The article makes a sound argument, but the reality is that bowlers will stop bowling in leagues if there is no handicap. A growing number of league bowlers are comprised of recreational bowlers who want a night out with their friends. They are perfectly content bowling 150's if it means they can socialize with others. They get a few hours out, take their 90% (sometimes even 100%) handicap, and hope to win some points over the course of 33 weeks and get some money at the end. They don't want to grow better as bowlers, they simply want to have a chance to win at their level and have fun.
Tell a team of 150 average bowlers they have to bowl a team of 200 average bowlers without handicap, and they will be miserable. With the USBC eliminating awards, it just adds to the frustration for them. They get no handicap, they get no awards for their accomplishments, they most likely win very few games. They essentially pay $15/week to hang with their friends, spend another $20-$30 at the bar, and win nothing but 3 hours with their buddies.
Mike Fagan seems to forget that eliminating handicap will cause hundreds of thousands of weekly recreational league bowlers to stop bowling. The only people left league bowling would be the higher level competitive bowlers who don't want/need handicap. Leagues would fold, bowling centers would hurt even more.
This is why there are both types of leagues. People who want to win once in a while, but still have fun, bowl in handicap leagues. Competitive bowlers who want the pure thrill of competition (and the typically higher prize funds that go along with it) bowl in scratch leagues. If high level players don't like giving handicap they should stay away from handicap leagues and stick to scratch leagues and tournaments.
I am a 200 average bowler, and I have bowled both handicap and scratch leagues. Both types of leagues have good points and bad points. Eliminating handicap is not the magic elixir to fixing what is wrong with bowling. Bowling proprietors are always going to gravitate to the sector of the business that generates revenue. That is the recreational bowler. The bowler that pays $5+ per game to bowl, rents shoes, buys food at the snack counter, buys candy from the vending machines, then plays games in the arcade for a little while. They bring their kids their for birthday parties, glow bowling, and have corporate events there.
Bowling needs a serious image change. It needs to go from a recreational activity that "everyone" can do, to a serious sport that people actually aspire to play at a higher level. Make it such that the televised bowling professionals make big money to win a tournament (i.e. golf.) Inspire kids to be a professional bowler when they grow up. Get real sponsors and true national level coverage and attention. Coverage in national newspapers, regular coverage on Sportscenter. Get back to the days where people would watch bowling on Sunday and want to go to the lanes the next day and try to bowl as well as the pros. In a nutshell, put excitement back into the sport for those who do not regularly participate. Bring a level of prestige and class back to the sport that has long disappeared. Create real bowling "stars"....household names. Show the trials and tribulations the pros have gone through to reach the national level. Give the women their own tour again. Put the collegiate bowling teams in the spotlight (and on TV) regularly. Create college bowling "stars" and future stars to watch. Everything is there, it just needs to be properly packaged and marketed...something that has eluded the industry for years. When the general public respects the seriousness of bowling, it will return to prosperity.
