i think that bowling gets a bad rap because it is formatted for the weakest players. Everybody, even here on this site talks about the easy conditions leading to big and maybe overinflated scoring. But the idea of the THS and the league conditions, the way balls are made ect, is so that the low guy can acheive some sort of success. this is the only "sport" that tries to cater to the low guy. the minor leagues of baseball do not have shorter fences, football does not have shorter fields, basketball 9 ft rims.now this is simplistic but you get the idea
this won't be popular, so go ahead and rip me for what i'm gonna say, but i think that lane conditions make this not a sport. I bowl on (and someone mentioned wood lanes) overlays, and i average about 200 each year. i have never bowled 800 and no 300 (my games have not been bowled at my center) and i cannot stand in the same spot and throw the ball all night long. i am also not the best bowler in my house and yet i go the state tourny and take 4th in scratch, 14th or so in doubles (my partner only shot 522) 13 or so in all events, and handicap is was even higher. did i have a good day sure, but on the second day i averaged 244 for 6 games (first game 188 ) and never move a board. we even had to switch lanes, as is customary, and played the exact line again. at my home alley, i can't play a game and a half on the same line.
i think in our attempts to make the game easy for the average guy, we have done damage to what would make our game a sport. any hack can lay the ball down in the same spot for three or more games, but to be a sport there has to be a challenge. NOW, i do not, and have not really bowled on sport shots so i do make that concession. they are just not available, so that could change my opinion