Another TV show? Naturally still approaching the apex of his career, this sixth-year pro is the tour's most consistent competitor - Interview: Chris Barnes

Bowling Digest, Oct, 2003 by Brett Ballantini

IT'S AMAZING THAT FOR ALL HIS collegiate, international, and professional bowling success, Chris Barnes doesn't consider himself a natural.

Upon arriving at the storied Wichita State bowling program. Barnes was No. 15 on the Shockers depth chart. By his senior year in 1992, Barnes was the Collegiate Bowler of the Year. Internationally, Barnes was a member of Team USA for four years and was the USOC's Athlete of the Year for Bowling in 1994, 1996, and 1997.

Professionally, Barnes has reached even greater heights. In 2002-03 he finished first in cashes (22), tied for first in match play appearances (18 in 22 events), second in earnings ($183,930), points (305,394), and average (222.91), and tied for second in championship-round appearances (five). In five seasons, he's already well past half a million dollars in career earnings and has four tides under his belt.

Winning titles is perhaps the only thing that's been difficult for Barnes. He made 12 telecasts in 2000 without a win, the PBA record for the most consecutive TV appearances in one year without winning, After his 16th consecutive winless telecast, Barnes won his third career title in Hendersonville, Tenn., in October 2001. It would be another year and a half without a title before Barnes took the Days Inn Open in 2003.

Barnes and his wile. Lynda--a former collegiate, Team USA, and professional bowling standout--became parents of twin boys, Ryan and Troy, in May 2002. And it was those young members of the Barnes clan who provided the atmosphere for our interview from his home in Texas. In a moment between feedings, with Lynda and the boys playing in the background, Barnes weighed in on the stigma of finishing second. his fast success on tour, changes in the PBA, and bowling with intensity.

BOWLING DIGEST: At the start of last season you laughed at being labeled our "stealth" candidate to become the PBA's top bowler. [Barnes laughs] It turned out we were right. You had a season worthy of top player honors, except for one detail: Walter Ray Williams Jr. destroyed everything in his path. Was it frustrating that in spite of a strong season, yon were second?

CHRIS BARNES: Three of the past four years, I've been in the same position. It is my goal to win Player of the Year. It's my goal to have several of those years. I accomplished some goals last year that were pretty satisfying to me, and though it didn't always show up in the final position, I was pretty happy at different times with how I played on TV and throughout the weeks.

BD: You are the most consistent player on tour in match-play and championship-round terms. Is there a certain drive or pride that pushes you to always want to be in the mix when the TV lights go on?

CB: Oh, absolutely. That probably started from way back with all the other sports I played growing up, being very competitive and trying to be the best I could be. Versatility was preached at Wichita State from the moment I got on campus. It was a constant challenge to get better at lots of different things beyond just the one or two things I did well already.

BD: The flip side is that you've received some notoriety as a runner-up. Does it take a special kind of mental strength to come back strong after falling just short of a championship?

CB: Finishing second is kind of a two-way street. It's all in bow you deal with challenges coming up. I've been challenged in lots of different sports where I haven't been the most physically talented, so any time you finish second, it is a driving force to get back out there and get after it again harder.

BD: This season, all match-play series are going to be best-of-seven, as opposed to last year's mix of best-of-five and seven. Studying the results of five-game vs. seven-game matches indicates that almost half the time, bowlers leading 3-2--who would have won five game series--ended up losing seven-game sets. What do you think of the change to seven-game series?

CB: The more games you throw in the mix, the less luck that's involved.

BD: Will it help you personally?

CB: I would like to think it will. [Long laugh] It favors the better player at the time, and if I'm the better player, then it favors me. If I'm not, it doesn't. And that can be a day-to-day thing. What you've done yesterday doesn't have much effect on tomorrow in bowling.

BD: What will the best-of-seven give fans?

CB: We had some fantastic matches in the round of 32 and what does come into play in a seven-game match is there's so much more transition on the lanes; nobody's going to stand there in the same place and not make any changes over four games. For two or three games, the lanes will hold up before you have to do something significantly different, but I can't imagine ever going four games without something changing. So it will change the strategy a little bit.

From a competitive standpoint, more games are better for fans. And keeping match play preserves the best format for fans to watch. It's more exciting to watch, and honestly, its more exciting to bowl, too.