I've got a goal for the new season, and it's not honor scores, it's not getting my name in the paper, it's not the normal crap all the local guys go crazy about.  I'm really out to change the way the city looks at bowling, and I know I'm not gonna get anything accomplished, but I'm gonna ruffle all the feathers I can.  People whine and whine constantly whenever the shot isn't absolutely pristine, because it can't possibly be that they're not good . . it's gotta be the lane's fault or the ball's fault or the lane mechanic's fault.  Then when they blow a thousand bucks at nationals and shoot 1500 or less for all events they wonder what's going on.  All the talent in the world couldn't make it out of this town with any kind of headstart on the game.  This girl in town really has talent, and could really go somewhere, but she has to drive way out of town and spend a lot of money to ever see anything tough or different.  Everything in town is centered around this stupid top ten tournament, which requires that you have two different leagues at two different houses minimum, and the highest ten composite averages compete every year in a tournament.  For no money at all.  People plan their years around this thing, they'll load up on leagues at the house they did the best at the year before, because all extra leagues count towards the composite.  I'm so sick of the whining and complaining, and the people who actually want to do more than bowl for pride in some podunk city tournament have to spend a lot of time and money to do that, and most of us don't have it laying around.  We have no PBA or sport leagues during the winter or summer, the best we can get is one PBA pattern once a week laid down to practice on during the summer.  Everybody keeps trying to think of ways to improve things, but their idea of improving things is to change the shot to cater to themselves.  They think honor scores on a house shot or a big average impresses somebody.  Nobody wants to contribute anything to anybody but themselves, and I'm sick of it.  I'm serious about this, and I want bonafide ideas on how exactly I can go about this, and if anybody's been in a situation like this before.  Bowling in town is going south, and I want to bring it around.  You'd think that for a town with residents like Rick and Bob Benoit, a former resident in Chris Barnes, and the guy that has the only back to back 300's in USBC national tournament history, things would be in better shape.  How do you bring about change without pissing the majority of people off?
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This is Fluffy.  He is the Destroyer of Worlds.

Thanks for the replies, I actually figured I'd get somebody calling me an idiot or scoffing at me or something . . lol what's happened on this site?  And that's a really good point about what the more elite names in the sport have been trying to get done and they're not making much headway to begin with.  My first thought would be that all these bowlers are serious about making this annual nothing tournament, so why not have leagues specifically for that?  Let the people that want to just show up and put up big numbers do that, but say that if you want to be eligible for the tournament or for the city bowler of the year, your league has to conform to some certain rules.  I know that with people having different schedules and such that not everybody could probably fit one of the leagues into their schedule, but with the way it's set up right now, there's a lot of people who can't bowl two nights a week or who don't want to pay to do it, so I don't figure much would be lost.  I hate spending a grand to go to nationals every year just to suck because I have no way to prepare.  It's like trying to become Tiger Woods and only having mile wide fairways, 200 yard par 5s, and funnel shaped greens.  

I shot 813 last week, and on a tougher shot, I might have broken 700 with a bit of luck.  Everybody's first honor score is a thrill no matter what the condition is, but when I keep seeing stuff like "I finally shot . ." like people are entitled to honor scores, it's really depressing.  You tell a fellow golfer you've had a hole in one, that's kind of impressive, but telling somebody you've got an honor score anymore is like telling them you have a homerun in slow pitch softball.  I'm prolly speaking to the choir, but damn.  The stuff is really starting to get to me.  I'd rather practice on a PBA shot than bowl big time scratch leagues on a house shot.  Hell, I bowled LEFTHANDED this summer and averaged 194.  Granted I'm halfway decent lefthanded, but still.  It's hard to be happy with big numbers, I just sit there and pick out all the shots that wouldn't have struck on a harder shot, and more often than not, 300's turn into 220's and 800's turn into 675's.  I'll stop rambling, thanks again for the suggestions.
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This is Fluffy.  He is the Destroyer of Worlds.

A bowling center in houston has just started this.  Their fall leagues start within the next 2 weeks.

I was in there & scored fairly well....averaged about 210.  The lanes were TOUGH if u didnt have hand & at least decent accuracy.

When i was leaving, the manager talked to me a bit about the shot & how i thought he would do in houston, considering this was his league shot.

I told him that bowlers like me will love it, but hes not going to make much money.  Most bowlers want to go in, get drunk, average 200 & go home thinking theyre talented.  

The percentage of bowlers that actually want to get better, even if it means shooting 170s to do so is extremely small.

I talked to him & let him know that he might want to look at having only 1 or 2 nights with this shot, & having the other nights be a THS, that way he gtes the good bowlers, as well as the house hacks.

Im not sure if he will take my advice, my guess is that after about 6 weeks, half the center will have gone elsewhere, no one in this city wants to have to work to score.

Shawn

I sat in on the meeting for our mixed handicap league. The manager told us they were gonna try something they did during the state tourney with the oiling machine that seemed to work and the scores were pretty high. I said " Man don't make it easy, leave it like it is where its tough until the third game and they start to settle in". It's an odd feeling when everyone in the room is staring at you like you have 3 eyes or something. P.S. I like the guy who runs the place. He does what he can but it's an AMF house that's old and his hands are pretty much tied.

Hamp,

A little off topic, but still shows the sad state of our sport. At a regionals just recently, a PBA member, who for the last 3 years has been on TV and won, was signing in for the event. The owner of a very big bowling ball distributing company, looked at the pro and said, and I quote:  " And who are you? "  Pretty bad when a bowler of that level, is selling product for you, just for the plain simple fact that people see him using it, and you don't know who he is.
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Tracy

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