The most unsettling part of this article is the last few paragraphs.It basically tells
what those running the PBA things about the players and bowling in general!
BOWL O PINION by Jim Goodwin
PROFESSIONAL BOWLER, A Stable Career Choice?
By the time this article hits the streets, the PBA World Series of Bowling events will be airing on ESPN, and fans will be seeing a lot of names they may not be familiar with among the television finalists.
The question is – “Is that good for bowling, the PBA, and the players who bowl for a living?â€
In professional sports, players come and players go, but it is the stars of a sport that build a fan base, and in turn, television popularity, ratings, and financial success for the players and the organization; which means that new blood is good, as long as there is not too much, too soon. If you are one of those people who likes consistency and predictability, the tour is not a place for you these days. Without stability, it also makes it much more difficult for players to get sponsorships.
Throughout the history of professional bowling, up until recent years, it has always been the players who defined the sport on the professional level. When the PBA started in 1958, the top stars of the mostly non-televised Team Era became the first stars of the new PBA. Thanks to good print media coverage in the 1950’s and the new television exposure in the 1960’s, stars like Carter, Weber, Hardwick, Soutar, Burton, and Welu became household names in America.
As a result, the PBA continued to grow through the ‘70’s and ‘80’s, and the second generation of stars was born. Roth, Petraglia, Anthony, Davis, Webb, Aulby, Holman and many others became familiar names. By 1980, the PBA enjoyed having more than 30 events televised annually on ABC and ESPN television.
In that era, players like Walter Ray Williams, Norm Duke, Parker Bohn, Brian Voss, and Pete Weber became top players, and almost all of them are still on top today; but with the changes to the formats and number of events, we may never see this caliber of players again.
Why? Because all of the mentioned players had or have one thing in common – they bowl for a living, and when they can no longer do that, they will go home and start working on the next phase of their careers. It is their job, and when it stops paying well, they will go away; replaced by younger globe traveling gents who have mostly bowled more games for medals than money.
The new PBA World Series of Bowling has essentially replaced the traditional first half of the tour season. Last year, the inaugural WSOB was held in Detroit, and there was some grumbling among the players, but most accepted it as the new reality for the PBA – an effort to save TV production costs and remain solvent in hard economic times.
Some critics saw it as another nail in the coffin. When prize money was reduced in 2006, most PBA players did not like the fact that first place went from $40,000 in a standard event to $25,000; but they carried on because they were still able to make a living, even if it meant having to reduce expenses.
But today? Frankly, the changes are coming so quickly, it is hard to keep up. The WSOB moved to the Southpoint Hotel, Casino and Bowling Center in Las Vegas. Perhaps a better venue than Detroit, as evidenced by the sold out field; but has the player’s ability to make a living wage increased? If the players were unhappy about a $25k top prize, imagine how they feel about the $15k for winning a WSOB event.
If you ask top stars like Walter Ray Williams and Norm Duke, who are nearing the end of their tour careers, they may not have time to talk because they might be looking for new jobs and opportunities. In the first five events of this season, all contested as part of the WSOB, Duke earned a total of $9,950, making one television show.
But at least he likely covered his expenses for the three weeks he spent in Vegas for the WSOB. Walter Ray cashed in only one event for $2,600. Pete Weber made a mere $1000 in five events; Rhino Page took home a check for $990. Fem Star Kelly Kulick, with hopes to really prove herself this season after winning the 2010 Tournament of Champions, earned only $1850 in five events.
The $15,000 is about what some events paid in the 60’s and early 70’s. Think of it this way – if a single player had run the table on all five WSOB events, he or she would have five official titles, but only $75, 000 in earnings. As it turned out, the leading money winner Bill O’Neill earned $25,000, about the same that Carolyn Dorin-Ballard won in the first Women’s Series two years ago. Is that progress?
Speaking of the T of C . . .
In January, the tour will return to the scene of Kulick’s greatest triumph, but with a little more on the line than when she won $40,000 for what is arguably the greatest victory in the history of bowling. The 2011 Tournament of Champions will up that first place check to $250,000; and the event prize fund will be a cool million.
If the purpose of boosting the prize fund was to get the industry and players buzzing; mission accomplished. But will the event draw much needed interest from the main stream sports media or get the attention of agencies that might lead to new sponsorships? It is doubtful.
In our little bowling world, this seems huge. It takes some of us back to the 80’s when Seagram’s sponsored a few $500,000 US Opens with $100,000 for first place. But when we really stop to think about it, why would the sports media care about it when virtually all golf events pay over a million, boxing events are in the multi-millions, top athletes in the major sports make tens of millions? Not to mention that some Hollywood film stars make $20 or $30 million for a single movie.
It will, however, look good in the PBA history book and on somebody’s resume. And personally, those of us who are lucky enough to be there will get to see something no one has ever seen before – pro bowlers trying to throw strikes for a quarter million dollars. The dream scenario for bowling would be for Kelly Kulick to win it again. It would be a fitting reward for the relative indifference she saw from the mainstream sports media and product endorsement agents after winning the 2010 TofC.
Is this the beginning of the end, or a new beginning?
What does the future hold for the PBA and the athletes who choose to play the sport for a living? When Chris Peters came along in 2000 to save the PBA from certain bankruptcy, most were optimistic that private ownership would be the ticket to boost bowling’s status in the world of sports and entertainment. By anyone’s measure, it has not been an easy road for the group, and unless things get better and more profitable for the organization and the players soon, the current chapter could be the last.
I don’t know anyone who questions the current PBA management’s heart or desire to succeed; but have they followed the right path, and have they balanced the sport and entertainment aspects in a responsible manner? If this were a government, we could ask the question, “Are we better off now than we were before 2000?†Many of the PBA players may now be asking that very question.
Personally, since this is an opinion article, I believe they have leaned a little too far to the entertainment side of the equation, to the detriment of the sport and the players chance to excel beyond the old proven formula. I say this reluctantly and without accusation of the good people in charge; some of the lack of progress may be traced to inadvertant management mistakes.
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An example – several years ago, CJ and I had the privilege to work with Gary Beck in Virginia on a special tournament for the PBA called the Battle at Little Creek, an all matchplay arena event. Our work station, fortunately or unfortunately depending on your perspective, was in proximity to the PBA staff, and the seating area where former PBA president Steve Miller made his phone calls was a few feet away; so like it or not, we had to listen to his side of most of his conversations.
To put it plainly – he was loud, and abrupt, and brash, and full of himself. His pronouncements were laced with profanity, and after a couple of days, got pretty annoying. We also had access to the “Skybox†within the arena, a VIP area where sponsors and dignitaries were treated to food and beverages.
On one visit to the Skybox, I listened to Miller and PBA commissioner Ian Hamilton holding court for a group of people. One of Miller’s pronouncements struck me as part of the problem, and has stuck with me all these years. That day, someone asked Miller if all the changes taking place were fair to the players. His answer was “F *** the players! This is not about the players or being fair. This is about television and entertainment, nothing else.â€
Needless to say, he made an impression on me that day, and likely made me more watchful than I would have been otherwise regarding decisions affecting the well being of the athletes who make the sport and the PBA organization possible. If that makes me ‘old school’ then so be it.
To clarify, I’m not implying that anyone currently running the PBA has the same mindset as Miller; and I’ve even heard it said that maybe he was what they needed at the time . . . most of what the “new†PBA has done has been great, but I can’t help but wonder if these recent decisions to create the WSOB, cancel the Women’s Series, and put most of the money eggs in the T of C basket are forgetting the most important element of the sport – the professional athlete trying to feed their families.
