I am going to touch on a couple of points here:
First, you have to release the pattern. If not, only a select few will know it as it will leak out. By releasing it, it makes it fair for all since everyone can see it. This is a must, and as I read in Riggs blog they are going to try and do it even sooner in the future hopefully.
Second, Bowling 300 900, what makes me a "hack"? The fact that I am an above average THS bowler with over 25 300 games and 14 800 series, or the fact that I can bowl well on a Sports Pattern, losing only to a National Team Member and Storm Staffer in my league? Or is it the fact that I called you out for being the selfish POS that you really are? You act like only you paid money to go to Nationals and bowl. Your teammates paid the same money you did, maybe more if they aren't from the same area as you. They have the right to try and bowl good too, without someone making a difficult shot even harder by playing a different line then them. In my last post I showed how someone can make a small sacrifice and play along with their teammates and make out better in the end than they would by going it alone, but apparently math is too hard for you to understand. Feel free to continue to be a selfish POS, and when no one wants you to bowl Nationals with them anymore, you can look back at this thread and know why.
Third, TDC57, when you bowl do you purposely try to make the lanes harder??? What teams are doing is trying put up the best possible score they can, which the last time I checked was the object of bowling. In these cases they are using a game plan to help them accomplish this instead of relying on pure luck. It takes skill to understand the oil pattern well enough to know where to play to make this work. Even the best teams, at times, have errors in game planning. If you read Riggs' blogs there were years where his team (all great bowlers mind you) have made mistakes in where they broke down the lanes, making the shot more difficult rather than easier. They felt that was the case this year as they made the shot too wet/dry and hindered their chances at posting the best score possible. I'll ask you the same thing I asked Bowling 300 900, what makes the guy who moved in and caused the issue money better then the other teammates money? They paid their money too, in the hopes that everyone would stick to the plan and give the TEAM the best chance to score well. It's their right to be upset at the guy who may have cost them money by not doing what they agreed to.
Lastly, If you are bowling on a sports pattern, there isn't going to be 10 different ways to get to the pocket, like there might be on a THS pattern. There will 1,2 and maybe 3 if you are lucky. Everyone will be playing in the same area....this will change the pattern. Again you can do so randomly, or you can do so in a controled manner. Every shot thrown down the lane changes the pattern, whether it is a "soaker" resin ball or a plastic ball. That is just physics. So everyone "carves" the lane. It happened in the 1950's, and it happens today. It just happens much faster with today's modern balls. So why is frowned upon by some that teams work together to try to control how the lanes breakdown? Is it because you can't do it? There will only be a handful of teams that realistically have a chance at the Eagle. But there are years, like last year, where we see a team expand that list, bowl a great set with a great plan and win. Maybe next year it's one of our teams (and in our I mean the people commenting here in this thread) that add our names to the list. But I promise it won't happen if you have people not following a plan.
With all that being said, the new Ice oil may change team's thinking and game plans. As Twohand mentioned, Riggs team thought that maybe having people with more diverse rev rates would have helped smooth out the wet/dry transition. It may be that the game plans turn into having people playing a variety of lines within a certain area, and having everyone move in and/or ball down together. Only time will tell as we see what seems to work and what doesn't.