This is something that I am very happy about because it has been a while since I have accomplished anything of note in our league. It appears as though I might be getting my game back and at least bowling somewhat consistently and every now and then I manage to do something exceptional.... and that was the case this past Thursday at the DUMBO Lotte Mart bowling bonanza.
We had a relatively decent turnout this week with 19 people attending. I'm happy with this even though it is a far cry of our 30 regular attendees that we accomplished last year. A lot of people got burned out or perhaps got frustrated that their scores were not improving. For me this happens every now and then but since the true objective of the bowling outings is the social side of things and not really the competition, I still have a good time even if I do poorly. Another reason why some people stopped coming is because they are monumentally irresponsible adults who can't manage to get out of bed at 9-10AM because of their perpetual hangovers. I don't have a lot of respect for people that are like this and seriously guys, you need to get your alcoholism in check if you can't manage to get out of bed before noon to go and do something fun.
Before I run off on a rant about the importance of being a functioning adult I'll just move on.
I started things out pretty well in my game, managing to mark in nearly every frame. I was a spare monster and all but one frame had me picking up the spares and I only missed one of them but it is justifiable in my mind.
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Just like this .gif exhibits, I am a spin bowler who is right handed. Therefore I am always going to have a spin that carries right to left and the only chance I have of knocking down a single 10 pin on its own is to start at the far left of the lane and get dangerously close to the right gutter and do my best to minimize the spin. Because I have been bowling using this style for over 30 years, turning the spin "off" isn't something I can really do. This is the reason why the single 10 pin is the most difficult pin for me to clean up after a botched strike attempt.
Still, I had a pretty decent score going into the latter parts of the first match. What really did it for me is that in the 8th and 9th frame I achieved excellence and got 3 strikes in a row and this seriously boosts anyone's score.
The way that bowling scoring works is that if you get a strike, it is 10 points plus whatever pins you get on the next 2 balls. So if you get 3 strikes in a row you end up with 30 points in a single frame. By bowling 3 strikes in a row you are guaranteed at least 60 points in those 3 frames even if you got two gutters after the 3rd strike. When you consider that many of our crew end up with 9 points or less in each frame, getting 30 in one frame seriously boosts you score.
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This turned my game that was looking like it was going to be 130 or thereabouts to a game that nearly got me into the 200 club and this is something that we almost never see happen in our league.
Did I make it to 200 points? hell to the no... but I did end up getting really close with a 184 and this is more than 40 pins above my average. This got me the highest score for the month of September as well as one of the medals that we pass out to the crew at our post-bowling ceremony. Because I got three strikes in a row I managed to get another award as well and it is one of the most sought after awards in the history of sport.
Nadi looks absolutely delighted doesn't she? Well this is just because she gets annoyed when I make her pose for photos and she is also strangely afraid of that rubber chicken because she doesn't like the sound that it makes. I was given this award at the lanes and I was really happy about it. Unfortunately my rival and the guy who is currently the best bowler in our league based on weekly score managed to get his own 3 strikes a row just a few minutes after I got mine. Therefore the "gobbler" was given over to him. This actually happens quite frequently and the shortest amount of time that anyone has held this award was a mere 12 seconds.
I'm quite happy with a 184 whenever I get something like that but it may not stay at the top of the ranks for very long. There are a handful of competitors in our league that regularly come a knockin' on 200's door and I suspect that this score will be beaten before the end of the month. We used to have a yearly top score but honestly, all it takes is for someone to have an outstanding game in February and then they are going to hold that record for far too long.
It's a shame that I can't manage to bowl this well when I am actually competing for the championship belt. The last time I faced off for the belt I did just awful with one of my scores being a pathetic 82. People who have never bowled before can get an 82. Let's hope that I can remain consistent into the near future.