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View Full Version : Pete Weber: The Bad Boy Of Bowling


jab5325
02-23-2016, 12:27 PM
Just got done watching the ESPN 30 for 30 Short on Pete Weber--http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=14801148&ex_cid=30for30FB

Definitely a good watch, but, I wish it was longer and more in depth. I've always been intrigued by Pete, and this only scratched the surface of "Pete Weber".
fortheloveofbowling
02-23-2016, 01:54 PM
Pete is awesome and always has been. That shot to win the 2012 us open is unbelievable, i go back and watch that telecast and it is just great drama.
fordman1
02-23-2016, 04:36 PM
I think he is one of the best bowlers ever. I still don't understand how he gets away with all that and doesn't get knocked on his rear. He has to go into the locker room and face the men that he just shoved his crotch in their face.
ep1977
02-23-2016, 07:17 PM
Good watch but too short.
Blacksox1
02-23-2016, 09:26 PM
Thanks for posting the link. Remember that Pete is a son of a legend. Pete admitted alcohol abuse. Pete and everyone knew that bad publicity is better than no publicity. The decline of pro bowling was evident. Pete at this time was believed to have substance abuse problems. The new sponsors turned Pete into a WWF type of character. We all want to see the pro tour survive. Recently we have seen Amletto win and Norm make a telecast. Maybe we can see Pete in a TV finals again. I hope so.:)
jab5325
02-24-2016, 08:00 AM
Thanks for posting the link. Remember that Pete is a son of a legend. Pete admitted alcohol abuse. Pete and everyone knew that bad publicity is better than no publicity. The decline of pro bowling was evident. Pete at this time was believed to have substance abuse problems. The new sponsors turned Pete into a WWF type of character. We all want to see the pro tour survive. Recently we have seen Amletto win and Norm make a telecast. Maybe we can see Pete in a TV finals again. I hope so.:)

Agreed, and not many have had to face such issues in the public eye, as the son of a legend, and one of the sport's best.
BrianG
02-24-2016, 09:05 AM
I have a buddy that met him at a diner before a tournament and he said that he was very friendly. It does suck that the 30 for 30 was short. He is always fun to watch even though he can go a little overboard.
jab5325
02-24-2016, 09:40 AM
For a deeper dive in what Pete went through in his earlier (1980s) days on tour, there is this from People magazine:

http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20098326,00.html
fortheloveofbowling
02-24-2016, 10:28 AM
There was also a Sports Illustrated article in the mid 80's that talked about his substance abuse as well. Those things happen to many athletes and everyday people as well. By all accounts he has lived a pretty healthy lifestyle for some time now.
zdawg
02-24-2016, 12:00 PM
I have a buddy that met him at a diner before a tournament and he said that he was very friendly.

Everything that I've read online on forums, Youtube, etc. from people that have met him IRL, has been positive and everyone says he really is a nice guy.

I'm sort of like him in a way, growing up playing every competitive sport imaginable at a fairly high level (not quite pro), in my younger days I was known to blow my stack every now and then...etc etc, luckily in bowling the only person I get angry at is myself (and not the ball return :D)
foreverincamo
02-24-2016, 05:01 PM
Thanks for posting the link to that. I finally found the time to watch it. I've witnessed his entire career. I watched his dad on TV as well. I used to have the same style as Pete, high backswing and all.
He had to pull out of the tournament here in Columbus, Ohio because of a bad hip. Probably needs surgery to fix whatever it is. Hope he gets better because I would like a **** at bowling him before he retires.
Cajun
02-24-2016, 09:28 PM
Enjoyed it!
got_a_300
02-24-2016, 11:17 PM
Everything that I've read online on forums, Youtube, etc. from people that have met him IRL, has been positive and everyone says he really is a nice guy.

They are quite right as he is a very nice guy IRL I've bowled against him years ago
in regional PBA tournaments and have beaten him several times in the past. He is
all business on the lanes because that is his livelihood and the way he makes his
living but off of the lanes he is just a regular guy like me or you.
Blomer
02-28-2016, 07:18 PM
I also enjoyed it and thought it was too short. I watched it online and was thinking it was just a preview for the hour long episode. sucks!
NewToBowling
02-29-2016, 10:10 AM
I also enjoyed it and thought it was too short. I watched it online and was thinking it was just a preview for the hour long episode. sucks!

Yeah, they weren't kidding when they said "short". But truth be told how much material is out there. No way they could have filled a half hour show on just Pete Weber. He just doesn't have that cross over appeal.
jab5325
02-29-2016, 10:44 AM
Yeah, they weren't kidding when they said "short". But truth be told how much material is out there. No way they could have filled a half hour show on just Pete Weber. He just doesn't have that cross over appeal.

I disagree. I think they could've done a full, deep-dive feature story on Weber. There's a lot we don't know about the man, such as the "why".
NewToBowling
02-29-2016, 12:11 PM
I disagree. I think they could've done a full, deep-dive feature story on Weber. There's a lot we don't know about the man, such as the "why".

Yeah, but how many casual fans would watch it. Bowling and bowling personalities are still fringe, not for mass consumption.

A Youtube video, sure. A 30-for-30 full length feature, not really.
jab5325
02-29-2016, 12:27 PM
Yeah, but how many casual fans would watch it. Bowling and bowling personalities are still fringe, not for mass consumption.

A Youtube video, sure. A 30-for-30 full length feature, not really.

If ESPN can get viewers for some of the offbeat full-length 30 for 30s (Two Escobars, The Birth of Big Air, Charismatic, etc), finding viewers for a story about a prodigal son, drug-addled, amorous bowler is nothing.
NewToBowling
02-29-2016, 12:35 PM
If ESPN can get viewers for some of the offbeat full-length 30 for 30s (Two Escobars, The Birth of Big Air, Charismatic, etc), finding viewers for a story about a prodigal son, drug-addled, amorous bowler is nothing.

I think they pretty much covered it in the short. He had an alcohol/drug issue and the PBA didn't want him. Microsoft buys PBA and they invite him to be the face of bowling. A few interviews with wife and fellow bowlers, etc...not much else needs to be said. They could have gone into deeper detail but not sure if it would have been that interesting.
Lancerdad34
03-01-2016, 11:30 AM
Very nice video. Love him or hate him he is good for the sport and he has got people watching the PBA again!
Jaescrub
03-01-2016, 12:13 PM
Nice thanks for posting it up. I wish it was longer and more in depth. But this is a start. ESPN shout back bowling some more and bowling should spend some more add money
NewToBowling
03-01-2016, 04:45 PM
Very nice video. Love him or hate him he is good for the sport and he has got people watching the PBA again!

Weber and Belmonte are the two main bowlers that non-bowling fans would recognize. One for his antics and the other for starting the 2 handed craze. I say good for them and good for the sport.