This is why I always bring my gun to the bowling alley. It’s useful for taking out nuisance pins that really should have fallen, and no one I play with has ever stepped over the line after I blew off Bob’s little toe after his foot foul in the '97 league semi-finals in '97.
Dance space?
Aw jeez. I just found out a couple of months ago about this rule of etiquette. I had no idea, and I’ve been bowling for 20 years or more. I feel horrible! Luckily I only bowl about once a year, so I haven’t had an opportunity to fuck up too many people’s games. :smack:
[slight hijack]i’m going to take this oppotunity to brag on myself a little. In the 80’s I was on a league. I was okay at it - my average hovered in the low 120’s. at the beginning of the season, hoever, on a night when it was only 109, I bowled a 211!!! I nearly fainted when I saw the score - and it got me “women’s high score” (it was a mixed league), “100 pins over” and “200 club” awards at the end of season dinner. But my team still came in dead last :D[/slight hijack] we now resume our regularly scheduled ranting.
That sounds like last season for me – my first year in a league. With a starting point of about 88, I had worked my average up to 114. Then one night – out of the blue, I bowled a 217. I’ve yet to get another 200 game.
Wow! I had no idea there was bowling ettiquette. (not that gripes about promptness and basic consideration aren’t completely legitimate no matter what the venue).
Oh yeah, bowling has etiquette. But it does not have ethics.
[sup]*[/sup]
[QUOTE=neuroman]
Oh yeah, bowling has etiquette. But it does not have ethics.
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Oh no. You didn’t…
:smack:
Yikes…I thought it was just a fun family activity, or perhaps league sport. I had no idea there was such politics involved.
“Dance space” is a reference to the movie Dirty Dancing. In other words, stay out of our personal table space!
I haven’t bowled in a couple of years. But I hear ya, OP! It’s one of the reasons I quit. People suck, sometimes, and not in a good way.
Heh, that sounds like me as well. I’ve only broken 200 twice: both games in the same night (209, 243). With my first game that night being a 188, I ended up bowling a 600 series! Ain’t come close since. 
Feels good though, don’t it? I did league bowling for about a dozen years, quitting probably 5, or 6, ago. When I started, I think my average was around 130; by the time I quit, I had been up in the mid-190’s range for a few years. My highest series ever was 754. Kinda plateaued out around 190 and it became less fun, I guess. It sounds like you’re continually improving, maybe even dramatically so. And that should feel good, too. Those big games and big series will start coming more regularly; just gotta keep at it. You, too, stegon.
And a small bit of advice. Don’t ignore the shoes. A good pair of bowling shoes can have a dramatic effect on your game. Everything starts with good footwork.
Been there, done that!
I was on the third step of my approach when an IDIOT came running up on my right, 6 lb. kiddie ball in the crook of his arm (so that he could crank as much hook on it as physics will allow). When he hit the foul line, he was still running full speed and his foot slipped into the oil and he went flying.
Well, the angle he was running at tripped him right over the guttercap and into my lane.
Now, backtrack a few paragraphs and you’ll see that I was on the third step of my approach as all of this was happening, and I learned years ago to tune out the malfunctioning pinspotter and continue through the approach to avoid injury (to me) by stopping mid-approach (sweep drops while you’re in the middle of your approach). The same goes for an IDIOT suddenly sprawled in the middle of the lane.
I released the ball (16 lbs.) just as said IDIOT landed on the lane, right around the arrows and the ball got him right in the ribs.
I doubt he ever made that mistake again.
There was a guy in a league who averaged in the 190’s who did this, and was given the nickname ‘Human Rain Delay’. He was cocky, but his mouth led to his team’s downfall one year. It was league championship night, and Cocky Bowler told my friend to shine up the first place trophy for Cocky Bowler’s team. All Cocky Bowler’s team had to do was win ONE point out of the eight possible to clinch the title (they were seven points ahead at the time). Needless to say, Cocky Bowler and his team folded like a cheap tent, lost all eight points, and my friend’s team won the title.
I used to bowl in leagues until it suddenly stopped being fun for me (I was taking the game TOO seriously, and would get frustrated with EVERY bad shot I threw), so I took a two year break, and now just sub when needed. I did have an average of 195 at my high point, with a 299 game, but now, I just try having fun no matter WHAT I bowl.
As far as idiots go, I’ve never really had an experience quite like jasonh300’s, but if I had an experience like his, I’d be tempted to re-enact the scene in Jackass where Johnny Knoxville hits Ryan Dunn in the gonads with a bowling ball. It’s damn hard to stop in mid-motion while trying to control a 16 pound ball without risking serious damage to the shoulder or elbow.
My greatest accomplishment was joining a social league when I had only bowled about 3 times in my life, starting out at a 60 average after my first night and finishing off the year with a 114 average, best game being a 199 and getting the most improved female award. Out of the five people on our team, two of us had never been in a league before and we ended up being the B side champs.
jasonh300, I would pay hard cash to see video of what you described…