Does bowling with music makes for better bowling?

It just occurred to me that I neglected to report on last Wednesday night’s bowling league.  Yeah well, let’s just say that you didn’t miss much.  Let’s talk about today’s practice session instead.

I always do better during practice than during league, but apparently I’m not the only one.  When I spoke to a seasoned bowler today, whom I thought always kept his cool, he admitted that he does better when it’s just for fun too. 

My scores of today say it all:

191 – 164 – 222 – 226 – 166

That is an average of 193.8

Dieter did even better.  He scores were:

174 – 224 – 209 – 157 – 235

That is an average of 199.8

If only I could bowl like this during league.

Then again, the conditions were ideal today.  The oil pattern on the lanes was perfect and the atmosphere was relaxed and happy due to up-beat music piped through the speakers.  I always do better with music.

I’ve asked numerous times for music during the league, but so far this has not been approved because music messes with the serious bowler’s concentration.  Serious about bowling as I am, I guess that makes me a non-serious bowler.

The loudness also plays a part.  Soft music does nothing for me, but turn up the volume and my spirits lift while my bowling scores rise. 

In the absence of bowling alley music, I could listen to music privately through headphones, but this seems so anti-social. 

Before next week’s Wednesday night league, we’ll have another practice session tomorrow night.  Let’s see if I can do well two night in a row.

I need all the practice I can get for the upcoming Halloween tournament.  Last year Dieter and I won the competition.  Can we do it again?

Bowling night update

It’s Thursday morning, which means last night we went bowling and now it’s time for an update.  First off, we picked a name for our team … The Expendables.

I was looking forward to our weekly night of light bowling, until we got to the bowling alley and I saw who our opponents were … Dave and Ryan.  Both have a handicap of 5 points, which means their average is 215.  That’s enough to make anyone want to turn on their heels and make a speedy exit.

How were we going to beat them?  With hopes and dreams?  To make matters worse, their third partner had a handicap of 102!  How were we to deal with that?  Forget hopes and dreams, this was a nightmare!

Still, when I joined this league, I knew I was going to face stiff competition, so I put my shoes and wrist guard on, polished my ball, and prepared for a night of defeat.

I didn’t have to wait long.  Dave and Ryan soared to a 200+ games respectively, while I tagged along with a 139 and a 134.  

I knew what the problem was, I felt overwhelmed playing with Dave and Ryan, and threatened by their third partner (can’t remember her name).  And as every bowler knows … games are not won and lost on the lane, they are won and lost in the bowler’s mind.  If he doesn’t think he has a chance, he won’t stand a chance.

After a smoke break between the second and third game I came back down and took the lane with a ‘kiss my butt attitude’.  If I was going to lose, I wasn’t going to go down without a fight.  So the claws came out.

Splits and misses turned to strikes and spares.  I don’t know who was more surprised, our opponents or me but I shot a 205 followed by a 185.  The result … we won the last two games. 

All in all we took 8,5 point our of 16.  So there!

In summary:

Dieter:     212 – 167 – 179 – 247

Me:          139 – 134 – 202 – 185