Interview with our newest perfect game bowler…ME!

[Aslan]

Now…I'm not as totally CRAZY as my friend Iceman so I'm gonna need some plant-based help with this…medicinally speaking.

So…insert random made up story that this is some transcript from Iceman interviewing Aslan on his recent 300-game, insert additional balh blah blah…

Now, the interview:

Iceman: You just rolled a 300-game. I've actually rolled 2…but who's counting?
Aslan: Apparently you are!

<insert spontaneous laughter>

Iceman: At what point…prior to or as you were in the process….did you feel the "gift" enter your body and take control?
Aslan: Well, Ice…you don't mind if I call you Ice, I gotta stop ya there. It really wasn't the gift at all. I'll tell ya what it was…it was both a culmination of all the knowledge I've gathered…while at the same time…sticking to some things that aren't popular…but work.

Aslan: Ice…I see that you either don't understand, you're having a bad reaction to an herbal supplement, or you may be asleep…but let me explain.

Ya see…some of the things I've been working on lately like my push-away and geting lower and more forward tilt….those things really came together. But it was also old things that I've been clinging to…like adding my old Wristmaster II to my game or my tendency to loft the ball out a ways (like a Mika K. shot). And then, with bowling, there's always the environment. I was playing on one lane. Normally I practice with alternating lanes like I would play on during league play. The oil pattern seemed like what I'd call "low-oil". It played like a very narrow and slightly short THS…giving ample miss room to the right.

Iceman: Does the condition and lane issue diminish the accomplishment?
Aslan: Ya know…it does a "little"…but not totally. I mean, sure, adding another lane and the mental pressures of league night….and you're gonna diminish the chance of throwing it. But at the same time…11 of the 12 shots were flush pocket hits. So I was obviously doing something right and hitting my mark consistently and my approach/timing/release were at least somewhat manageable.

Iceman: We'll take a short break here….insert made up reason other than letter count limit….

[Aslan]

continued….

Iceman: You mentioned that in addition to working on your current issues…you added the older style wrist support and continue to use a little loft. What made you decide to hold onto those items despite the majority of advice being to get rid of those?
Aslan: Well, thats surprisingly a good question, and the reasoning is…I noticed on Thursday I was breaking my wrist back and while I'd prefer not to get too reliant on a larger brace…I don't see the harm in wearing the positioner. It helps keep me from breaking my wrist, and doesn't cause the same fit issues and spare problems that the larger brace was causing. As to the loft…it just feels natural. I've tried to completely eliminate it and had negative results and it just seems that I'm not following through properly nor getting any revs whatsoever. If Mika can do it…I think there's at least a possibility that I can use it.

Iceman: So you're saying that bowlers should abandon all suggestions and knowledge and education and embrace "The Gift"?
Aslan: Well Ice…if you're talking about the creepy movie where Katie Holmes, pre-Cruise, showed her…personality…then perhaps.

Iceman: I was not nor did I see that movie. Nor do I like the inference that I would enjoy such things. You've insulted me. I'm leaving!!!

<Iceman slams clipboard on the ground and trips over chair as he storms out>

Aslan: Oh…well…I guess Iceman is going to the bathroom or something….but to answer his question…2 things I worked on that have been "learned" from various sources were:
1) Quiet the shoulders and the swing. The release should be more of a pose than a cracking whip.
2) Relax and just roll the ball, with focus, and hit your target.

Aslan: Well….it looks like Ice is wearing nothing but white briefs, slightly stained, and his having an arguement with what looks like an Ash tree in his front yard…so I'll close the interview by saying making one more kinda interesting note about this center:

1) I bowled my first league there (AMF Center), non-sanctioned, short 13-week league with Bunny. I averaged 135. I was primarily bowling on wood lanes at the time and couldn't adjust not to mention the AMF Center had the reputation of being the heavier volume oil lanes in the surrounding area…I'd say #3.

2) While AMF/Bowlmor has really wrecked some of the other centers…this place is looking great. New paint and lighting on the outside…more staff…and it was lighter and nothing was broken down and it was just better.

3) After starting with a 212 and a 234…I asked the guy at the desk about the oil situation and he confirmed they DID oil the lanes that morning for leagues. He said he didn't know exactly what the pattern is but said he heard they were tinkering with it.

So…it'll be interesting to see on Wednesday what the lane conditions look like. If it turns out that on these lanes I'm significantly better than my usual center…it might confirm my suspicion that my average is down mainly because my home center is screwy. On the other hand…it could be that my home center is normal and this AMF center is trying to make their shots easier to get more business.

My theory is, that at my home center…people were complaining that they bowl well there, then sweep in Vegas, and bowl horribly. So that center made thier shot harder (Longer, more volume, flattening out the pattern, not cleaning/re-oiling before league play, etc…). Meanwhile, it could be that the AMF center, which has been desperate for business for a couple years now but especialy after the Bowlmor purchase…and has had the reputation of being one of the harder shots of the local centers,,,that perhaps making the shot easier would be a good business move.

So…who knows. Polling data shows that 95% of the reaction to this accomplishment has been leaning towards something about a blind squirrel…but hopefully it's more than that.

[Perrin]

As always an entertaining post.

Congrats on the game no matter what conditions/situation getting one will make it a smidge easier the next time you get onto the approach with 10 or 11 in a row.

my first was in no tap.. followed by front 9.. then came the 300 oddly the 10th shot was the hardest of the 3 for me. I hadn't gotten the front 10 before.

[Aslan]

getting one will make it a smidge easier the next time you get onto the approach with 10 or 11 in a row.

Thats what I'm really hoping to take away from the experience. I'm hoping it'll be a confidence builder. It'll be interesting to see if it makes me a better bowler on those lanes...knowing that in essence I've already conquered them. So much of the game is mental...especially with me...so this could be a huge step.

Or...I could average 135 the first night and have to fight the urge to throw my equipment in the dumpster...it's really hard to say at this point.

But man...those lanes were easy. Not to dimish the feat....more than I already have...but during some of the other games...I'd miss SO badly to the right...3-4 boards...which in my usual center will likely leave me the 1-2-3-4-5-7-8 or 1-2-3-5 (if I'm lucky)...yet the ball wouldn't just "come back"...it would hit even harder on a miss right because there'd be some angle there. I missed some of those shots...and I was so used to it being DOA...that I'd be posting my shot with my head down saying non-encouraging things to myself under my breath...only to look up and see it strike. I'm not used to that. I'm used to a miss left of a board or right 2 boards...and you're done.

If my shot up the 6-8 boards plays as well on league night as it did in practice Sunday...it's gonna be a fun league. But I still need to find a way to conquer the lanes at my home center. I think I might be moving and if I do...then next Fall I'll probably not bowl at the same home center anymore....so I'd like to conquer those lanes before I wave goodbye to them.

[rv driver]

It has nothing to do with The Gift. It has everything to do with The Groove.