Bowling, The Wright Way - December 2005 by Don Wright
Opinions Are Like Bellybuttons, Everybody's Got One

I find that depending on which discussion board you go on, the posters attitude can be quite different. The posters on the PBA discussion boards seem to know all the answers to "soft conditions," Dave Ryan and Randy Pedersen, and "Why nobody thinks bowling is a sport." There is a meanness, or belligerence on that board.

If you go to Bowl.com they have such topics as "Opinions on Merging," 300 Rings on E-Bay, Awards, and a long, long discussion on an association that some say is poorly run. But, for the most part the posters seem genuinely concerned about bowling in general and are a bit more civil.

Bowlers Journal forum has topics from and about Phantom Radio, some complaints about the posters on the PBA forum, and the BJI Tournaments. What is interesting about all of the boards is that there are many people who view the topics, but only a few who respond. For example, one topic had 36,000 views and 1,200 posts.

On the Bowl.com forum there are two bowling writers who are very busy posting. One, a highly respected writer, posts very concise, informative, and knowledgeable responses. He is a very prolific poster having joined the board in 2002 and has written nearly 750 posts.

There are several PBA bowlers who post using screen names on the PBA forum. Some are very informative and others quite simply try to stir the pot of dissention.

I firmly believe that many of the posters just try to get an argument going. I find that I, too, often take a stance just to see some of the posters lose their cool.

What does bother me is that people often post wanting information and instead they get sarcasm from some boob at 4 a.m. in the morning with nothing to do but be a bellybutton.

Another thing that bothers me is that the vast majority of the PBA forum is negative. I agree that not everything about the ESPN coverage is perfect, but we have bowling on television. Enjoy it. Your chronic complaining about the announcers won't change anything and the poster complaining about Randy's mistakes always misspell Pedersen.

The PBA patterns are here to stay, live with it. Rather than moan and groan about some bowler beating your friend, try congratulating the guy for winning. That's his job and if your buddy got beat quit making excuses for him. He isn't making any for himself.

It's always easy to be a bellybutton when you hide behind a screen name.

I love the PBA and I have many bowlers I really enjoy watching. PDW, Duke, Kent, Wiseman, Ozio and Big Wes Malott. I enjoy them for different reasons, but Malott is a breath of fresh air. Being from Round Rock, a 30 minute drive from my home makes him a local as far as I am concerned. But, I have watched Malott over the years in the Southwest Regionals and have seen how hard he has worked on his weight and his physical game. I have watched his quiet demeanor and professional attitude as he has developed into a true competitor on the Tour.

The PBA Tour takes a hammering on their own web site. Chris Berman on ESPN asked the other talking heads "Do you know Fred "the Hammer" Williamson? Then ESPN showed Malott and Berman said here's Wes "Mallet."

Jim Dressel in a Bowlers Journal interview with Tom Clark asked, "Why does the media have a problem with bowling?" Clark responded in part by saying, "I think snobbery is a part of it."

Well, maybe that's true, but we bring a lot of it on ourselves when we post negative things on public forums. When we constantly complain about integrity in the sport and promote sport bowling and turn down sport bowling honor scores because the lanes didn't meet the high standards expected, we only fuel the naysayers.

Bowling is like a candle that's slowly burning out. A flashlight with weakening batteries. It needs recharging and guys like Malott may be just the thing.

Then again, I may simply be a bellybutton.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from the Wright house.

See you on the lanes.