Reasons why bowling will never be considered a major sport and/or included in the Olympics.
1) Possible winner tampering - An outside agency can limit the pool of possible winners. The lane man can determine which side of the lane will when and a particular style of player that will win. You can say the best can adjust and adapt but if you put an absolute wall up on the left a house hack could beat Walter Ray Williams. As many have said past a certain point of skill it is not who executes the best but often who matches up the best to the condition.
2) Participant preparation for the event - Even our national championship does not allow participants to warm up properly. Yes things have gotten better at ABC nationals but a couple of balls before doubles does not constitute warming up. It wouldn’t have to be on the lanes of competition but how can you compete at the highest levels when virtually no warm up is allowed. The PBA allows players to properly warm up before matches are played. I realized that there is a logistics problem here but it still speaks to the sport.
3). Bowling Venues – Most major league sporting events are held on a field of play that the average citizen can’t get on or see on a regular basis. Golf tournaments are held on country clubs or exclusive resorts. Baseball and football games are held in stadiums you could never play in. Basketball games in coliseums. Bowling tournaments are held in houses that any one can play on and many of the spectators bowl in leagues on the lanes. So there is no reason for the non-fan of the sport to attend.
4) Bowling Venues esthetics – Bowling centers are not works of art or beauty. Most are held in 30 year old (or older) facilities. Even the newer ones offer little to view and as stated above a fan can go in anytime and see it. As Sawbones once said to me, if he came to town would I take him to a golf course or a bowling center. A well manicured golf course is a thing of beauty just to behold. And once again baseball and football games are held on fields that make most of our lawns look bad. Again there is no reason for the non-fan of the sport to attend.
5) Seating capacity – Bowling centers will have problems holding more that 1000 fans comfortably and the parking, bathroom and concession facilities are not designed for crowds of that size. Golf courses can handle the seating of 30,000 to 40,000 with room for tents for concessions and porta-potties everywhere. Baseball, football, and basketball are all held in facilities that are designed to seat and handle the crowd.
6) The product – If I go to a golf tournament I can see shots hit that I can only imagine, 300 yard drives, spinning wedge shots, great putts, flop shots, 180 yard 9 irons. I would seldom see this on my home course. In baseball I can see someone hit a 450 foot home run against a pitcher throwing a 95 mph fastball that I couldn’t even see or a fielder make a long run with a diving catch. In bowling I can go to one of the better scratch leagues around and virtually every week see someone shoot 300 and every other week someone will shoot 800. Seeing a 260+ game thrown is not unusual. There will be bowlers who throw nearly as many revs as Robert Smith. And I can view this for nothing.
7) The field of play – A bowling lane looks like any other bowling lane. You cannot see the difference in oil pattern (bowlings only defender to scoring), most bowlers probably couldn’t tell if the lanes are wood or synthetics. Golf holes are different, baseball stadiums have different dimensions, football and basketball have defenders on the field of play.
Money – Because of the limited amount of gate most the prize fund has to come thru sponsors, pro-am’s, and limited TV money. Bowling has amateur events that pay more than the PBA. In golf, baseball, basketball, if you are playing for that kind of money available in bowling amateur events you are a professional.
9) Bowlers themselves – We don’t even take ourselves seriously why should anyone else?
Edited on 5/9/2003 7:25 AM
