THE BIG NASTY

Bowling is rounding its way into a nationally accepted sport. It carved out one and-a-half hours from ESPN today on NFL Sunday. After two disappointing semi-finals where most people would wonder why these people are professional atheletes when they can't even beat a 200 game on national television even though these guys chuck around 90 games a week and average anywhere from 200-240 on certain lane conditions..

244-228 was the score of the final. Tom Smallwood and his freak-looking release somehow drove through the barrage of Malott (Who is probably the most dominant bowler alive, or at least my favorite) to pull out the upset. Smallwood was laid off from his auto-working job last year, and decided to pursue pro bowling. Amazingly, his wife did not leave him and he qualified for the world championships and WON them as his first ever title.

Now...these are the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS of the sport. Much like golf, he received a 2-year tour exemption (job security) and only $50k. Now is when it becomes clear that bowling is nowhere near basketball, football, baseball, or even golf on the popularity scale. AT ALL. The last pick of the NBA draft makes more in a year than most pro bowlers.

People heckle the sport, because everyone bowls but nobody realizes it as a sport. They say it isn't physical enough or that there isn't any skill involved because it's simply repetition.

Wrong
Wrong
Wrong

Try throwing a 16 pound ball at 18 mph over one thousand times in a week just to qualify for the two games seen on television Sunday. Then it's just a simple matter of hitting the exact same place on the lane for two more games, while moving where you put the ball a couple times and trusting your practice that you won't miss the pocket and ruin your payday.

That qualifies to me as a professional sport. Which makes me question why the college and high-school game is nowhere near as prevalent. I've bowled for ten years now, and even though I've been on the varsity bowling team for 3 years I have to admit that I had no idea there was a team at my school. And as much as I love bowling , it has its disappointments.

I don't think that someone who doesn't have a personal tie to someone on the team (family, ex-team members, college scouts [eventually]) has ever been to a match. And for the most part I understand, because bowling isn't competitive enough. I do my  best to yell, scream, and freak out when I'm down there and get the team into it, but other than maybe one or two elite state programs nobody else does that.
(But we do, so come watch)
And if I didn't bowl I don't know if I'd go either. Maybe once, out of curiosity to see what the difference between me cosmic bowling and bowling for competition. Because fans go a long way towards team success.

It also takes personalities. People like The Big Nasty who have a crazy nickname and win almost everything they go in. In other words, it takes a Tiger or two (and no prostitutes) to elevate an individual sport. I want to see a Lebron and Kobe (and no, not Lebron and Kobe bowling each other for charity) going at it at least once a month on the telly.


So here's my three survival tips to the sport of bowling

1. Get rid of the non-athlete "nerd" stigma around the sport.
2. Once the feeder programs to the PBA become more prominent, have a draft and switch everything to a team format.
3. Start putting it on television more. Get weird time slots, whatever. Just have it on a couple times a week, so people can even have a chance to become watchers.
4. Get more 2-handers
5. Get less start that look like child molesters. (sorry Scroggy)

Link to NDCL high school bowling website. The Site is horrible right now but hopefully whoever runs it gets it together soon.
http://www.lgchighschoolbowling.com/High_School_Bowling/Home.html