I started bowling in the 90's. I took 2 years of lessons from a local pro and started competing. I bowled in a father/son league and taught my son to bowl. He became a MAUSBCYA state champion at age 15. My wife decided to join a league with me and let me teach her. My son, daughter and her husband bowl in the same league we do and league night has become family night. Bowling is contagious, competitive and fun. It is great exercise for the body and the brain.

"You can NEVER not have fun bowling"......Nice piece on the sport.....wish it was longer

I grew up bowling in an 8 lane house. Pretty cool to see the one in this vid. Brings back memories. They also showed a 72 lane house in the vid. That's pretty big. Don't see too many bowling alleys on either of those ends of the spectrum.

i stopped going to my local bowling ally because gangs hung out there on the weekend and drugs and violence became common place. It shutdown for good in the mid 2000's.

I have been bowling for 49 years since I was 3 yeas old. Never had a concussion while bowling. You would think that parents who are looking for a sport that is safe for kids would turn them to bowling. We can turn the sport around to it's glory days if people would just turn their cell phones off for 4 hours a week. 2 hours for parents to join a league and 2 hours a week for kids to join a junior program.This should be the USBC's rallying cry to save bowling.

bowling is so fun though

I love bowling

Johnny King used to have a stogie when on Championship Bowling in the 50's and 60's. As far as chasing the dollar,the cost of living is much greater in most of the USA than it is in Wisconsin.

La Habra 300 is probably the last real bowling alley in so cal. Great place.

Weren't there superstar bowlers decades ago who made more than NFL superstars today?

@pdef1949

3 жыл бұрын

No, the money was not that much then or now in comparison. There were some superstars from back in the golden age who won a lot of tournaments and money, but their career earnings barely match what an NFL QB makes for ONE GAME.

@5278ryan

3 жыл бұрын

@@pdef1949 wrong back in the 50s 60s and 70s bowlers made more than most professional sports . 60,000 dollars a tournament back then was like 500,000 in today’s money . Yearly average salary of a football player back then was 30,000 a YEAR .

I would like bowling even more than I do now If I actually knew how to bowl

@ryanmai7888

4 жыл бұрын

Learn

Bowling died for two reasons. First, women went to the workplace en masse in the 1970s, killing the day leagues that brought in a lot of revenue. Second, more significantly, they made the game too easy. Between reactive balls and oil patterns that would have been illegal at one time, the skill was driven from the game with the horrible judgment that more scoring would equal more excitement and interest. When I was active as a bowler throughout the '70s and '80s, averaging 200 in a league was a really big deal, and a 300 game was so rare that most bowling centers would go the entire season without seeing one in sanctioned play. Give me natural wood lanes with lacquer finishes, edge-to-edge oil patterns, and rubber or plastic bowling balls and we'll talk. Until then, FORE!

1 participant sport in the nation - what does that mean?

@roodlesprease7659

7 жыл бұрын

biggest as measured in number of participants

@James-un5bc

5 жыл бұрын

4 million people per week compete in sanctioned leagues... in the 60s that number was 50 million plus. A decline of more than 90% and its still number 1.

@lylebarnard7447

5 жыл бұрын

@@James-un5bc James the USBC has only one point eight million people as part of its membership 4 million would be a mid-1990s estimate bowling is dying a slow death

@James-un5bc

5 жыл бұрын

@@lylebarnard7447 damn i had heard 4m about 2 years ago which was down from whatever. I know the golden days back in the 50-60s it was some ridiculous like 50million... this only speeds up my answer that the usbc will probably be dead in ten years. unfortunately the bpaa will probably take over and find a way to ease up lane conditions even more

@lylebarnard7447

5 жыл бұрын

@@James-un5bc I'm afraid you are correct James somebody will take over bowling. And make the lane conditions easier than they already are

Bowling has been ruined by equipment, goofy lane patterns, cost of the equipment

@bradleycoopersmith5699

5 жыл бұрын

good points. you could add cost of the bowling itself. I took my kids bowling here in NYC (yeah, I know, everything is expensive here!), and it cost me $60 for one game with shoes. big nope. on top of that, the shoes and alley balls are CRAP!

@tylerstine784

5 жыл бұрын

@@bradleycoopersmith5699 yeah that's ridiculous. I live in a small town with 3 bowling alleys within 10 miles each way 1 of which is in my home town and only about 5 blocks from me. You wouldnt pay more than 20 dollars here for a game with all your kids. 60 dollars is ridiculous

3:14 - 3:26 Tell me about it.

DMB firedancer in the background

The truth is…. Whoever is in charge of growing the sport of bowling is doing a TOTAL FAILURE of their job. They found a way to make a cool sport COMPLETELY UNCOOL. Fucken sad. Thats what happens when you put people who are out of touch with reality in charge

Part of the problem of bowling is the USBC it's a poor organization ran poorly

@pdef1949

3 жыл бұрын

I recently took up the game after a 32 year absence and notice what you're talking about. Frankly, USBC seems to be a shell of the former ABC. The other thing I see is that the equipment changes have made high scores much easier to obtain. The skill level required to be a 200 averge bowler now would have gotten 170-180 average 35 years ago. But the sport has to evolve, just as when I started as a junior bowler in the mid 60's everyone used a hard rubber ball and lane conditions were highly variable even within the same geographic area. Plastic balls and then urethane made it easier to cope with changing conditions, but now equipment and standard lane conditions allow for bowlers with fundamental flaws in their games to shoot telephone numbers. That's good for leagues but with the decline in league bowing, centers are more dependent on open bowling to make a profit and the equipment changes haven't trickled down to them.

@lylebarnard7447

3 жыл бұрын

@@pdef1949 me and you know that there is a big difference between yesteryears Lane conditions and today's Lane conditions it's the youth that don't realize that what the PBA balls on and what league balls on are two different animals in order for the bowling to be united we would have to have the PBA Lane conditions as lead conditions or the other way around I'm sure you've bowl Nationals there's a big difference between leauge lane conditions and Nationals in 1979 in 1980 we had 10 million sanctioned bowlers we our under 1.3 million bowlers something's wrong

i heard milwaukee is a nguh slum

@londyn9314

6 жыл бұрын

roodles prease its not most parts are nice actually

Getting rewarded for good shots in bowling is hard. Changing oil patterns and super light pins make taking down the full rack difficult. However, if you focus on perfecting your control, roll, and accuracy, then that becomes the true reward. Bowling should be considered an individual sport, not a participant sport. A workout, in other words. When you bowl to perfect the timing, release and finish , you become the winner. So bowl individually to workout. Don't join a league or involve yourself with competition whereby you put unnecessary pressure, stress, and regret on yourself. It's the natural tendency for the western man to measure him or herself against others (aka competition.) However that isn't good for the sport and for you. Finally, don't drink when you bowl. Remember, balance is crucial in sport. It is the secret to power, control, and accuracy. A good bowler's approach has a natural drift in order to align his body relative to the ball for the maximum side lift at the release, however you don't want to have the drunkard's stagger. That will only add frustration to your game.

@tbonelee3629

6 жыл бұрын

I agree with your ideas on how 2 become a better bowler. but I disagree with the suggestion 2 not join a league, or compete. I don't think there's such a thing as a sport that isn't a 'participation. sport'; if U do it, U're participating, whether alone or with others. I would say join a league, if U want. there's a social atmosphere that can be relaxing and fun. there are other eyes watching your game and people who want 2 see U improve your game. and when we compete as team mates, we share goals with people other than ourselves.

@cyworld2707

6 жыл бұрын

You views are well taken. My point, however, is that competition makes you result oriented whereas bowling for exercise without regard for the score is like yoga or floor exercise, it lets you get in touch with your senses, balance and rhythm that leads to a natural, powerful delivery not affected by the final outcome.

@tbonelee3629

6 жыл бұрын

when I want the benefits of yoga, I do yoga. bowling is a game, not a floor exercise, though anyone is more than free 2 approach it that way. even if U're doing something inn order 2 'get in touch with your sense, balance and rhythm' U won't know if _that's_ happening without attention 2 results.

@GradyPhilpott

5 жыл бұрын

If all your bowling is to be done alone, which I don't agree with, then at least one day a week should be done with a coach, so that you don't spend a ton of money and time learning bad habits. It's good to work on your game, but honestly, playing with and against others is what motivates most people to work hard, train, and push for higher and higher averages.

@kelvinballer23

5 жыл бұрын

Not sure what you’re talking about dude. Yoga is yoga, bowling is bowling. Competition is half of the fun. That’s why we play video games or play sports. The commodity and friends you make make it very rewarding and fun. Dealing with pressure is a part of life, ain’t no bowling score gonna stress a real man out. Just chill and have fun. And have a drink if you want. Bowling can be done alone but even better in a league, friends, and family!

Did he really call Bowling a sport? LoL Hahahahahaha bowling sport hahahahaha sport. Yes and throwing rocks into water is also a sport. Hahahahahhahahha bowling sport hahahahaha.

@connorbean1162

6 жыл бұрын

Sport definition: an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment. That's literally what bowling is 😂😂

@2bagel_882

6 жыл бұрын

Judging by your profile picture, you seem to be perfectly serious

@claudeheffington562

5 жыл бұрын

Where have you been Smith we've been trying to make bowling an Olympic sport for years.

@James-un5bc

5 жыл бұрын

It's probably why professional tournaments vary up to 56 games in a week. Let me know how you feel after you get done with 50 games in under 7 days. Oh don't forget a practice session of a couple of hours and bowling with fans for a few hours before that too.