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Author Topic: No more local bowling heroes?  (Read 1191 times)

Pinbuster

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No more local bowling heroes?
« on: June 21, 2004, 06:07:35 PM »
A post on another thread got me thinking. Why don’t we have local bowling heroes any more?

I’m sure in one house areas there are bowlers who develop some reputation. But in our area there generally aren’t one or two bowlers who stand out, that everyone would rank at the top of the local heap. Asked to name top local bowlers and 20 names will come up.  

Some of the problem is the house mouse. So many bowlers can now hit a particular house but not another house in the area. You can hardly beat them in their home center. Some are so limited that they can only bowl on fresh condition or second shift. They shoot tons of honor scores and are looked at with awe by many of their fellow league bowlers. They are happy being a big fish in their little ponds.

Because so much of scoring now is matching up it is difficult for one bowler to dominate on multiple conditions.

Used to be you could look at bower throw and tell almost instantly if they were any good or not. There were certain fundamentals that were adhered to in order to effectively score. They simply looked good while throwing the ball.

Today some of the most un-orthodox styles can dominate on certain conditions. Bad arm swings, falling off shots, shoulders closed/opened, etc.

It also why I believe pot bowling is down so much. A bowler can execute shots better than others but if his style doesn’t match up as well on the condition then they will consistently lose. In the past the bowler who could execute the best shots almost always won, talent won out. Not many want to bowl for money in carry contests.
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mumzie

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Re: No more local bowling heroes?
« Reply #1 on: June 22, 2004, 12:25:10 PM »
When I think elite men - 3 or 4 names come to mind.
After that, there's about 50 one rung down.

In women's bowling in this area, there are 5 women that are consistently at the top. They achieve in tournament and league play. Again - there are several one rung down, and about 30 two down from the top.
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MichiganBowling

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Re: No more local bowling heroes?
« Reply #2 on: June 22, 2004, 12:52:23 PM »
Yes Pinbuster, and this is the reason that the entire structure of competetive tournament bowling to pot games to competetive league bowling has been destroyed.  The idea of a "challenge" exists no more.  Many people are saying there's 5-10 "elite" bowlers in their area, but let's look at it this way.  The non-elite bowlers in city A do not feel compelled to work on their games so they can beat the elite bowlers because they can do anything an elite bowler can do, just not as often.  The average bowler can shoot an award score now, or get hot and win a tourney, or win a few pot games.  The example you gave about poor fundamentals tells the story.

So without local heroes, there's nobody that makes us want to become better.  There's nothing to strive toward once you get to a certain level.  I've seen bowlers reach that level in less than 2 years.  No wonder people get bored with the sport and quit!
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Brian
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ksucat

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Re: No more local bowling heroes?
« Reply #3 on: June 22, 2004, 02:58:01 PM »
How do you find out who the best bowlers in your area are?  Is there anything in the local newspaper?  Is there even a bowling newsletter?  Is there a bowler of the year?  

I live in what should be a great bowling community, but we don't have a bowling newsletter that I know of and the local newspaper only has brief coverage of our sport.  

Our bowler of the year is not necessarily the best bowler, just the one who bowls in the easiest leagues.  I may be off on a few details, but the general concept is to average the bowler's top 2 league averages from 2 different houses, then add bonus points for honor scores and city tournament standings.  This means that we must find the easiest leagues to bowl in to have a shot.  From what I've heard, this year's winner is nothing more than a flinger.  Bones would be proud watching a guy who is such a natural that he doesn't need to cheat by using arrows or dots or different boards, he just winds up and lets 'er go.  Anything between the head pin and the gutter has a chance to strike and he has this unbelievable knack of striking in bunches.  Is this supposed to be my hero?  I guess I'm not that impressed.

There are others in this city who have excellent skills and I feel priveledged just to bowl against them.  If he could be promoted better, the hero for this area should be Rick Steelsmith.  He still has phenomenal abilities even after his dramatic injury and is a true gentleman of the game.  If asked to name the top bowler in the city who is not a PBA tour member, then I would be forced to list 10-15 who are very good, but not one dominant person.  So what, I've still got my "local" hero in Rick.
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Re-Evolution

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Re: No more local bowling heroes?
« Reply #4 on: June 22, 2004, 03:23:39 PM »
In my area we have a dominant bowler but I don't think anyone would consider him a local bowling hero even though he has had the top average 7 years running.
I think one of the reasons for this is the fact that he has so much more room than anyone else and his carry is bordering on the ridiculous cause he is able to overpower the lanes with his "Maximum Bob" like revs.
I think the only way that this is going to change is if bowling centers stop putting down the typical house shot (WALL) and go to a flatter pattern that would put emphasis on shot making and repetition.
Then we will get a better read on who the best bowlers are not just the best bowler on that condition.
For these reasons I don't have a local hero but I try to pick out little things that different bowlers do to help my own game.

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Pinbuster

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Re: No more local bowling heroes?
« Reply #5 on: June 22, 2004, 03:53:02 PM »
It goes both ways.

We had a guy around here who bowled circles around the best in town. But he threw a weak looking low track spinner. He was deadly accurate and despite how his roll looked his carry was very good. He also had the best mental game I have ever seen.

He came off the PBA tour in 1977 and was a cocky little drunk at the time. But he could flat knock them down. He quickly won bowler of the year but the association board disliked him so much they changed the rules so that they could lock him out of the running.

When he bowled he dominated in scratch leagues for close to 20 years. Injuries took their toll and a few of those years he didn’t bowl.  He hasn’t bowled for the last 4 or 5 years and has now retired and moved from town.  

Few gave him his due because he didn’t throw an impressive looking ball nor did his style look classical but he was really the best bowler in town for close to 20 years.
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