Fully grounded: despite his skyrocketing bowling career, the rising star of the PBA tour has his priorities straight

Bowling Digest, Winter, 2004 by Johnny Campos

EVEN AFTER A METEORIC RISE TO THE TOP OF the bowling world, Brad Angelo still doesn't consider himself among the top 10 bowlers in the PBA.

However, he's probably in the minority among any fans with any interest at all in the sport. In just two seasons as a pro, the righthander from Lockport, N.Y., (which is in the Buffalo area) has transformed himself from one of the top megabucks tournament players in the country to the No. I position atop the PBA's points standings. That's as in Top Dog. Numero Uno. Top of the Heap.

With the help of some of the members of the "Angelo Connection," however, the 33-year-old Angelo has managed to keep his goals focused on becoming a mainstay on the tour--although maybe not for its long as his roommate. Hall of Fame bowler Tom Baker.

BOWLING DIGEST caught up with Angelo during a break in his busy summer. and talked with hint about being No. 1, bowling against his roommate on TV. and where he goes from here.

BOWLING DIGEST: You've been on tour for only two full years and already you're No. 1. Did you expect that, in your wildest dreams?

BRAD ANGELO: No, obviously not. I had a fair amount of success as all amateur and gained an awful lot of experience during those years. 1 bowled for a living for 13 years prior to joining the tour, bowling on Team USA and traveling all over the country, bowling the megabucks tournaments. The northeast in the 1990s was a hotbed for amateur tournaments. On any given weekend, I could drive probably six or seven hours one way and have something to bowl. Through all of that time. I was just filling up that empty barrel worth of experience. Fortunately, when I went out on tour I was able to call on some of that experience.

BD: What are some of the key reasons for your instant impact on the PBA tour?

BA: I got a lot of help from my roommate. Tom Baker. He didn't necessarily teach me how to throw the ball. He taught me how to be patient, how to focus, and how to pace yourself, which is a whole lot different from the amateur ranks.

BD: What's the biggest difference between amateur and pro events?

BA: The amateurs are a big sprint, and if you don't make it on one squad you get to re-enter and start all over again. But out on tour, if you shoot 182, that stays with you. I had to learn a lot of that side of it. I also had to learn a lot more about how lanes change, how a ball needs to move--the whole "tour life" part of it. The stuff that a lot of the veterans on tour do best, which is why they've been the top 10 to 15 guys for the past 10 to 15 years.

BD: One of the toughest things about being a new kid on the tour is getting the right equipment. Did you have any help in that area?

BA: Working with Rick Benoit from Brunswick has been a huge part of my success. I signed with Brunswick in my first year, and I was fortunate enough to be voted Rookie of the Year. And then last year, gosh, things just really took off, and all I can say is that dreams do come true.

BD: I guess the only thing you have not done is will a tournament. Does that put any more pressure on you when you go out there week alter week?

BA: Well, yeah, obviously it's one of my goals for this year, to break through. Some people tell me that I'll get that monkey off my back. But I don't think there's a monkey on my back yet. I came out with a three-year plait, and that's already accelerated. I'm certainly at least a year ahead of schedule.

BD: And how detailed was your three-year plan?

BD: Originally when I came out, I just wanted to be in the top 25. And then after finishing 13th in my first year, last year my goal yeas just to stay in the top 20. Not that I'm setting my goals too low, but confidence is a big issue for anybody, and I didn't want to set my goals so high that my confidence would fall. As far as winning a title, if I don't win one within the next two or three years, then, yeah, maybe I'll start thinking more about it. But right now. I've still got a job to do. I'm still learning, and I'm still hungry to get better. The rest of my career I would take seasons just like the one I had this past year, and we'll see where the chips fall.

BD: Speaking of last year, it was unfortunate that in one of your best chances to win, you got beat out by Baker hi his historic victory at the season-ending PBA World Championship.

BA: What an unbelievable story.

BD: You had to have mixed feelings about it.

BA: To be honest with you, I don't think they were mixed at all. Both Tom and I had talked about it before when we realized we were going to have to bowl each other, and I think it helped both of us go into that day a little bit more carefree ... or maybe a little less nervous. It took a little bit of the edge off at that point in time. The main goal of that week for Tom was to just make the exempt tour. And once that happened, he found out he was going to have to bowl me on the show, and the reality was that one of us was come to be bowling for the title. To try to keep it in perspective that way I think really helped both of us.