The Fans Speak Out - Letter to the Editor

Bowling Digest, August, 2000

* Help wanted

I'd like to add my two cents' worth regarding Pete Weber and the PBA ["News, Notes & Quotes," June 2000]. Why can't the PBA, like other sports, help Mr. Weber? We all know about his problems, but Mr. Weber has done exceptionally well in bowling. For this, why not try to help him instead of suspending him?

Other athletes in other sports get help. The PBA can try also.

Peter Matos Via e-mail

* No sudden moves

In regards to the article on Bill Taylor and his thoughts on bringing the sport to a level playing field by emphasizing true bowling ability instead of the luxuries of walled shots and complex bowling balls ["Then and Now," June 2000], I can only see a dividing line, with part of me agreeing on bringing bowling back to its infancy days of wood on wood, and the other part of me kind of feeling sorry for those other bowlers who want to have fun and still be competitive.

While it is nice to see a slow trend back to the days of skill and precise shot-making, I can't help but acknowledge the other crowd that wants to have fun, yet still have a competitive finger in the pie and not be chased away by a more demanding condition. This other crowd outnumbers the competitors 3-to-1, and to suddenly drop a huge change on them would probably have disastrous effects on the already dwindling crowd.

You have to remember that these league bowlers work just about every day, with bits of time to go and bowl with friends. These bowlers just don't have the time to practice day in and day out to accommodate their games to the conditions Bill Taylor talks about. These are your once-a-week bowlers, not your tournament bowlers. Force this new wave of change on them, and you're looking at astronomical dropout numbers.

Mr. Taylor has to look on the financial side of things before making a judgment that easy conditions and complex balls are the reasons people are leaving. I don't think that's true at all. Lineage fees across the nation have risen dramatically over the years, and not only that, but ABC dues have also risen. Those reasons alone could probably define the decline.

While I agree with Mr. Taylor that if things don't change for the better the ABC could be looking at some major problems, you have to envision that dramatic changes may also have the same effect, only much sooner. That's the key when introducing this newfound genre of bowling: Unveil it, detail every potential item that could stem from this idea, good and bad, then integrate it slowly with a small percentage of the target audience and see what happens.

We don't have to save the sport--we just have to know how to modify it just enough to where we don't lose anyone, but shuffle them into sectors that best fit them. And whatever sector that is, is up to them.

Thank you for a wonderful magazine.

Jason Hiddle Via e-mail

* Screen time

The article "Transition Game" by Dale Bowman [June 2000] talks about pro bowling needing to create some heroes and characters who can be promoted like stars such as Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods. The problem with this comparison is that when Michael Jordan played professionally, he was in nearly every single game, barring injury or family tragedy. When Tiger Woods plays in a golf tournament, he will get on TV no matter how he's playing.

Television coverage for basketball and golf is very different than it is for bowling. In basketball, if you're the starter (as Michael Jordan was), you played and were on television. With golf, every round of a tournament is telecast, thereby ensuring that all the major stars (Tiger Woods included) will be shown, even if they don't make the final cut. They aren't competing to be one of five or eight people on a telecast.

The PBA and PWBA doesn't telecast the match-play portion of their tournaments, only the stepladder finals. If bowling wants to promote its heroes and characters, it needs to get them on television every single week. Simple as that.

Steve Tardif Via e-mail

* Not his money's worth

Just finished reading the June 2000 issue, and I could not agree more with Karl Corser Jr.'s letter on local associations. From my own experience, I bowled a 290 game early last year. I am entitled to a plaque for 11 in a row, a watch for 100 pins over average, and a patch denoting the same. Our season finished last week, and I still have not received these awards from the Lake-Geauga Bowling Association in Ohio.

I bowled at MarVal Lanes, which after 64 years will be torn down for a new drug store. These momentos would be cherished awards, as I have bowled there for most of 55 years. I am 65 now, and I may never bowl a game like this again.

What did I pay my dues for all these years? Now I hear they want to raise them. For what? My son is secretary of the Friday night mixed league, and he put in for these awards twice. We have heard nothing. With the bowling alley dying, the Lake-Geauga Association lacking, and my age, I don't know if I want to change to another alley or hang it up.

And they want more money? Maybe--with the costs going up and no service that I can see from a personal point of view--we would be better off not being sanctioned anymore.