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Thursday, March 7, 2019

I Am Not Ashamed!


I Am Not Ashamed!

I have something to confess.  It is not something I generally admit, as it seems these days people with the same belief as me are put down.  We are considered by many to be lower class, uneducated, un-enlightened people.  Well I don’t care anymore, I am going to proudly announce my preference and if this upset you, then stop following this blog.

I am a bowler. 

I have been a bowler since I was eight years old and damn it, I am tired of hiding it, I will not live my life in a closet.

I like to bowl!

I am not a great bowler, but I am ok.  I bowl in a league and am probably the third best bowler on a team of five.

Scoff if you must, but bowling is fun, it is challenging, and damn it, bowlers are salt of the earth people. 

Bowlers do not mince words, if you miss an easy shot, they don’t molly-coddle you with, “Ah too bad, I think the wind affected your shot,” or “You must have slipped,” or “There is a bump in the lane” … bowlers will just tell you, “You sucked on that one!”

Bowlers don’t talk politics, they talk making the ten-pin spare.  They don’t talk about the economy, they talk about bowling.  Bowlers do not drink expensive wine, they drink two buck chuck, beer or whisky, and not the single malt whisky crap, but good old whisky.  Oh, they may drink the good stuff, but they don't make a deal of it.

There is no bowler type, it is the most inclusive of all sports.  Our league has old people, young people and really old people.  There are white people, black people, Jews, Muslims and Christians of all denominations.  They all believe in God, at least they all call his name from time to time on a missed shot or a bad break.

My team has an eighty-plus year-old Italian whose accent sometimes has me answering “Yeah” to comments I cannot understand, but dang he is good!  He is also a good golfer; I think I wanna be like him when I grow up.

We all have one thing in common.  We bowl.  We participate in an often looked down upon sport and we are proud of it. 

Is bowling a sport where you can smoke and or drink in-between frames?  Yeah…so what?

Can really fat people bowl and bowl well?  Yeah…so what. 

There is a little person in our league, she scores as well as any average sized person.  There are elderly bowlers who approach the foul-line like their shoe laces are tied together, but they can bowl pretty damn well.

To even things up, there is a handicap system which gives extra pins to the score of lesser bowlers.  Our league is mixed, men and women compete together.

I am proud of being a bowler. 

We are the least racist, misogynist, ageist athletes in the world.  We accept all people of all abilities.  We high five our opponents when they do well, we never fight or argue, but we are still as competitive as Hell.

Few people my age can shoot a basket, no one over forty-five plays football, skiing can be dangerous, golf is expensive, but damn it. Anyone can bowl!

I bowl, and am proud of it!

17 comments:

  1. I used to bowl but after breaking my ankle and rupturing my Achilles tendon, I just cant do it anymore. When I was young, my Dad and a couple of buddies owned the bowling alley in our hometown. I bowled a whole lot then.

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  2. I haven't bowled in years and only bowled one season in a league, but it was fun when I did. Its good to have an interest like that which you enjoy. And its one sport that can be done year round, so go for it and have fun!

    betty

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  3. For many years i was in love with cricket and if i had to play cricket i would love to bowl and batting both

    i always kept eye on the way player bat or bowl ,loved specially the spinners as they were quite tricky to handle and hardly give runs to batsman

    i don't find it shameful dear Joe
    third best in team of five is quite better i believe
    best wishes for your bowling and i know you will be greater when you be old :)

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  4. Why is bowling looked down upon? Or why do you think it is? It's obviously popular with hundreds of people. all the naysayers need to realise football, basketball and baseball aren't the only sports. I don't bowl, the first time I tried I almost pulled my shoulder out of the socket. Years later with a group of girls I tried again but used the cheat ramp where you put the ball on top and push it down the slope and it rolls along the lane and once I even got a strike doing that. but I haven't been back since then. My youngest plays lawn bowls with his Uncle D and has recently started playing night games too. He loves it.

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  5. Sounds brilliant! I love that it's so diverse - a lesson for mankind there. Practically every pub here in the UK has a skittles team - which is similar but very basic. Team members have to pick up your pins after every roll of the ball! We have ten-pin bowling too but only in the cities and largest towns.

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  6. I always wanted to learn how to bowl but nobody would teach me. Keep going, it keeps you fit.

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  7. Bowling was THE sport in my hometown. I hung out in bowling alleys while my parents played in leagues.

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  8. I am proud of you and envy you.

    I tried bowling. I failed. The ball used to remain stuck to my fingers and then drop with a loud bang that woke up the dead in a nearby cemetery. On the odd occasion I bowled well, the ball always used to slide in the left or right lane and miss the pins altogether. I tried drinking lots of whisky; all types and kinds. It did not help.

    God bless.

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  9. Oh, it's time to fess up? Well, I have a bowling trophy.Not many people know that. It's a good one for when I am forced to play 'two truths and lie.'

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  10. I bowled recently. I am a terrible bowler, but I had great fun and laughed a lot.

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  11. I like five pin bt we don't havr a five pin lane in our community any more....I'm too crippled up to handle a ten pin ball.

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  12. Bowling is fun, even if you don't have the skills. I like galactic bowling, with the black lights on, that makes my white shirt glow. My parents were on a league back in the day, and my sister and I enjoyed wreaking havoc with the other kids. Our parents were too busy having fun to give a hoot as to what we were up to!

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  13. Ah you brought back some cool memories. Use to league bowl and loved it. Was kind of a middle of the road bowler also. Can't bowl these days due to a bum right shoulder but hope the sport flourishes. Bowling makes for a great night out.

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  14. I like it was well. Used to bowl well, now my knee is shot and wants to give out when I come to the foul line. Bummer.

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  15. Both my boys bowled in a Saturday league, and Hick was in a Thursday night league for over 20 years, until they moved to a bowling alley farther away. I have my own ball and shoes, but only tried the league thing for one year. I'd say bowling was a good pastime that kept us off the streets.

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  16. Bowing is so much fun! When i was a senior in high school, it was a privilege to go bowling for our PE classes, and boy did i enjoy it. You are right about it being a great sport for everyone, even when you aren’t very great at it.

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  17. I've tried bowling a few times and thought it was great fun!

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