Ever bowl a league game next to a family/kids bowling on the lane next to you?

[Aslan]

Ya that's tough - last night one of my drunken teammates, and the second worst player on the team, decided to start heckling me because I was having a bad night (especially compared to the last couple weeks where I've been bowling better than ever).

Suffice to say our entire team sucked (at one point he was giving his g/f a hard time and she left the alley for a little while)- we lost all four points to a team we previously dominated two months ago.

So I guess the point is distractions can come from anywhere? Don't know, but he and I will be having a little "talk" tomorrow as this won't be happening again LOL

The only times I've had problems like that was:

1) A lady on the opposing team was sort heckling me during one league game. At one point she pretended to cough (very loudly) as I was in my backswing. But you know how it is…what can I do…ya can't hit a woman, right? I think guys are a bit more respectful because they know that if ya start rubbing other men the wrong way…tempers can flare…alcohol is involved…you may have a real "situation" on your hand. Women are sorta "immune"…they can say whatever they want and get away with it.

2) In my other league we were playing a foursome that was really good. So we were getting a lot of handicap. Well, one of their players was having a bad night and was getting rather drunk. So he decided since he was having a bad night he'd just act like a complete jack***. He started 2-handing the ball…throwing house balls as hard as he could…throwing balls from the seating area…just essentially throwing an adult "tantrum". Bunny sorta got in his face about it…and you could tell his teammates were not very happy with him. I mean, their TEAM actually could have still salvaged a couple points that night…but this guy throwing a tantrum cost them all 4…kinda pathetic if you ask me.

I'm as competitive as the next guy…but if I'm having a really bad night…I might take a little stroll…maybe play an arcade game or something. But in addition to learning my "old school ways" regarding being a bit of a bowling purist…I also learned about etiquette and teamwork and sportsmanship.

[chiefnikki]

i do all the time i'm in a jr league lol

Me too!! It's the most annoying thing when you're in the middle of the season and some 13 year old cuts you off. After 15 weeks, you'd think they would have learned lane courtesy.
I'm bowling one more season of youth and I'm moving on to a scratch league. Then, hopefully, I won't have to worry about being cut off by a kid who doesn't know the first thing about bowling.

[Hampe]

The centers here are small and divided into two floors (both centers are 2 floors with 8-10 lanes on them), so we generally don't have this problem. A few years ago when some of the league divisions didn't have a full 8 teams the center would have some open players, but with a one lane buffer.

[circlecity]

What drove me nuts was the automatic bumpers flying up as I made my approach. It was a little distracting.

[zdawg]

I'm as competitive as the next guy…but if I'm having a really bad night…I might take a little stroll…maybe play an arcade game or something. But in addition to learning my "old school ways" regarding being a bit of a bowling purist…I also learned about etiquette and teamwork and sportsmanship.

Yeah, I chalked it up to one too many shots of cheap tequila (one is too many IMO as I don't do cheap tequila). It was just odd because he's normally a positive influence on the team despite his deficiencies in his actual bowling ability, so I'm not gonna hold a grudge.

[Aslan]

I remembered last night...there was ONE other time the center put a group next to us on league night. It was a young adult threesome...and the ONE thing they did that I couldn't believe....the girl in the threesome...was kinda "tipsy" and at one point grabbed the rosin bags that we had sitting on our lane and started using them as hacky sacks. Her boyfriend hurried over and grabbed them from her and put them back and you could tell he was kinda annoyed with her doing that.

The only other thing distracting about that particular instance. Lets just say...moderately attractive 20 something female...pink thong...jeans that probably coulda used a belt. So yeah. Nothing distracts ole Aslan more than a whale tail in his peripheral.

[GeoLes]

The two lane cushion is standard as I have experienced as well. In one of the bowling centers I bowl, I was given the adjacent lane to senior leagues with the expectation that I would respect their lane play, as I roll in league too. I always gave first priority to the league bowler. This was an exception.

In other cases, I personally complain as my league scores are important.

[Aslan]

I was allowed to bowl next to a league once with the agreement that if a lane broke down I had to give mine up. But they only let me do that because they knew I was a league bowler...AND there was still 1 lane between me and the league. I was on lane 1, lane 2 was empty, and their league started on lane 3.

[swingset]

I've only run into that once, the center put a birthday party full of people next to us and they had little kids running around and making all kinds of ruckus. We complained to the house afterwards, but put up with it. They gave us cushion the rest of the league.

[YODA]

I may be differant than most but if I was bowling with my kids and they put me next to a league, they had better not come talk to me about my kids beig loud or having fun playing bumpers. I will be honest, someone will get a butt chewing from me. I understand some league people can be serious but if I am having fun with my kids bowling and it's the lanes fault I don't care who ya are, I will raise hell if asked to quiet down and stop having fun.