While responding to Bones thread about bowling not being respected as a sport, I though up an idea about the Professional Bowling format and how to get the team concept back into bowling.

Look at baseball and football and what do you have?  A team of athletes associated with a city who takes on other cities.  Rivalries are born and the community embraces the "home team" and supports them.  Why don't we have teams like this for professional bowling?  Let's say you have 24 cities each with a 5 man team.  They bowl every other week, so the season would last nearly year round.  Show up Friday for practice and autographs, bowl for position Saturday, and the top 6 or 8 teams advance to the rolloffs on Sunday.  Kinda NASCAR like - only the rolloffs would be televised.  You could sell licensed apparel and accessories for the fans, offer package ticket deals, and maybe bring some life back into the team concept part of bowling.

This would be for teams only - that way the pros who prefer touring as an individual could still do so.  Or maybe those tourneys could be held on the weeks the team didn't bowl so they could do both.

Any thoughts on this idea?
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Why, WHY won't the last one just fall??  It's WIGGLING for cryin' out loud!!

They did that back in the 60's (I think that was the time) and it failed. You would think and the guys that put it together back in the "good ol days" that it would be a real success. Team bowling to the non-bowler just is not very exciting. That is why the World Team Challenge is no longer on TV. Just did not get the ratings to pull in the advertising dollars. Should be interesting what the new PBA format in 04-05 will do to ratings. They are talking an all match-play format and seeded entries. They are also talking with this to make it possible to earn a little better living bowling, with all entries getting a check.

i don't want the pba to go back 50 years in time but i'd like to see the "old" tournament style come back-----everybody bowl 18 games of qualifying and then the top 24 bowl 24 games of matchplay.

The new according to current press release is: 64 seeded positions, no qualifying rounds, all match play. The nice part is if things go right all 64 entries will cash. The question I am still trying to figure out is how will they determine each year who is top 64. How do you get from the regionals to the tour if all 64 slots are assigned and points are given based on the tour competitions.