How does "Anger" affect your game? Have other teams made you pissed?

[Aslan]

Okay...so during one league recently...I got upset. Not at myself for bowling bad or at the other team...just overall situation.

AND...I bowled really good. The anger/being upset seemed to calm me down, make me focused.

On other nights...if I'm angry at MYSELF...for making bad shots...I tend to do WORSE...it just spirals downward.

LAST NIGHT...I got angry at a member of the other team. I was bowling well...and this lady was a bit drunk...and;

1) Moved my ball bag...for no apparent reason. She said she moved it so "someone could sit there" but it was on OUR TEAM's side...and NOBODY sat there (our team sits more towards the back at a table).
2) Every time I'd go up to bowl...she'd have some snarky thing to say. I had to keep reaching underneath her to get my shoes (again...because she was sitting on OUR side)...because I was taping myself a couple frames each game for instructional purposes...and despite explaining this to her MULTIPLE TIMES...each time she asked, "why do you need your shoe? why do you keep taking your shoe out?"
3) And THIS is what really did it...she coughed LOUDLY during my approach...OBVIOUSLY on purpose. And of course...it was one of my only "gutter balls" of the night.

But last i night..the anger didn't "help" me...it was more like being mad at my game...it just seemed to make me bowl worse.

So I guess, just curious...have you guys dealt with anger, either at fellow teammates, the league, the alley, at yourself, a spouse, or the opposing team and how is it affected you? Improved your game, made it worse? Any helpful techniques you use to get out of a funk when you're "angered"?

[noeymc]

for me anger makes me a worse bowler cuz then i start to slack on my forum and i don't focus as much so i go in to it sprayd down with pam and let everything slide off of me pressure bring the best out in me i am more focused when i bowled my 700 series i was in a tournament ( it was in youth) city i believe and i just wanted to win so bad and put so much pressure on my self i showed up and made sure to hit my mark and pick up spares sadly i cant replicate that feeling in league =D you just gotta find what frame of mind u bowl best in and show up in that mind set if u ask me anger is not a good mind set again if u ask me

[e-tank]

makes me bowl worse. Sometimes i get mad at other teams, usually for taking too long to bowl or when you have the front 7 they say something that screws me up(this is my fault though). I get mad at myself when i pull it. Sometimes i get mad at the center for not cleaning the backends when there is massive carrydown from open bowling. I focus on keeping calm and making shots

[dnhoffman]

Bowling is like golf... The less zen you have the crappier you bowl.

[Hammer]

I don't let anger enter my game. If I am having a bad night I just accept it and do the best I can one frame at a time. Anger in anything only makes things worse. The thing that bugs me for a short while on league night are the bowlers that go flying by you as you are making your approach. It usually will distract me and make me pull my shot. Not good at all if I have a good game going or stringing
strikes. I empty that out of my head as quick as possible and carry on. After something like that I learn my lesson and watch to make sure I know the bowlers on either side of me that do that and let them go first. On a three game set on league night the first game had 6 opens and ended with a 135. I didn't get angry about it. I figured out what I was doing wrong and had a second game of 207 and a third of 227. In bowling you play the game one frame at a time and never give up no matter what and do your best for that night until the very end. :cool:

[vdubtx]

Anger doesn't enter into any equation with my game. I might get mad at myself for missing a spare, but you just cannot control the actions of others. People can sometimes be just plain douchess, it's just in their nature. Not worth getting worked up about it.

[mike_thomas93]

Anger doesn't really affect me much. I guess when I miss an easy spare, that's where I sometimes get upset, but hey, every bowler misses spares. It's part of the game. As for teams getting on my nerves, I can only iterate from high school season, but nothing really. Sure, some teams can get a little rowdy sometimes, but there's nothing wrong with cheering. So yeah, I guess one thing that would irritate me is when someone else goes on the approach when I'm already up first, then it makes me have to back off. And I guess when someone goes at the same time as me, it kind of throws me off a little. But overall, nah, I don't let anger overpower me in my game.

[Stormed1]

I don't get mad, I get even. When I get angry at another team I get super focused and execute better. As far as mad at myself my attitude is U can't have that shot back, just don't do it again

[dnhoffman]

I don't get mad, I get even. When I get angry at another team I get super focused and execute better. As far as mad at myself my attitude is U can't have that shot back, just don't do it again

Exactly, it's the only way to look at it. I've seen teams get so angry that they bowl worse and worse as the night goes on. I have one team mate in particular who gets really pissed very easily and if it happens early in the night he's guaranteed to throw a crappy set.

[circlecity]

I used to get angry when I was a teen like 14 years old. If I threw a bad shot I would get pissed and the rest of the day was hell. Now, as an adult I just handle situations better. One week a bowler on my lanes kept popping his thumb hole at the rack while I was on the approach. It distracted me a bit so rest of the night I let him go first. Problem solved.

[MICHAEL]

Anger makes ICEMAN melt!!! And in that liquid state, I seem to do even BETTER! There was a guy on the other team last night that I didn't care for!! I didn't like the way he treated his two very young children!!!!!!! He was their anchor, and had a 300 a while back, but he is hot, and very cool,,, he started out with a spare, and 8 strikes, then open in the 10, ICEMAN had a 300! I rest my case.... Anger under control can be a lethal weapon when I have a bowling ball in my hand.....I destroy pins!!

My other 300 in April, my wife did not like a guy we were bowling, and I didn't care for him much either! We started out strike for strike all the way to the 9 frame, he spared out, and I went the distance! It seems like if ICEMAN doesn't like you, it feeds his desire to destroy you in bowling!! ... what better way to get your feeling out then with a bowling ball... ;)

[Aslan]

Rumor has it that you used to have 124 average but then started bowling with Jamau...who you despise so much...and he angers you so much...now you're a PBA pro.

Now it all makes sense. :cool:

[Jimjammajay]

Anger is going to affect you only the way you let it affect you. You're always going to make a bad shot here and there, and there's always that one a-hole to deal with. Its all about how you learn to take it one frame at a time and let your scores do the talking.

[MICHAEL]

Rumor has it that you used to have 124 average but then started bowling with Jamau...who you despise so much...and he angers you so much...now you're a PBA pro.

Now it all makes sense. :cool:

What makes sense to you Aslan,, may be total B.S. to 99.9 percent of the humanoid race! Yes,,, Aslan, you are different, maybe a better word, Special! LOL
There are places besides a bowling alley where you can go and get the very SPECIAL help, I feel you might NEED! :p

When I started out bowling not long ago,,, I had a much higher average, get you figures right!! My staring average was 129, which might be what yours is now? LOL Jamau,, Jason/Bowling God/Bowula,,, does not ANGER ME, like you do Aslan. He is a good friend, like you could be, if you only could learn to tame your Special Thoughts, and in many cases keep them in that very special place called your mind!!

I don't (mind) your comments, I find some of them actually SPECIAL,,,, like you,,, and YOUR special NEEDS!! LOL

lol,,, I hope you know that ICEMAN does like you, and just like you play around with me, I do the same, only in a more SPECIAL way.... :p

[mjoyce]

I don't normally get angry. Sometimes frustrated though which is just as bad. I need to do a better job of not letting that have an impact on my game. Like last Friday at leagues I couldn't hit my mark to save my life so I was leaving all kinds of spares. And I couldn't hit my mark so I wasn't picking them up and it was driving me insane. I need to find a way to release that frustration and not bowl with it. Sometimes I can and sometimes I can't. Sometimes beers help...:cool:

[Aslan]

I've found that confidence can sometimes help. Even if it's sort of "false" confidence.

I've noticed I bowl exponentially better if I'm doing well than if I start out struggling. And a lot of it is confidence. If I feel when I get on the approach...that I can strike...I'm throwing the ball well...I'm helping my team...I tend to throw that ball well. If I go up there worried that I'll break 100, worried that my thumb might stick, worried that I'm letting my team down, and generally just feeling like a "bad bowler"...70% chance I miss the headpin.

[mjoyce]

I've found that confidence can sometimes help. Even if it's sort of "false" confidence.

I've noticed I bowl exponentially better if I'm doing well than if I start out struggling. And a lot of it is confidence. If I feel when I get on the approach...that I can strike...I'm throwing the ball well...I'm helping my team...I tend to throw that ball well. If I go up there worried that I'll break 100, worried that my thumb might stick, worried that I'm letting my team down, and generally just feeling like a "bad bowler"...70% chance I miss the headpin.

I agree with this. I find I bowl my best when I relax on the approach and take my four step approach and throw at my mark. When I worry too much about everything like release and footwork and aiming and timing I mess things up.

[Hampe]

I used to have anger/frustration issues, and I still do a little bit, but I've gotten much better at it. I've found it's ok to get a little frustrated and pissed for 3-5 seconds after a shot, as long as you can calm down and forget about it by the next frame. Experience and confidence also play a big role in recovery though.

I remember a tournament last year I started off the first game with 4 decent pocket hits and all 4 left either the 10, 7, or 8, and I missed all 4 single-pin spare chances. Instead of starting with 4 strikes I had 4 open frames and I was SO pissed.....it took me about 2-3 games to recover. This weekend I played another tournament and started with 4 opens (3 splits), kept my composure, finished clean for a measly 145 and bounced back the next game with 228. I didn't let it get to me and ended up qualifying for the next round, despite the terrible start. I think having the experience and knowing that you can always bounce back from a few bad frames really does help keep the anger/frustration in check.

And even if you do keep your composure and it still doesn't get any better, well, some days are just like that. You can't always win and you can't always play great......experience will show you that it happens to everyone, even the best bowlers in the world (or even just your neighborhood :)). But getting angry never helps.....I've never met anybody that can play better when they get angry.

[mjoyce]

I used to have anger/frustration issues, and I still do a little bit, but I've gotten much better at it. I've found it's ok to get a little frustrated and pissed for 3-5 seconds after a shot, as long as you can calm down and forget about it by the next frame. Experience and confidence also play a big role in recovery though.


This is what happens to me. If I do something stupid and miss the pocket or miss a spare I'm going to be mad or frustrated after the shot. I try to let that go before my next ball because you can't let the past affect the present.

But myself, I need the time to vent. I need that minute after the frame to be mad about it. Sometimes my teamates will give me the old "let it go man get them next frame" but I just need to be allowed to be pissed for a minute. I know they mean well but it doesn't help me personally through that time. I guess I should listen and just let it go.

I hate doing stupid things like missing my mark and missing a spare or pocket hit. Or those balls sometime that as soon as you release you wish you could have them back.

[Aslan]

I hate doing stupid things like missing my mark and missing a spare or pocket hit. Or those balls sometime that as soon as you release you wish you could have them back.

One of the coolest things about bowling...is 90% of the time when you release the ball the right way...you can "feel" it before it even hits it's mark. There have been SO many times I've stood there at the foul line and literally the moment it left my hand...I knew it was a strike. Very few sports I've played (hockey, basketball, golf, tennis, horseshoes) do you have that feeling immediately after the release/shot/swing. Golf is closest...because often times you can "feel" a nice swing and contact with the ball...but you don't know it's a good shot until it lands. I've hit some damn nice golf shots that were about 30 degrees offline or about 45 yards over the green...they "felt" nice...but aren't so nice when you're hitting your next shot from near the tee box of the next hole. :o