Bowling for T-Shirts

I'm in a bowling class here at BYU. I've taken the class a few times because the cost for it is hidden in with my tuition so it feels like I get to go for free. So, I get to bowl for an hour twice a week. I've really been able get some basic techniques down and I can even get my ball to hook pretty accurately. Let alone it's not a big drastic hook like the pro's use, but it induces some pretty good pin action. (Usually)

The BYU Games Center, where the bowling alley is, has a policy that if you bowl a 200 or more, you get a free t-shirt. They also have a policy that if you get 4 strikes in a row then you get a free game coupon. If your score is over 200 and the highest score on the particular lane you're bowling on for the month then you get your name and score on the high score board.

The alley has 3 styles of shirt, and I had won two of them prior to the beginning of the semester. I've been trying to score over 200 again so that I could get the last shirt, and then I could start winning shirts for Shanna.

Until last week I had been bowling pretty well, but hadn't had any real high scoring games. Last Wednesday I told my buddy in my class that it was about time for a big score. Sure enough, that day I bowled a 219. I missed 2 pins over the entire game, and picked up a nice string of 4 strikes in a row. A girl from the Games Center ran over asking who had just bowled 4 strikes in a row and then gave me a free game coupon. On my way out I snagged the last shirt I needed for my collection. I wrote down my bowling name (Eban Sr.)for them to put on the wall and was on my way to my next class.

Then on Monday, I wasn't really expecting to do too well, but I put together a 203, and on a different lane than last Wednesday. I also managed 4 strikes in a row. So I walked up to the desk and asked for my shirt and free game. The girl said that I could have one or the other. I told her that last time (the previous Wednesday) they had given me both a shirt and a free game. Big Mistake. She notified me that you can only win one shirt per semester. So sorry Shanna, no shirts for you. She was nice though and hooked me up with two more free game coupons. Not to mention my name got put up on the board on a second lane.

Wednesday we were bowling for seeding in a tournament that we will be doing. Maybe it was the pressure of a looming tournament, but I bowled very poorly the first two games, barely breaking 100 both times. Then on the third game, I got back in the groove and put up a nice 210. Again I asked for a free game, which I got. Unfortunately, I bowled the 210 on the same lane I bowled the 219 so I didn't get my name up again. That's ok though.

So, for three straight classes I've gone for more that 200. Here's hoping that streak will continue through the tournament so that I can lead my team to victory over the rest of the class.(And get more free games) Scott and I did it when we took the class together. My team won my class tournament last semester too. We'll see if my luck continues...

Bowling Class Champions

It was almost as exciting as winning the summer intramural soccer tournament. This past Thursday, February 21, my bowling team won the class championship. We should have been the outright champions without having today's match, but last time we played team 3, they used a little bit or trickery to foil us. They split their team up and bowled on two separate lanes in order to get more games in to pad their score with their highest 3 scores. Their plan worked and they squeaked out a victory in our first meeting. Not on Thursday, though.

Since we had lost one match earlier in the year, to team 3 as mentioned above, we were pitted against them again in the championship game. Their tactics were still the same and they split up and started to bowl. This time however, we made note of each game they bowled in order to ensure they took a proper average. They didn't have a stellar first or second game, but we did pretty well. We were well on our way to beating them handily when my teammate made a suggestion to me that would change the whole day. After noticing that I frequently start out games with three strikes, Bret Anderson told me to just think of a game as 3 frames long, and to bowl 4 games of 3 frames each. I thought this was funny and laughed, but I decided to try it out. So, at the start of the next game, I bowled a turkey (Strike, Strike, Strike). 3 frames down, time for a new game. I next bowled a spare followed by two strikes. Keeping with the suggestion, I started my third game (frames 7-9) with a strike!, then a Strike!, and a STRIKE!!! I couldn't keep in the mindset anymore. I had bowled 8 strikes in 9 frames with a spare in the other! I couldn't believe it! With each strike, my heart started beating faster and my hand got shakier. I tried to stay calm and the balls just kept gliding right into the pocket, sending the pins into a frenzy, taking no prisoners, and leaving none standing. But, like I said, my mind became weak. In the tenth frame, my hand just wouldn't throw the ball straight anymore. The ball glided to the right and took out 3 pins. Luckily, due to a fortuitous pin bounce, I picked up the spare and got to my bonus frame. I picked up a strike in the last frame to secure my score. Two hundred fifty-two! It was pretty sweet. That is the best score that I have ever bowled or will ever bowl in my entire life. I got a bunch of high-fives and jumped around a little bit (you know,...you've gotta do something when you bowl a 252...). I'm pretty excited to get my name on the wall of the bowling alley for a while too. I'll try to get a picture of it so that all of you out there believe my story.

What's even more better than that, is that the other team didn't have as good of a game as when we had first played them and team 3 was defeated. Team 2 became the victors and champions of the Beginning Bowling class. I know, it's a pretty big honor to be the best of the beginners. Props to my teammates (Scott Selin, aka. Straight Cash Homey and Bret Anderson, aka. Hank) who each outplayed all of the members of team 3 in our finals match. And thanks to them for giving me some of their good luck in that third game....I couldn't have done it without you guys. So, I guess that's that. We are the champions, and what do we get as our prize?... We get to bowl cosmic style next Tuesday in our last class. Sweet!

Evan (Bowling Name: Eban Sr.)