# What exactly was the cause for bowling going out of favor in the past 30 years? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 15, 2018, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-the-cause-for-bowling-going-out-of-favor-in-the-past-30-years/817960 "2018-07-15T19:47:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-the-cause-for-bowling-going-out-of-favor-in-the-past-30-years/817960/41 "2018-07-17T12:07:19Z")
> [@CelticKnot](#): > > We wish someone would open a mini-golf course, but no. That’s another story. Challenging mini-golf courses are almost non-existent, because they are mostly seen as ironic because their metal and/or concrete sides remind people of cheesy old-school decorations like dinosaurs and windmills. The new ones with waterfalls and pirate ships look nice from a distance, but it’s almost impossible to plot where your ball will go with the brick and/or rock sides. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-the-cause-for-bowling-going-out-of-favor-in-the-past-30-years/817960/42 "2018-07-17T13:16:25Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > I see bowling as a game for older blue-collar men. Older blue-collar men of the type who bowled regularly are pretty much gone. A couple decades ago, wasn’t bowling a big thing among night-shift workers? As I recall, many bowling lanes were open 24 hours; after the shift ended at midnight, bowling was a common activity for after-work socializing. But that was when unionized factory workers worked regular shifts with standard hours --not like today’s retail workers who never know when their next shift will be. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-the-cause-for-bowling-going-out-of-favor-in-the-past-30-years/817960/43 "2018-07-17T13:34:03Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > I think the better question is why the sudden surge in bowling that started in the late 50s, stayed high through the 60s and then dropped back to its previous level. I think it’s not coincidence that the rise and decline of bowling matches the period of peak affluence of the white working class. Bowling is expensive, but it was affordable during that time period because incomes were relatively high. Since wages have stagnated, bowling has become increasingly too expensive. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-the-cause-for-bowling-going-out-of-favor-in-the-past-30-years/817960/44 "2018-07-17T14:23:40Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Anybody remember [The bowling Game](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfUWo0vtc9g) or “Bowling for dollars” that a lot of local media markets had? It was immensely popular here in the 70’s and 80’s. When the news was discussing the NHL trying to expand into the USA around 1970 and get hockey onto network TV, I remember some factoid that the three biggest sports on broadcast TV were baseball, then football, then bowling. Eventually basketball overtook bowling. One of the Buffalo channels (4?) had the Bowling for Dollars show every afternoon, until old reruns came along to fill the time slot much cheaper. (A Buffalo channel also used to have the afternoon money giveaway - they’d announce who they were going to phone, call the house, and if the person could tell them what was happening on the show they were playing, would win a small prize. They stopped announcing the address when they called one house, nobody answered, so someone went and robbed the place.) I suspect that bowling suffered from an image problem. It was more for old guys looking for an excuse to get out of the house and drink (“lodge” was a close second there) and for blue collar class. The fact that old white guys from the Flintstones to Jackie Gleason to any other similar demographic were most often shown as bowlers, didn’t make it “cool”. You never saw Dick on Bewitched bowling for example IIRC and he had a more upscale job. You never saw Beaver or My Three Sons bowling that I recall - not shown as a child-centric activity. Archie Bunker IIRC bowled but Meathead didn’t. Rarely saw women portrayed as bowling. The 60’s -70’s counter-culture also helped make bowling un-cool, rejecting what was the norm for the previous generation. Like the family dinner, many other family-centered activities seem to have fallen by the wayside, and as mentioned about cable TV, far more choices compete for people’s attention. ---
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-the-cause-for-bowling-going-out-of-favor-in-the-past-30-years/817960/45 "2018-07-17T14:56:11Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > When the news was discussing the NHL trying to expand into the USA around 1970 and get hockey onto network TV, I remember some factoid that the three biggest sports on broadcast TV were baseball, then football, then bowling. Eventually basketball overtook bowling. One of the Buffalo channels (4?) had the Bowling for Dollars show every afternoon, until old reruns came along to fill the time slot much cheaper. I believe that bowling still has higher viewership in the US than NHL hockey. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-the-cause-for-bowling-going-out-of-favor-in-the-past-30-years/817960/46 "2018-07-17T16:43:13Z")
The drinking and driving thing is probably a factor but not the major one. Part of it may be the decrease in league activity due to more job mobility. When people worked their whole lives at one job enduring bowling leagues could form based on that relationship. To keep a league going now is a lot more difficult. Life mobility in general has increased, people change their lives more often in many ways, marital status changes, spending more time at home with their kids with both parents working, more child focused activities outside the home as well. Another change on the job front is the hours with fewer people working factory hours that would leave them time for a weekly bowling night. The few alleys still in business around here are doing well but have added a ton of arcade games and seem to be booking a lot of parties not leagues. ---
**Author:** ![Mrdeals](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@Mrdeals](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrdeals)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-the-cause-for-bowling-going-out-of-favor-in-the-past-30-years/817960/47 "2018-07-17T17:07:54Z")
Bowling is still popular here in the upper Midwest. However, all of the popular bowling alleys have added things like; arcade games, laser tag, full service restaurant, etc. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-the-cause-for-bowling-going-out-of-favor-in-the-past-30-years/817960/48 "2018-07-17T17:11:38Z")
Is bowling really that expensive? I think it’s only $5 a game at the place near me, a little more if you have to rent shoes. Sure, a more serious bowler might choose to buy a ball and shoes, but a lot of sports have some basic equipment you’ll want to purchase if you really get into it. When I was in a league a few years ago it was something like $12/week but that included 3 games and a pizza buffet on bowling night and a $50 voucher you could use either at the pro shop or toward drinks/food. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-the-cause-for-bowling-going-out-of-favor-in-the-past-30-years/817960/49 "2018-07-17T18:02:13Z")
Another doubter of the costs of bowling. My mother was quite a good bowler. Her team won some local championships. And we were not exactly well off, to say the least. But she could afford shows, ball, bag, team shirt, etc. I think once the decline set in fees went up to compensate, but not during the heyday. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-the-cause-for-bowling-going-out-of-favor-in-the-past-30-years/817960/50 "2018-07-17T18:58:20Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > It could be. When I was growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, in Illinois and (especially) in Wisconsin, bowling was huge. Men’s leagues tended to be on weekday evenings, and (probably a lot like fraternal organizations like the Moose and Elks, which have also declined dramatically) it was a vehicle to socialize with other men, without the families present. Women’s leagues tended to be during the day, as more women were stay-at-home moms then, and it was a way for them to socialize with other women, without their husbands around – the alleys where my mom bowled had “kids’ rooms” where they could park us, just like the tennis club did. > > All of those dynamics have changed since then. I agree that this is probably a big part of it. Back then many less women worked; they were stay-at-home moms, tended to the kids & ran errands during the day. Dad came home to a cooked meal ready & waiting & not much to do afterwards. Now, with more people working, & with longer commutes there isn’t as much time for these events. Volunteer firefighters & EMS are _waaay_ down. Other fraternal organizations are also down. It seems there’s less free time & more activities available to occupy that less time than there used to be. We got cable in the early 80s-ish range. More channels & less ghosts from lousy reception. VCRs & the ability to watch a movie at home (repeatedly) also contributed. We just went out & played as kids, now it seems there’s a lot less of that & much more in terms of organized activities for the kids, which also cuts into the parent’s free time. > [@TubaDiva](#): > > I blame the shoes. 😃 We were in HS & went to some (underage) dance club about 40 mins one weekend night. About ½ of us wore shoes while the other ½ wore sneakers. Quickly realizing how long the round trip would be, especially when including a stop at each person’s house for them to run in, find & change their footwear meant we’d get back way to late to make it worthwhile. Someone got the bright idea that there was a bowling alley around the corner. In five mins, we had gone, rented shoes & were back to the dance club. Picking up girls is tough at that age, it’s extra tough when you’re wearing three-colored velcro-closing shoes. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-the-cause-for-bowling-going-out-of-favor-in-the-past-30-years/817960/51 "2018-07-17T19:07:05Z")
> [@Surreal](#): > > I believe that bowling still has higher viewership in the US than NHL hockey. There is no way that that’s true. I doubt that bowling even beats out auto racing or golf. ---
**Author:** ![Surreal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@Surreal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surreal)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-the-cause-for-bowling-going-out-of-favor-in-the-past-30-years/817960/52 "2018-07-17T19:41:30Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > There is no way that that’s true. I doubt that bowling even beats out auto racing or golf. I don’t have time to search for more recent figures right now but this was certainly true as of 2006: > **[NHL's Strong Comeback Marred by Poor TV Ratings](https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/04/AR2006060400897.html)** > > The NHL has realized many of its post-lockout goals but television ratings remain abysmal and with two small market teams in the Stanley Cup finals the ratings trend will likely continue. > [@](#): > > The big exception is television ratings – a key revenue driver and measure of a sport’s mass appeal – which have gone from bad to worse. The NHL playoffs, mostly relegated to the Outdoor Life Network (OLN), a second-tier cable channel known for hunting and fishing programs and its Tour de France coverage, have barely registered with the American public. NBC’s ratings aren’t great, either. > > **“You look at the playoff [ratings] numbers, and they have been beaten pretty soundly by poker and bowling,”** said Paul Swangard, managing director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-the-cause-for-bowling-going-out-of-favor-in-the-past-30-years/817960/53 "2018-07-18T01:15:18Z")
> [@Surreal](#): > > I don’t have time to search for more recent figures right now but this was certainly true as of 2006: > > [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/04/AR2006060400897.html](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/04/AR2006060400897.html) 2006 was the year after the NHL lockout, and those numbers are for playoffs only. They have major network support now (12 years later). ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-the-cause-for-bowling-going-out-of-favor-in-the-past-30-years/817960/54 "2018-07-18T05:05:16Z")
> [@Mrdeals](#): > > However, all of the popular bowling alleys have added things like; arcade games, laser tag, full service restaurant, etc. Landmark Lanes in Milwaukee has a neat arcade and 3 separate bars each different. But it’s on the crazy east side and I can’t stand that area. One of the rare times I was in there a 28 year old man fell dead on his bar stool. Just assumed room temperature and plopped his head on the bar. Had he been in a car he’d of had the glory of going out blowing the horn wide open. Cause of bowling going out of favor: coke heads vapor locking at the bar! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-the-cause-for-bowling-going-out-of-favor-in-the-past-30-years/817960/55 "2018-07-18T05:15:27Z")
While I’ve noticed the regular alleys being rather empty even on weekends, some of the unique places around here seem to be doing decent business. [Kozs Mini Bowl](http://www.kozsminibowl.com/), [The Thirsty Duck](http://www.thethirstyduck.com/), and the [Holler House](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holler_House) all appear to be thriving. All of them have reservations required. ---
**Author:** ![davey77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90ced4/32.png) [@davey77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davey77)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-the-cause-for-bowling-going-out-of-favor-in-the-past-30-years/817960/56 "2018-07-18T07:00:09Z")
I think it’s for the same reason that any bar with the necessary real estate has created a makeshift outdoor section-- smoking bans. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-the-cause-for-bowling-going-out-of-favor-in-the-past-30-years/817960/57 "2018-07-18T07:03:09Z")
> [@davey77](#): > > I think it’s for the same reason that any bar with the necessary real estate has created a makeshift outdoor section-- smoking bans. It’s true that bowling alleys were traditionally very smokey, though I think that bowling started to decline even before indoor smoking bans became widespread. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-the-cause-for-bowling-going-out-of-favor-in-the-past-30-years/817960/58 "2018-07-18T08:19:26Z")
Nobody’s mentioned the real reason: We, collectively, as a nation, found out we could just _buy_ soup. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-the-cause-for-bowling-going-out-of-favor-in-the-past-30-years/817960/59 "2018-07-18T12:16:17Z")
I’m sure there are lots of people who are grossed out by the idea of “renting” shoes that god knows who wore before them. I decided to buy my own pair to avoid that but they weren’t cheap. Secondly, the lanes I grew up near had a great deal during morning hours when you paid a flat fee and could bowl as much as you wanted for something like 2-3 hours. My arm would get sore long before that. The fee was something like 1.5x the cost of 1 normal game. I live in another state now, and I haven’t been able to find that kind of bargain rate anywhere. Also, If you’re there with only one person, a game can fly by, and you may feel that you didn’t get your money’s worth of entertainment. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2018, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-the-cause-for-bowling-going-out-of-favor-in-the-past-30-years/817960/60 "2018-07-19T20:37:55Z")
just some things that hurt bowling. Despite good tv ratings in the 1960s and 1970s they were never able to leverage its stars into national sports figures like others did with Arnold Palmer, Billie Jo King and a whole bunch of others. There never has been a big bowling tournament the average fan would turn in to watch like the Masters, Wimbledon, Kentucky Derby or Indianapolis 500. It’s not an Olympic sport (if curling can be an Olympic sport, so could bowling) with a massive exposure every four years. It’s not a team sport so there is no inclination to watch because “it’s our guys”. I doubt if very few schools have a bowling section during Physical Education so children don’t get exposed that way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-the-cause-for-bowling-going-out-of-favor-in-the-past-30-years/817960.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-was-the-cause-for-bowling-going-out-of-favor-in-the-past-30-years/817960.md?page=4)