So will the virus finally kill bowling as we know it?

[bowl1820]

Everyone has said bowling is dying, Being killed by the USBC, Sandbaggers, Cheater balls, Easy conditions and lets face it all the bowlers who complain about the problems and want everything fixed as long as it doesn't affect them or they have to pay for it.

So is Coronavirsus the final straw?

Bowling lanes are closing and leagues cashing out, (It's happening here, House closed for the duration and my league is cashing out) Tournaments canceled etc.

The idea is people will come back next season (assuming the plague is under control by then), But will they? and if they do, will it be in the numbers we have now?

[Aslan]

Great question Bowl1820.

I have to say...I did not think this was going to be a big deal. Just last Thursday, I was boasting on social media that I was celebrating the CoronaVirus by eating at a buffet and then high-fiving a bunch of people at bowling. By Friday, our league was saying that they'd allow players to individually pre-bowl...and today our governor shut down every bowling alley in the State. And now...I have no idea what happens next.

This isn't like anything we've seen before. Either 75,000 people get sick and 2,500 die...and the virus runs it's course and everything gets back to normal by August...or we try to "quarantine" everyone...maybe 24,000 people get sick over the next 6-8 months...maybe only 900 die...and by the end of the year we have a vaccine that helps end the thing.

But, in neither of these scenarios does bowling get back up and running this summer. And...if we continue on the "quarantine" path...those alleys likely won't open in time for Fall leagues. Many of those businesses can't afford to close all summer...to lose all that business. Many bowlers will have lost their jobs by August...their businesses will have closed.

So, to answer your question...I think if this thing ends quickly....like 2-3 weeks quickly...which will shock me...then I think things get back to normal. Bowling will still have its issues with equipment and scoring and pattern consistency, etc... but it will be back. If this lasts until August or later....I have no idea. Honestly, at that point, bowling won't matter anymore because we'll be in the middle of the next Great Depression.

[boatman37]

My center is the only one in reasonable driving distance for me. No idea how long they can stay closed without going out of business but if it closes I'm probably done. There is a place about 20 miles away that I thought had closed but apparently they are still in business but don't think it's in very good shape. A couple of my wifes co-workers bowl in a league there and it isn't sanctioned. After that I'm probably looking at 45 minutes to 1 hour drive to the next closest one. If our center stays open I think leagues will survive but they have leagues 5 nights a week there. Might have to combine a couple leagues to get a decent sized league though. I plan to continue as long as my center stays in business. Pretty sure my teammates will too but can't answer for everyone there

[mc_runner]

Dead? no. Consolidated? Probably.

[J Daisy]

I don't think it's dead. Maybe wounded, but where there's a will, there's a way. Things tend to overcome obsticles if people want them bad enough.

[J Anderson]

When I first looked at this thread I skimmed over the words “as we know it”. My immediate reaction was it’s certainly not going to kill bowling. Adding in the as we know it part changes it to maybe. But then bowling has been constantly changing my entire life, or at least since I started to bowl in 1975. If you could time travel back and bring an average league bowler to watch league a few months ago they would be dumbfounded. But everything else has changed as well. The first car I bought, which was a two year old used car, had a heater and an AM radio. It did not have air conditioning, power steering, automatic transmission, or power windows. Now you would be hard pressed to find a car without those options as well as things that didn’t even exist back then.

This too shall pass. The question is will we work together to get through it, or will we selfishly look only to our own interests?

[RobLV1]

I really don't see a lasting effect for bowling, though I really hope the habit of automatic hi-fiving is gone forever!

[JasonNJ]

I don't think this will kill bowling, I would say the majority of bowlers in league are die hard bowlers. Like if you took a poll and asked bowlers if they should continue bowling during the Pandemic, I would say 70-80% probably would have said yes. So I think the majority of bowlers would come back to league bowling. The biggest concern would be the independent bowling center going under because they'll have a tough time surviving without any revenue for months at a time. The Bowlero centers should bounce back no problem.

[boatman37]

I can definitely see some leaving. We have a guy on our team that is really struggling this year and admitted he isn't having fun anymore and more than once mentioned not bowling after this season. I'm sure there are more like him that are on the fence that won't come back. And I agree with the small centers closing down. I think ours will be ok as long as the owners can make it until they re-open. It's the only center within about a 15 mile radius and is a nice place with pretty big leagues almost every night so I think they would get enough back right away to at least keep the lights on.

[J Anderson]

I can definitely see some leaving. We have a guy on our team that is really struggling this year and admitted he isn't having fun anymore and more than once mentioned not bowling after this season. I'm sure there are more like him that are on the fence that won't come back. And I agree with the small centers closing down. I think ours will be ok as long as the owners can make it until they re-open. It's the only center within about a 15 mile radius and is a nice place with pretty big leagues almost every night so I think they would get enough back right away to at least keep the lights on.

I don’t think you can blame the loss of a bowler who’s not having fun anymore, and who has already hinted about not coming back next year, on the Corona virus.