Uh oh.
You do realize there is video evidence (click my USBC number in my signature) and statistical evidence (bowl.com) that actually might refute that belief right?
Actually, the series score graph was actually trending in a positive direction until recently. But again, it's kinda like "beauty is in the eye of the beholder". Some people have watched me bowl and asked if I'm a professional. Others have watched me bowl and are the first to point out I shouldn't quit my day job.
Hmm. Okay, for the sake of agreement, I WILL say that I am not AS MUCH of a jack*** in person that I appear to be online. Just like you are far more likeable (as is MWhite) in person than you may appear in the forums. Just like Iceman doesn't seem as crazy in person as he does online. So, there is some truth to that. But with relatively few exceptions, most of what I write on here is in fact a good reflection of my personality.
Think of it like Eddie Haskell in "Leave it to Beaver". Whenever he's around Beaver's parents, he's so nice that it's sickening. But in private, he's a complete jerk-wad. I'm not to either end of those extremes...but I think most people have the ability to "tone down" their inner demons when in public and interacting with other humans...and I think most people do have a darker, edgier side to them that tends to come out in private. The internet is simply a mode that is suited for that.
After 4 decades...one thing I've found to be almost universally true is that much of our happiness is determined by our expectations. Give a poor person from rural West Virginia $400 and they'd spend the entire year feeling blessed. Give Paris Hilton $400 and she'll probably spit on you. Different expectations.
Most bowlers don't care. They don't care if they win, if they score high, they don't care about bowling as a sport, they have no lofty goals or any goals at all, and they spend a minimal amount of money just to have something to do once a week. If they meet Rob and he gives them a lesson and they go from averaging 93 to averaging 138...they're happy. They are content. My goals are more lofty. I'm not bowling "for fun". I HAVE FUN when I bowl well...but I'm miserable all week long when I don't. Most people watch other bowlers and think, "Oh, I wish I was as good as him!" I look at that same bowler and think, "How can a guy with that quirky, random approach and top-of-the-ball release average 189??!!!"
And the "Golden Question" is still out there...floating around...lingering. Even after Iceman had come and gone and come back and then gone, etc...the question still remains? Can a bad bowler work hard enough to become an elite bowler? Were your parents telling you the truth when they said "you can be anything you put your mind to"? Or is that just a fairy tale we tell children to keep them off the pole and out of jail? Is it just that some people are gifted and some are not? I'm still hanging onto hope that Iceman is wrong. And that hard work, patience, perserverence, devotion, money, time, instruction....I'm still holding out hope that hard work can trump "The Gift". But if I can't make it to the next level...despite my investment of time and money...despite taking lessons from not only 3 of the top 100 coaches in the country...but also on a monthly basis from Mark Baker...arguably the best bowling coach in the World...then I'm wrong. And that's that. Iceman is right, I am wrong. And that's a horrible reality...because if he's right about the Gift...what about all his other crazy concepts?? Is the government poisoning us? Are Aliens impregnating our women? I hope not.
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