PBA World Tour

[The Force]

When did they bowl the tournaments that they can tell us who is on the show next week? The way the PBA has changed is just not the way the PBA used to be.


How do people attend the qualifying when they don't even announce when the games are being played?
IMO it seems like the PBA wants to hide that the tournament was bowled weeks ago, and the TV show is being shown whenever.

[GeoLes]

I think that like the rest of th entertainment industry, they try to maintain a simple formula. Tune in, get your quick dose of bowling and tune in next week for the next quick fix. They have not invested in us knowing the nuances or the back story.

I see the same thing when they mention something like the oil pattern in use. The name the patern, maybe pattern length and expess a strength and weakness of the pattern and move on. If you are a bowler you have some idea what they are talking about. You can go to Kegel's website and see the actual pattern, but a casual observer has no idea what that means. If they were invested in really pushing the sport, they would express that a 41' pattern is a little more than 2/3 te lenth of the lane, leaving 1/3 of the lane for the ball to hook. Maybe show a graphic of the oil distribution with ideal ball path, and problems the pattern presents over time.

TV is just not ready for that level of commitment yet. They are stuck on entertainment and can't get beyond that.

[v33dubfox]

I guess that if PBA was telecast on a channel called "Bowling TV" which would show only bowling on tv, they would explain a lot more. But how much people watch PBA on ESPN just because they like bowling, not because they also seriously play?

[scottymoney]

The PBA has gone to a format where they tape a bunch of shows all in the same week as to cut down on player travel. Like this week they will tape like a months worth of shows to show on ESPN. They have gone away from the weekly grind of tournaments so that players aren't continually traveling for months on end.

It does suck I agree, but they do not have enough exposure to worry about alot of the back stories. If you want back stories go purchase xtraframe their online bowling channel and watch the qualifying like I do. They talk about a lot of the guys and their stories but also it is commercial free and non stop bowling action for the qualifying rounds.

I don't think they are hiding the fact it was bowled weeks ago they just choose not to mention it. Hopefully the PBA League will help to bring in some attention and make bowling more interesting to more people.

I will be going to the finals tapings this weekend in Detroit, should be a fun time to see the inaugural PBA League matches.

[J Anderson]

When did they bowl the tournaments that they can tell us who is on the show next week? The way the PBA has changed is just not the way the PBA used to be.


How do people attend the qualifying when they don't even announce when the games are being played?
IMO it seems like the PBA wants to hide that the tournament was bowled weeks ago, and the TV show is being shown whenever.

The PBA is a shadow of what it was back in the 60s and 70s. I don't really know what caused the decline, but the result is fewer events and less prize money. The fact is that if the tour were still a real tour, with each tournament in a different city, only a few well known sponsored bowlers would be able to compete in all the events. It would wind up being a core of elite bowlers, like Rash and Belmonte, competing against the local pros, and even they would be limited to the ones who could take time off from their day jobs.

The PBA changed the format so that most of the events are in one spot to save on both the bowlers expenses and the PBA's expenses.

[UBowling]

The PBA Xtra Frame is great if you want more than just what ESPN shows. To answer your question about when they bowled it, they do that in November I believe and wait to air everything. I think it is really annoying. I wish they would show one live, and then have all of the others follow each week. This waiting two months crap is annoying. I already knew who was going to win before ever watching a show.

[scottymoney]

Sunday's show will be live from Thunderbowl on ESPN.

[Zothen]

Their is not a lot of money in the PBA unless your consistantly on tv. Also if you don't have a sponser,you have to pay for your travel and hotel costs not to mention food. The decline of bowling is due to the alley's charging $4 or more per game + shoes + food. PBA has a lack of viewers due to people not wanting to see a pro struggle and get a low score,when these pro's should be bowling in the high 200. We league bowlers especially the Sport or PBA league bowlers know how hard it is to get high scores on the tough patterns,let alone the THS week after week. The recreational bowler doesn't understand how difficult bowling really is and get turned off when they see a pro struggle.

Zothen

[ZRock]

I don't think we are too far off from seeing this happen in baseball too with regard to the money. Sports are slowing down. I'm curious to see how many athletes will stick around when they are under a mil a year....

[billf]

Under a million a year is still awesome to play a game you love. Greedy owners, agents and players have ruined sports. Not to mention having to pay local taxes in every town you play in on top of paying the taxes of your home team.