A bowler in my Monday scratch league actually drew a crowd around him while going for a 300 game.  Normally most members of this league are so used to seeing 300 games shot that most don't even notice until the game is announced overhead.  However, this was the last game of a 4 game block and he was one of the last ones done.  Oh yeah, did I mention, he was going for back to back perfect games?  One of his close buddies made the comment that a 300 game is finally getting noticed around here.

I actually stopped to watch the 10th frame closely myself.  After reracking for the first shot, he delivered a very-well executed flush strike.  After reracking the second shot, he delivered a quality second shot that was not quite as poetic as the first, but still good.  However, this delivery left a solid 9-pin standing.  His buddy said it must have been a bad rack.  Ha Ha.  This person has a little history of taking too many reracks and unfortunately did this while in match play on tour, so there was a little insider ribbing going on.

How many of you still watch in excitement when someone else has a chance at 300?  Unfortunately, I admit that it doesn't get my juices flowing like it used to when I was a kid.  Of course, back then, if you saw 1, you were lucky.

When I'm aware of one, I stop to watch.

Unfortunately, with the automatic scorers, it's hard to tell when someone has the front 9.
With the old telescores,the scorekeeper would make sure it was heavy/highlighted enough that you could see it 6 pairs away!
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"Everyone is in favor of free speech. Hardly a day passes without its being extolled, but some people's idea of it is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone says anything back, that is an outrage."
--Winston Churchill

If it's their first, yeah I'll cheer them on.  If it's # 3, 4, 8, etc... not so much so.

Seeing a guy get ticked off and throw a tantrum because he carried the 12th X instead of leaving a 10 pin for a 299 (and another ring - he already had a 300 that year) pretty much soured me on rooting for anyone who already has their 300.  I know, just because one guy is a jerk doesn't mean everyone is, but at least if it's their first I know it will be special to them.


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9~

Keep your balls on the lane and your mind in the gutter!

If it's around me I'll always stop to watch and depending on the person / rarity of the 300 more people in my league tend to stop and watch also.  

The automatic scoring system at one house makes it hard to know if someone is on a string though (small screens down on the lanes).  The other local house is above the lanes so it's a bit easier to tell.
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-Chris: DJ's Pro Shop : Auburn, MA

The only time i will stop is if everyone else around me stopped. I could care less most of the time unless its their first.
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stanski

hah hah

The league that I bowl on Thursdays has the old telescorers. It's a fun league, so some of the members "string" spare-strikes. So, theoretically, someone can have /X/X/XXXX (and people will start thinking "holy crap, someone has a 300 going" then look over and see it's a 250 at best) but they won't fill the scores in.

As for stopping for the 300. People in Hawaii still stop for front 8 sometimes. I think part of it has to do with larger centers -- you can't see what the person has.

Stopping for a 300 in my Monday house will only happen if someone gets the first 10, depends on the person I guess. Someone who threw his 31st 300 a few weeks ago, no one stopped to watch until the 12th frame where he tripped out a 6 pin to get it. On Tuesday nights, everyone will stop if someone gets into the 10th frame. Throwing a 300 in that house is so rare, everyone is left in awe. Plus it's easier to tell if someone has a string of strikes going, you have to keep score for yourself and it's a small center. On the Monday shot, while being a small center the automatic scoring makes it harder to tell if someone has a long string of strikes going.

Matt

I always stop and watch a 300. I dont like to see people react all ho-hum like. I like to see some emotion---no matter how many 300s they have. Instant feeling of perfection---whether it stops there or the person strikes all night, that moment feels like no other.
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Only Losers Feel Pressure
www.thetimekillers.com