Hey there and welcome to another edition of "Blurbs". It is time to blurb away another blurb for you blurb fans out there! As many know, motocross is the sport I live for. But there is one sport I have succeeded at very well in the past but never put in the time like I do with motocross. And that is bowling. I wanted to talk about bowling because hell, if Brett Cue can do it on his column over at Amateur MX's site (www.amateurmx.com), why not me, right? (Insert your sarcastic LOL moment here.) But it's not just that. Just recently, I have been taken a few trips to the lanes around where I live in Northern New Jersey. I have always had a strong addiction to bowling. It could either be the smell of the lanes or just the environment but every time I go, I get that feeling of getting that slice of heaven when I open the doors and see 30+ lanes all ready to roll. The sound of pins flying everywhere is just as addicting, much like hearing the sweet sound of a well prepped two stroke machine hammering a set of insane supercross whoops. Bowling is an easy laid back sport, not like motocross, but I take an individual approach to it and try to better myself each time I go out to the lanes. Either be bowling myself or bowling with friends, I hate getting second. Throughout my childhood, I always wanted to go bowling. May it be either bowling parties or just an open bowling session, I wanted to hit the lanes. I never bowled much as I wanted to. Such sports as baseball, football, and basketball were always on my schedule and I never had much of a chance to go bowling. So in high school, they had a bowling team and after 2 basketball seasons I'd rather forget during the winter, I took up bowling in my Junior year. I did get some flack for doing such an "easy sport" in high school but not as bad. I still think if you were on the golf team in high school, I believe that is worst than being on a bowling team. Bowling is no where near physical, instead for some blisters and such. It is a mental game and I believe I had that solid mentality going into my 1st year on a team. Before the season started, I never got down "curving the bowl" on the lane and all that. In one night, I got it down and the week after, I was on a team bowling. My Junior year was my first year on a team and I ended up having an average in the 140 range. Not great but it beat 100!
Senior year strolled through and I was very determined to come back better and prove myself. I did so with getting a few 200 games and averaging in the 170s. It was a great year for me. My average wasn't what I expected but it sure kicked the 140 average I had the year before out the window. My ball control was better. Everything was better. In the last match of my Senior year (the county championships), I really wanted to throw everything on the table. In practices before the match, I had some 200 games (I bowled a 264 in one of those practices, my highest game to date) and I was hitting my spares really good. I was confident coming in. Then, nothing worked out. I wanted a 600+ series or 3 200+ games. I barely hit the 400 mark after 2 games and that was it. It was tough to deal with. So for the 3rd game, I just messed around and had fun, as it was my last game as a Senior and with the awesome team I was with as well. Then, in the 7th frame, I bowled my first ball and came with a wacky 4-7-9-10 split. It was a crazy looking split. I always had a thing for trying to successfully nailing splits. I made a bunch before and been close to getting the infamous 7-10 split numerous of times. But this one is like a 7-10 with a lil' help. I pretty much chucked the ball down the lane from the right to the left and nailed it! Everyone watching (the whole bowling alley was packed) went completely nuts. My team went crazy. My coach was shocked. And I just brushed it off. It was a feeling like no other. Heck, it was bowling but with a solid crowd cheering for you....it was my only 30 seconds of bowling stardom! It was an amazing way to finish my Senior year. That was 4 years ago. Over those 4 years, I have bowled maybe 10 times just for fun. But I went bowling with my brother and his friends Chris and Cory Mowery and other friends up in Warwick, NY a few weeks ago. I probably hadn't touch a bowling ball for over a year. But somehow I got a 221 and a 195 game. I was like, "Wow, I still got it!" Then I went to an alley in Oakland, NJ just to see if it wasn't a fluke. I bowled 4 200+ games out of 6. I suddenly got interested in bowling in leagues and tournaments. I haven't joined any yet but then again, they are on weekends and guess what happens on weekends! And ever since, I been trying to hit the lanes every week or so just to see if I can improve and maybe go somewhere with it. Plus bowling is a good way to get away from the stress of everyday life. Bowling is pretty much awesome. Like it or not. Thanks
for reading the latest edition of "Blurbs". -Woz
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