First Night
I bowled 162, 129, 167. Which is nice because this league is on a PBA pattern; the same tougher lane conditions that the pros bowl on. One game I even managed to beat my coach. I did well and he did not-so-good.End of a Bowling Era (and maybe my season)
High drama. As a bit of bowling history, in the pre-computer scoring and pre-spreadsheet era it was a giant pain in the ass to run a league. You had to take a pile of paper and then keep track of individual scores, team scores, averages, etc. Then you had to make and distribute weekly tallies.Because running leagues took a lot of effort bowling alleys had two choices: they could hire extra people or they could just let someone else do it. They let someone else do it. Leagues were run by whomever wanted to run them. Those independent managers would lease a set of lanes from the alley, do the work of promotion and bookkeeping, and then charge a management fee to the league bowlers.
With the advent of computer scoring and league manager software it became easy to run a league. So now one guy employed by the bowling alley can run all the leagues in his spare time. Over the decades houses have absorbed nearly all the leagues; the house leagues grew every time an indie manager would quit or die. Decades passed.
As it happens the sport league I just joined is the last independently managed league at my house (Lanes & Games). We had two teams that did not show up and the house league scheduled at the same time had four extra teams show up. The house gets the same lanes fees either way but, quite reasonably, they would like the most number of people bowling on those lanes. Also, the house would like to go 100% house for many reasons: several variations of less paperwork. The last independent league would like to stay independent for many reasons too: the house won't guarantee a PBA sport league, or a less than 100% handicap league - in short the house won't assure a old fashioned hardcore league.
[This is the last indie league because it is descended from the old most popular and competitive league: the Monday night Mens only]
I don't have a dog in this fight. I only started bowling last summer, I didn't know there was a tension, and I like everyone involved when they are talking about anything but this issue.
Unfortunately I don't think there will be a good resolution. I hear that the house has been trying to grind down the indy league for a long time so even an offer that allows the last indy league to retire with grace might be rebuffed.
That and the house doesn't seem interested in running a league with less than 100% handicap or a PBA pattern; they have enough business without catering to sub-markets (lend me $3mil to build a competing bowling alley - we'll make a killing).
All done it is sad and unnecessary. The sport league is done either next week or at the end of the season and because of the way it was handled some people will never come back [not me -ed]. I'm surprised by the crazy politics that happen at the bowling alley. I'm ashamed that I didn't predict it because I knew that even bowling alleys are run by humans.