And you know what?  After bowling through a 3 game set where I struggled with the conditions to shoot a whopping 572, I got a reminder about what bowling really is.

 We were still sitting at the table, licking our wounds and commiserating about how bad we did, and how hard the condition had been, when the house assigned the lanes we had bowled on to a group of about 15-20 young people who wanted to bowl.

 Now, this IS a busy house, so it isn't unusual for them to assign every one of their 40something lanes out, but I haven't really just sat and watched people bowl for the fun of it in a looooong time, so I decided to just sit and spectate for a while.

 You know what? Bowling isn't broken. What I saw was an entire group of people, without unreal expectations, come in and have an absolute blast.

 They didn't complain about the lane conditions. They didn't whine about how hard it was, or that their ball wasn't "acting right", or ANYTHING else. And they didn't need the USBC to tell them how to enjoy the game more either. They simply put on their $5.00 rental shoes, and gladly paid $5.00 a game, all while eating, and drinking, and just enjoying the crap out of themselves.

 And a 40something lane house was FULL of people like this. No griping, no complaining, no trying to satisfy a bunch of whiny, self-imagined "talented" bowlers, just fun, laughter, and people really having fun just bowling. And from the looks of it, a lot more fun than me and my preconceived notions had been having all night.

 And I realized something. THIS IS WHERE WE ALL STARTED! At some point, each and every one of us picked up the ball for the first time, and approached the game with no preconceived notions and no unreal expectation, and loved it enough to continue to become lifetime competitors.

 THIS is where it all starts. Not with the people who are "gifted" or "learned", but with those who are simply having fun. Made me wish I could go back to a simpler time when I too had no notions or expectations, nor any of the bias' I've built up over the years. Back to when bowling was just FUN!

 Bowling NEEDS to be fun. It doesn't need to be anything else. It doesn't need to be a profession, it doesn't need to be an olympic event, heck, it doesn't even need to be "officiated", it just needs to be fun. Anything else is just "window dressing" so to speak.

 So let's all go out and try to remeber that. Bowling should be fun. If it isn't, you need to try to figure out why, and fix that. Without the fun, bowling is lost.

 Let's all go out and have some fun for a change!

 

I understand people getting madenough and frustrated as do I but I witness people throw things and punch ball returns etc, I hate that! I want to watch and bowl with people with good sportsmanship. Yes you will get angry, yes it will be frustrating. But that's the game. It's not supposed to be easy. Some people come naturally to it, others struggle to find there way but all in all its a sport everyone can compete in!

 Yeah, you know, I was able to see bowling in a way that I hadn't seen it in a while. Lots of fun and laughter, very little complaining about anything, and people standing in line to get on a lane for their turn without worrying about what ball to throw, where to throw it, or what to expect from it.

No averages, no "right" or "wrong" way to do it, just a bunch of young folks cheering and jeering each other on, picking and poking fun, and high fives all around if someone happened to strike.  Strikes weren't expected, they were like gifts, like things to be celebrated, and nobody cared where the ball hit the pins. If they fell down, it counted!

 Very refreshing. And very eye opening.

 Im not sure when, or what, happened to me, but I think it must happen to most "serious" league bowlers at some point. Bowling stops being about how much fun it can be, and starts being about how good you can get. It stops being something fun to do, and starts being this thing that must be taken so seriously.

 I wasn't having much fun. That stops today.

Yet we have donkeys shunning BowlMor for taking advantage of this concept.

AMEN!

Juggernaut,

I do agree with you to point. Your post is about someone at the beginning of their bowling career. But if any of them go further and get into the SPORT of bowling, you know there is going to be a transformation with some them. When things are new there are no expectations, no complaints, its fun.

It's exciting to achieve that first 200 game, then go for that 600 series, then 700 and 800 (also shooting that perfect 300 along the way). At some point in that journey most bowlers start having those expectations and when things don't go their way, that's when the whining and complaints come out. 

It's human nature.