Where is everybody??!

[Aslan]

Listen...I've been on this forum for around 10 years. I religiously post my scores and interact with whomever pops in. And, I understand that bowling isn't as big as it was in the 60s-80s. But this forum has dramatically fell off in the last 2-3 years.

When I first started posting on here, there were probably 10-15 'regulars' and a ton of other participants. I met people on this forum and then actually met them in person. I met RobM in Vegas and got a lesson from him. I actually bowled on Bunny's team for a couple seasons in a sport league. I organized a tournament and faced off against Mike White, Iceman, RobM, and one other person (I can't recall). All of these people I met on this forum.

But...there was a small "exodus" in my early years because the forum had a lot of disagreement and back and forth and some of the guys either didn't like Iceman or Me...because we posted often. Then there were issues between different contributors who just disagreed on bowling technique/knowledge and it got personal. Iceman eventually left because he started advocating some health supplement or something and get all bent out of shape because people didn't jump onboard. MWhite closed his pro shop and kinda got booted over a disagreement with RobM. And RobM finally hasn't bowled league in 3-4 years...I know he was having serious back issues and I think he moved to California. And what happened to Bowl1820? Did he pass away?

The weird thing is, this forum seems to be extremely depleted...more so than the overall sport of bowling. Sure, bowling has declined over time...no doubt. Many centers are still full (leagues), but there are a LOT less centers than their were 50 years ago. And, bowlers tend to be older and are dying off. We lost 2 bowlers from our Sunday league over the same weekend. Both had heart attacks on the same weekend. But the overall sport isn't as dead as the forum has been. There has actually been a bit of an influx of younger bowlers due to the 2-handed emergence.

Just kinda makes me wonder what the heck is going on?? Could it be related to the ball giveaway (I don't think they do that anymore)? Is it just that things go in cycles....like the Orange County Chopper phase....the golf phase...etc...? Is it technology-related...where folks have other places to spend their time??

I dunno. I'm gonna keep posting my scores. Maybe I can get the "# of posts" to "flip" over to 0 or something. Maybe they'll have to invent something above "Bowling God". But there's a part of me...every time I log on, that thinks...."Is the forum going to be there?" Because I just feel like one of these days bowlingball.com is just gonna drop it. Thoughts??

[boatman37]

Just a guess but I'm thinking the younger crowd is more likely to be on a bowling Discord channel. I joined a couple but they weren't for me. I figured I could get some tips or advice there but it was a bunch of chatting about video games, lots of profanity and a few new bowlers that only cared about trying to get 500 RPM's. I dropped all of them so this is the only bowing site I visit now. I do feel there were a few here that ran some off but those members are gone now too. So I think nowadays anyone interested in chatting about bowling are doing it on Discord, Facebook, Twitter, or some other form of social media. I'm not on any of those so...lol

[Davidjr113]

I think a lot of what Boatman said is correct. I first got on the forums maybe 10-15 years ago as a Senior returning to bowling after 30 years away. I started on bowlingintel. Then Bowlingchat and this one. I never posted a lot, some, but not a lot. Learned a lot on the forums then from people like Mo Pinel, Rob M, Jim Merrell & Bowl1820. There were other interesting and entertaining contributors besides Aslan & Iceman, such as krava, river800, vdubtx, and many more, lots of talk about bowling besides their scores. Occasional dramas too. Almost all these members left the forums for one reason or another, usually with no notice. I used to check in every day, now very rarely, bowlingchat much more often than here though, as they have a bit more than mostly scores, but not like not too many years ago

[Aslan]

I agree with both comments.

I think one of the catch-22s is that there seems to be more activity when there are "experts" that can offer advice, guidance, coaching, technical expertise, etc... However, bowling is weird...in that there are no "truths" concerning technique, equipment, etc... Yet, most experienced bowlers and "experts" tend to disagree on one aspect or another and it leads to some opinionated ego bruising.

This also sorta touches on "coaching" in bowling as a larger discussion. I've received coaching from at least 5 coaches and numerous "experienced" bowlers...including bronze and silver level USBC coaches and former WPBA and PBA professionals...a few different DVDs and multiple books on bowling and while some basic fundamentals were consistent, there were a lot of differences. And when it got into the more technical aspects of lane play and bowling ball specifications...thats where there were large differences. Older, experienced players I've found have very little knowledge about ball specs. Most of them entirely rely on pro shop operators and some pro shop operators have a good understanding of ball specs....some have very little.

So, having really knowledgeable individuals is sort of a double-edged sword. Yes, forum-goers tend to participate more when 'experts' are present...but there's no real 'expert' and the 'experts' don't always agree. Mo Pinel is actually a good example. I considered him one of the most knowledgable experts in the industry....especially about bowling ball technical information. Yet, he was a very opinionated guy who was a great example of a guy that was easy to "rub the wrong way" if you didn't agree with him 100%.

I'm more of a "sponge"...I take in all the various information and try to assemble a plan based on all the various information. I miss Bowl1820...he was always able to find really cool resources. I miss RobM...he was able to get me from a "thrower" to a "roller" and had a lot of knowledge about ball specs and how lanes/oil conditions came into play. And I miss MikeW...as a PSO he knew a lot about ball drilling and surfacing that was very helpful.