How I did at the USBC Open

Posted By: Peter DavidPosted On:

I try to set reasonable goals when it comes to bowling. My goal for my first USBC Open was simple: Don’t suck. I didn’t aspire to a 300 game, or an 800 or even 700 series. I simply didn’t want to stink up the place.
In that regard, I succeeded.
Over the three games of the 8:30 PM team squad, I rolled a 180, a 189 and a 191 for a 560 series–the team high series, as it happened. It was a major learning experience for me, because the USBC Open is on what’s called a sports pattern, meaning the lane oil is laid down in such a way that there’s a much higher premium on accuracy than, say, with a typical house shot (i.e., the way that most bowling alleys lay down oil for their league play). On a house shot, you can miss your mark by four or five boards and the ball will still snap back and reach the pocket. Not so with a sports pattern. Miss your mark by even a board on the inside and the ball hooks out of control; miss to the outside of the mark and the ball never comes back.
Kathleen and other wives (or dates) of the bowlers were a vocal cheering section in the stands behind us. Bowling with us on our pair of lanes were such notables as Senior Queens champion Lucy Sandelin and bowling hall of famer Mike Aulby. It’s a real confidence builder when people like Mike and Lucy are saying, “Nice shot!”
Overall a terrific experience, owed I should note once more to the greatest wife in the world (yes, mine, no, not yours.)
PAD

14 comments on “How I did at the USBC Open”

  1. Since Bowling here is not a popular sport and the couple dozen times I’ve played my only goal was to “get as many of those bášŧárdš down as you can”, I didnt understood much of what you say. So I can only say…
    …congratulations…?

  2. Fantastic! I didn’t make it this year, but I’ve been mutliple times, in different cities. In fact, I don’t know if you remember, but I actually got up the nerve to ask you to join our team once when we went to Reno, since we were one person short (that was many years ago). At the time, you were worried that you weren’t up to that level of bowling. Well, either you’ve improved a lot, or you were underestimating yourself (or you were worried about some weird, stalker, bowling/comic fan).
    Sure, those scores aren’t going to win the whole thing, but for the average league bowler, you were probably above average.
    I don’t know if you had the chance, but one of my favorite side events when I go to the USBC is the 40-Frame Game. One long game (40 frames, imagine that), with weird scoring rules scattered throughout (multiple ways to get extra pins or lose pins each frame). It’s a lot of fun.
    Even though I couldn’t make it this year, I will definitely be there next year when the USBC rolls into Vegas. Bowling, poker, Cirque, Blue Men, etc. It should be a great week.
    Congrats again on your scores. Hopefully its enough to cash somewhere. I’ve managed to cash twice in singles and team event (once each) for a huge, combined total of $40. Still, its better than nothing.
    And you have a fantastic wife. As I should, I still think mine’s better, but I’m guessing we’ll just have to agree to disagree on this one.

  3. I know this is totally off topic & you’re probably really tired of hearing about it… but is there any news on the Incredible Hulk Visionaries series continuing beyond v.5? I’m starting to get nervous that this set isn’t selling quite as well as it should & I need to obtain bookshelf editions of your seminal Incredible Hulk saga. Thanks!

  4. Congrats on the bowl-o-rama! Sounds like a lot of fun.
    As for “greatest wife in the world,” I take that the same way I do when you called Caroline the Cutest Baby in the World (TM): you can take the world so long as I get to cite the rest of the universe for my own family. 🙂
    TWL

  7. Hey, lefty. Congrats on bowling in the Open Tournament. It took guts to bowl on a pattern that you have no clue about. I did that in Baton Rouge a couple of years ago. I could have gave you a few points of interest. But, the Open Championship is one that EVERY LEAGUE BOWLER should experence once in their lifetime. Now, when you get back to Long Island, you should search out and find a PBA Experience summer league. Bowling in that will improve your knowledge of different oil patterns and prepare you for your next PBA Pro-Am event.
    Just a thought.
    Darrin

  8. Good for you. (My goal for most things in life is not to embarrass myself.)

  9. Hope you had a good time in my town. Don’t bowl myself,But I bet you liked it better here in Albuquerque than Jessica Alba supposedly did.

  10. And the fact the you have the greatest wife in the world is only enforced by the way way that only a after putting her in the spotlight you try to highjack her thunder with your bowling scores. 😉
    Long live Kathleen, Long live Peter, Long live Kathleen and Peter.

  11. I just wanted to say thanks for taking the time to talk at the USBC. I t was a pleasure to meet both you and your wife.
    Tim

  13. You do realize that the fact that you have the best wife in the world is only reenforced by the fact a mere day after giving her the spotlight, you try to steal her thunder by bragging about your bowling scrores don’t you? ; )
    Long live Kathleen. Long live Peter.
    Long live Kathleen *and* Peter.

Comments are closed.