I'm sure some of you know what I'm talking about. This tournament is by invitation only, and he's one of 48 people in the world that will be attending. There are Japanese bowlers, European bowlers, American bowlers, you name it. Among some of the names I've heard so far were Steve Jaros, Steve Kloempken, Tim Mack, and Sean Rash. I haven't yet heard all the details, so as soon as I get a better lock on what's going on, I'll post the info unless somebody (Kristi, lol) beats me to it.
The first thing that comes to mind is the status of these bowlers. Most of these guys bowl for a living, even Sean Rash who hasn't really broken out onto tour yet still receives certain things because of bowling for WSU. Ron is a true amateur. He bowls two nights a week in the summer, and about 3 or 4 in the fall. All the equipment he has was bought and paid for, he didn't get any special discounts or freebies. He'll be going up against guys that have big sponsorship. Kloempken can pick up any ball he wants anytime, even drill up 3 or 4 of the same balls different ways. For Ron to do this, it would be ridiculously expensive. He doesn't carry a million balls around with him, he carries 4-6 usually. How is he expected to really compete? The skill of the bowler is always going to be the driving force behind them, but if you have a condition that's leaving you flat 10's on pocket hits, he can't just pull out the same ball with a different layout that will make it start moving a foot or two earlier to help kick it out. Does that extra little help mean a ton in the long run for the pros, or am I just being dumb? Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions?
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Forget Kung Fu, I know Ron Bahr!!!
The only difference between youth and adult leagues are that the big boys are allowed to whine. They're more entertaining anyway.