Sorry for the long post.
Despite my team doing their best this season, we've yet to win a quarter for the championship roll-off. We really started bowling lights out in the 4th quarter to vie for the last spot. We went 24-4 over the last 7 weeks and had a two game lead over the 2nd place team going into position round last night. Winning two more games would clinch the final spot. Winning one game would tie, while winning none would eliminate us. The following is by far the best team bowling competition I've ever had in my 20 year career.
Right off the bat during practice, the lanes were playing much tighter than previous weeks. Not much area to play with, so we really had to be on the mark. When it was all said and done both teams left a lot of 10 pins.
The first game we came out swinging and won by 91 pins. Our anchor bowler and the other team were struggling the first game. Things changed the 2nd game, but not in our favor. The opposing team was getting so many breaks. We lost the 2nd game by 66 pins, still ahead 25 pins for totals. Their good breaks continued and they won the 3rd game by 31 pins, just enough to take totals. I did alright with a 637, but I was hoping to help out more. So we tied for best of the 4th quarter. Now we have to roll-off before the roll-off!
The rule of the league was a one game roll-off. The league officers moved us over one pair for a couple minutes of practice and the extra game. Before the game started, we all shook hands with everyone wishing the best - excellent sportsmanship all around, gotta love it. Once again, the opposing team was getting the breaks, but we held our own early on. My 4th bowler was going 290 pace, the opposite 2nd bowler was going 279 pace. Their anchor bowler had the front 6, and at one point we were down 100 pins. But he broke his streak with spares in the 7th-9th, which kept it close. During this time, a couple of my teammates were already talking under their breath that it was over and we lost. But I didn't hear a fat lady singing yet.
10th frame now. The opposing 2nd bowler ended up going off the sheet for his 279, but our 4th bowler finished strong with a 279 of his own to match. My 2nd bowler was upset he didn't go off the sheet and after picking up his spare in preparation for his fill ball, I heard him say to himself, "Like it matters." I'll come back to him in a minute. I was praying for a break in our favor. It happened with their 4th bowler. He goes 9- in the 10th, which opened the door for us. When it got to the anchor bowlers for each team, we were ahead by only 6 pins. After all we've been through this season, it seems appropriate that this would come down to the wire.
Opposing anchor starts off strong with a strike. Then my anchor bowler steps up to match his strike, so we're still up 6. Opposing bowler steps up with another strike, giving them a 4 pin lead. All we needed was one more strike to pretty much wrap it up. My anchor bowler gets up and buries it! I was shouting "YESSSSS!" Opposing bowler only gets a 7 count fill, so all we needed was 2 sticks. My bowler finishes with a 9 count (another 10 pin) to win by 8 pins. I then went over to my 2nd bowler and said, "And you thought your spare didn't matter!" lol!
WE MADE THE ROLLOFFS! I can't believe it. For the majority of the evening, after losing the 2nd game, our attitude changed and we were beating ourselves up with the negativity. But we somehow pulled it off and turned it around. I'm still pinching myself. I barely slept at all last night. Our team, over time, has gained the respect from other teams. We've even been the talk of the bowling community outside our league. I can't believe we're making that much of an impact.
So it's a clean slate going into next week. A roll-off between the 4 qtr winners. The first three wks will be competition between all 4 teams, then the 4th wk will be a position round to determine the champ. IMHO, regardless of how we end up, the competition we've had this season is exactly what we have hoped for. We're in the hunt, we've persevered, and most importantly, we're getting along and having fun to boot!
So no more excuses. Time to step it up for the championship!
