As bowling has started to pick up momentum again in 2021, and as I’ve been out traveling again for PWBA events, I’ve been reminded of a common conversation that pops up. I’m not sure about you, but any chance I can to change someone’s perspective on bowling- I’m going to take it. 

When I’m traveling, if I’m sitting next to somebody on the plane and they’re talking to me they usually start by asking, what do you do? Sometimes I play a game with them and I will tell them I’m a professional athlete. And then I’ll make them guess. It’s fun to see what type of sport I look like I could play. Some have said volleyball and as someone who stands 5’5- I find that strange. After I feel like maybe they might never guess bowling, I tell them. 

The response is usually the same. First, it’s “You don’t look like a bowler.” This baffles me and I follow that up with, “Oh, what does a bowler look like?” Because I want this to be what a bowler looks like, somebody who is healthy and active. It is a sport and yes, professional bowlers are athletes. 

Then they’ll say, “I didn’t even know that you could do that for a living.”

And my response is always the same too. “Yeah. I’ve heard that before.” 

I have always felt it’s my duty and it’s all of our jobs as bowlers at any level to spread the good word of our competitive sport. I’ve defended bowling my entire life. I have always spoken up for it. I have gone to bat for it. I have turned non-bowlers into fans of it.

When I’m talking to someone on the plane, after I tell them that I bowl professionally, the same exact thing happens every time. And I do mean every single time. They tell me a bowling story. They prove time and time again- no matter who you are, EVERYONE HAS A BOWLING STORY. Everyone. I have heard stories of Thanksgiving outings with Grandparents at the bowling center…. And first dates. I’ve heard all about how their Uncle was the best bowler in his city and that he even has trophies to show for it. 

These stories bring emotion. They hold memories. And that, to me, is one of the very best things about bowling. 

Bowling ties people together in a really special way. People have these ingrained memories in their minds.

I really have never met a person that didn’t have a bowling story.

I don’t think there’s a lot of sports you can say that about, that so many people play recreationally or want to play. Not everyone can play sports like baseball or hockey, but so many can bowl in some capacity.

I think part of the misconception of bowling is its strength. EVERYONE can bowl. Since everyone can do it- how hard can it be? Most people mince the recreational level of bowling with the professional level. Or maybe they don’t even know there IS a professional level. So what is our strength, is also our weakness. Yes, you can have fun in your pizza and beer league but it’s important to acknowledge the difference between what you do and what I do. 

And so, I tell them. I tell them about the weight blocks inside of the bowling balls. I ask them what they think the “slippery stuff” is on the lane and then I go into depth about the science behind it and how it moves every ball that is thrown down the lane. I talk about how exactly the oil moves, and why we also need to move with it. I bring up bowling in Malaysia, and Abu Dhabi and how it paid for my college. I tell them how many balls I travel with to events and how they differ.

It’s then that they look at me differently. More seriously. More intrigued. The more you know about something, the more you’re interested. I make these people interested. I shed new light on our sport. A light that they didn’t even know existed and only do now because I spent the time with them.

All of that usually blows their minds and they say, “whoa, I thought it was way more simple.” And that’s exactly it. Anyone outside of the sport misunderstands bowling as just a simple game.

Those people who finally understand what really makes up the athletic sport of bowling, they usually regard bowling with a new level of respect. They begin to see it as a legitimate sport, not just a game to play for fun. It’s just sadly not in the public eye like our main sports, football, and baseball, and basketball, and it’s not in the Olympics… That’s another thing that surprises people regularly. They just assume that bowling is in the Olympics. It’s something that everyone does. It’s global. How could it NOT be?

Professional bowlers have been fighting to get bowling into the Olympics forever though. We feel it’s strange that such a worldwide sport is not recognized in this way yet. It really is something people do and recognize all around the world. I can go to so many countries around the world and there will be somebody close by that I can connect with — maybe I’ve crossed paths with them during my 15 years bowling on Team USA, or maybe they were a fan. It doesn’t matter where you come from, what level you’re at or how much money you have, or what your ethnicity is — bowling is a sport that so many people love, that brings people together. 

I believe it falls on those of us who love bowling competitively to never miss an opportunity to talk about bowling so that more people can see it the way we do. We need to share the sport’s many layers and intricacies, helping people realize just how dynamic a competitive sport it is.

Bowling has made me who I am today. I will always take time to educate others on this amazing sport and I hope you will, too.

Tell me about your bowling conversations with non-bowlers. What surprised them most about our sport?

PS – Did you hear the exciting news that bowling is returning to live tv broadcasts again?! Be sure to check out the $100,000 first-place prize at the US Women’s Open next week in California!