BK, first off don't buy too much into the hype that things are SOOO much easier no than they were yesterday. Yes scoring conditions are more favorable, and yes honor scores are up. However, YOU still are responsible for making the shots, and many people have a hard time doing so.
If you look on Bones and others posts, they will all admit that there were ways back in the day of getting to the pocket. They still for the most part found a track to play in, minipulated their balls to get better scoring, and grumbled about something or another. It's funny, every time I watch the highlights of older bowlers, I notice them carrying half pocket strikes, and getting robbed on good shots as well.
People today have a tremendous amount of knowledge about sports, moreso than yesteryear. With the advent of the internet, a serious bowler can get some good tips on building a strong foundation game. While people can guy "cheater" balls and have the odd good game or so, same as golf, people can buy the "cheater" clubs and maybe have a good hole.
Don't get down on yourself or not be proud of your accomplishments. The awards you're getting now will only get bigger down the road. Bowling today may be of a different era, but it is still bowling, and it still takes quite a bit of skill to master it.
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D <~~~~ Used to be terrible wiffing 10 pins. Now through much practice, can wiff any single pin spare at any time.
Darrell Guzman
guzmand19 - Yahoo IM and MSN screen names