beforehand, he threatened to take it out on my car, despite the fact that if you pull out after you've already received confirmation, 99 percent of the time it's on you to find a sub.
We end up finding a couple of subs the week before we're due to go. One guy seems pretty excited about it; the other guy was talked into it by his wife so she could go shopping, so he basically doesn't give a rip. We set a time to leave on a Saturday morning, and end up leaving an hour late because it takes us that long to figure out that one guy went ahead and left the night before.
So we get to the bowling center just in time to check in. A couple of us get a lane for practice and have the chance to throw one game. The shot is beautiful; we're going to rock this joint.
Tournament time, and we get our tournament pair for team event. I had been throwing an old Brunswick Edge in the practice game and scoring. The first practice ball of the tournament, I set the ball down on 5 and it ends up crossing all the way over to the gutter in front of the pin scanner. I change to a Blue Pearl Hammer, set it down on 5 and it crosses all the way over and takes out the 4-7-8.
The first game, I move as deep as I'm comfortable and shoot 198, and most of it is luck -- ball through the face, should leave the big four, end up getting a strike; that kind of thing. I follow that up with 103 and 108 for a nice 509. But that's still +29 on my average at the time.
The rest of my team struggles badly. Three guys are way under, including both subs; one guy is way over. We don't come close to the cash line. We drive back home after the tournament since it's not too far off.
We pick a time to meet at our local bowling center Sunday morning to drive up. One of the two subs doesn't show. An hour later, nothing. He's never been the most reliable guy in the past, but he shot 360 the day before off a 193 average and we're all joking that maybe he just gave up without telling us.
It ends up getting to be deadline time, and we leave. We get to Decatur; the lost sub isn't there. We check in, still nothing. At this point we have a problem. I go to the tournament office, and tell them my story. They find a local guy to bowl. The guy has brought four balls to the bowling center -- one Red Hammer, three Pink Hammers with different drills, which I now know is about as useful as a screen door on a submarine. He signs in with a 203 average, though.
Doubles are first. My partner, off a 148 average, shoots 550. He's the same guy that was way over on day one, so he's in the money for all events with a solid singles. I, on the other hand, fire up a nice 398 off a 160 average. So we're toast. Neither of our other doubles groups does anything.
Singles are next. I shot another high three. My doubles partner shoots right at 500 and ends up collecting a check for about $70 in all events. Shopping Gal's Husband ends up throwing 750 or something stupid like that off a 160 average, so he cashes. Three Pink Hammers fires back-to-back 450s.
So we're headed home, me and my doubles partner, and the transmission in my car seizes in second gear about 20 miles from home. Not only did I completely pull a zilch at the tournament, I ended up out about $600 in car repairs. Nice.
Jess
