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Tell us what you think >>
Selected submissions will be posted here, so check back regularly.
1/8/07
Farmington, NY
I just recently rented this movie and thought it was really great. The comments in the beginning
were just really true and made you think. I started bowling in the 70's and 80's when it was
"popular" and my children bowl as well. It was a wonderfully well made, engrossing documentary.
11/20/06
Marny Fair-Fischer
Vista CA
In April, Dave said:
"... Now they make balls that do alot of the work for you..."
All sports have evolved ... golf balls, soccer balls, footballs, basketballs. So, bowling balls are no exception.
My story? Hmmmm. I was a NYS 600 tournament winner; shot a 268 my very first game as a new member of a skirt-league -- and couldn't understand why the men in the league next to us were hootin' and hollerin' my name!! Then I realized my name was on the back (and front) of my shirt!!
I was allowed to join that league only because my average was 152 (150 was needed). It was exciting to get a 100-pins over average recognition patch! My teammates took flack 'cause others said I was a sleeper!! LOL
11/14/06
frank rivelli
selden, ny
to true bowling fans, no explanation is necessary; however to non fans, no explanation will do.
11/9/06
david leslie kaplan
oceanside ny
my son and i used to bowl at howell lanes in howell nj. last year we did rather well jacob then 11 in november 2005 bowled a 245 in a 3 game series. we won the league that started in sept and ended in february of this year. we did not bowl much until a few months when we wanted to bowl in the sunday 6pm adult youth league. there was not enough teams. we joined a league in lakewood at 6:30pm. there are only 2 gamesw at night. this past weekend my son bowled a 202 and 206. not bad. this past week he wrote this poem while given the assignment in class.
My Passion for Bowling
Bowling is the best,
It is truly my passion,
It is better than the rest,
Better than football, soccer or even fashion.
Once I step up to the lane,
About to throw my blue bowling ball,
The pins know that they are in for some pain,
All knowing that they are going to fall.
When I was at the age of eleven years,
I bowled an outstanding two forty five.
My parents were almost in tears,
There spirits were so happy and so alive.
Enhanced with everyoneís excite,
I felt like a jet plane in the middle of a flight.
The atmosphere was oh so loud,
My parents were totally oh so proud.
I can not live without bowling,
Bowling can not live without my life.
I just love seeing the ball rolling,
I love this sport more than a husband loves his wife.
5/18/06
craig
cleveland ohio
I enjoyed the film. I think one thing wrong is with the changing of the lane conditions to make it harder to score high. Who wants to watch pros bowl under 200 on TV? The fans want to see strikes and high scores. We all miss the days of Earl Anthony, Mark Roth, Marshall Holman, etc. stringing the strikes.
Elinate the trick shot part of the TV broadcast How boring! Chris Schenkel and Nelson Burton, Jr. were the best.
5/17/06
Mark
Orlando, FL
I like how they made it look like Weber and Williams competed for the title in the last match of the world championship. They didn't. Weber lost in the semifinals.
Basically Kretzer (who actually finished second) got ignored because he's not a jerk.
5/9/06
Andrew
CA
I agree with all of the prior posters. The thing I liked about this documentary is that it showed how bowlers are just human and that they go thorough a lot, as a bowler who does it for a living. The piece about Wayne Webb was depressing but also enlightening.
4/27/06
Michael Big Bad Bowler
Tacoma, WA
I agree with other viewers, Pro Bowlers dont get respect for the skill they have learned. I watched NFL players recently bowling, LOL! Would like to see them bowl 7 to 9 games in a day for 3 or 4 days and see how they feel.
Personally I dont like seeing the "trick shot" segment on PBA tour, especially the one where the bowler lofted the ball over a chair on the lane. Having worked in a center for 10 + years with wood lanes, I have had people do that thinking it's funny. But it does damage to lanes as any bowling employee would know. I do get a kick out of Norm Duke with the towel trick.... since my brother Terry showed him how to do it.
Make those spares!
4/27/06
Chris Takeya
Kailua Hawaii
I am definitely a bowler at heart. However, respect in bowling sure took a nosedive. I'm posing a couple views that seem to be the sportís burdens. What do you think?
Bowling isnít a spectatorís sport, itís an active sport. No matter who you are, how old, where youíre from or sometimes what condition youíre in, you can still bowl. This seems to make the sport look easy. To make bowling a spectatorís sport, give the audience something more to watch like more viewing times, different tournaments, donít stop at one but show several tournaments.
Itís sad to see how much these Pro Bowlers are paid. They go through so much yet get so little. It would be exciting to know that thereís a lot of money at stake if a bowler could win $500,000 or even $1,500,000 at once.
Media has to really re-invent the sport. It sure isn't going to be the people. Media has to undo their illusion. Pete Weber, Walter Ray Williams Jr., Amleto Monacelli, Norm Duke, and Paker Bohn III my favorites and awesome players for thei
r uniqueness. We love it!! We love the ups, we love the downs -- especially to watch a bowler walk off the ìstageî in a loss with a smile showing he didn't lose in himself and knows the audience and the people watching are still rooting for them! GO PRO TOUR!
Thank you Independent Lens for the opportunity!
4/27/06
Esther Vasquez
Yolo, CA
It was such a pleasure to see your movie and I plan to get the DVD. My son, started as a junior bowler. He won scholarships that put him through school and he entered his 1st PBA event last month. I have had the pleasure to meet Walter Ray, Jr and Earl Anthony, Jr as I watched them interact with the up and coming junior bowlers. You brought a great prespective to the sport and my son was just in awe to get a look at the behind the scenes of the players you profiled. He really understood just how hard they work to keep going and how he is not the only one to be dissapointed when he didn't make the cut. Thank you and good luck on future projects.
4/26/06
robert todd
moreno valley, calif
I was born into bowling. At the age of 3,1948 my father owned a 10 lane bowling alley(manual pin setters) where the atmosphere was smoky and dark. Kids were not really allowed, and there were no junior leagues on saturday morning. By the time I was eleven I was hooked. I lived and breathed the sport. It ingulfed me for 40 years, finally getting away from it a few years ago because of injuries to my shoulder. The bottom line, I wouldn't trade it for anything. The excitement of winning and having so many friends was worth the downfall. I am glad to see it getting revitalized.
4/26/06
Charles
New Berlin, WI
So I am flipping through the channels and all of a sudden I come to a special on bowling. Never into bowling myself I thought "hmm nothing else on."
IT WAS AWESOME I COULD NOT PUL MYSELF AWAY! It was a GREAT Indy film. I mean I was tense at the end, during the championship, as if it were live. Great camera work, great story, great film. I would buy it if it went to DVD. My wife knowing who I am was just as amazed at the fact that I was so amazed by the film. LOL that is saying A LOT!
4/26/06
Randall Walker
Williamsport, PA
Documentaries sometimes promise more than they deliver, but I keep watching them to learn what's going on beyond my little world. "A League..." is a real winner. I watched professional bowling on televiion as a kid. It is fascinating to see what great league management can do for a sport. This is a fascinating documentary, the best I've seen in a long time. Thanks, PBS. I can't wait to watch it again!
4/26/06
lou g.
shirley ny
I saw the film in the movies and bought the dvd. I absolutely loved it. I have a lot of respect for bowlers. They work hard to try to make a decent living and it doesn't always work out. That's pressure! I'd like to see a lot of pro golfers go out for the money these guys play for with no guarantees. It's not gonna happen. It's a shame bowling's legends don't get the respect that they deserve.
4/24/06
Robert Martel
chicopee ma
"big bellied,beer drinking,smoking idiots" this from a clown wearing sunglasses screaming,bellowing,and generally acting like a fool,not to mention the fact of his suspensions.
4/24/06
Marny Fischer
Vista CA
As in any sport, there are folks from all walks of life.
I think bowling has gotten a sour hit only because of the 'beer drinking, smoking environment' -- but tv ads for golf don't show that happening in the ole clubhouse!!
As a retired bowler with a decent average, I'd like to know more about the female bowlers!!! We really DO exist!
BTW, firefighters are considered "blue-collar" too . . .
Gentle as you go,
Marny Fischer
4/21/06
Dave Lutheran
Pittsburgh, PA
I do not believe pro bowler's are blue collar guys. I've met many over the years and have the upmost respect for them. It's the only sport that I know of that the athletes must actually perform well to make a living. What pressure. As a kid I grew up watching bowling Saturday afternoons on ABC and would then go to the allies after watching it and pretended I was Earl Anthony, Bob Hanley or Mark Roth. I do watch it now on ESPN but it should not be on the same time as football. That's too much competition for any sport. I think most people look at bowling as a recreation only and if they watch it on television think they can do the same thing. Most true bowlers know the conditions on TV are much harder than in league. If they changed the league conditions I think people would have a better idea on just how good these guys are. I started bowling with a plastic Galaxy 300. Now they make balls that do alot of the work for you. I don't have the solution but there needs to be a happy medium so people can appreciate the bowlers as true talented athletes like I do.
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