Octocrook
04-09-2004, 08:50 AM
I wasn't quite expecting it to be over what it was, but nonetheless...wow.
I had been starting to finalyl emerge as a great bowler ever since I got this new ball (only a $50 ball at Sports Authority, but it was drilled to fit how I throw). It took a week or 2 to get used to the ball, but after that, I've been averaging about 210-215.
Tonight, I bowled a series of 222-244-236, for a total of 702. First 700 series I've ever bowled, something I've probably been capable of for at least a year, and I finally do it. BUT...this was not the highlight of the night. I was ECSTATIC over this, but then, after the league was over and I was fucking around in practice bowling, bowling lefthanded n shit, something else happened.
I was getting hot with my left-handed bowling, throwing quite a lot of strikes, so I kept doing it for a while. After probably the first turkey I've ever bowled left-handed (turkey = 3 strikes in a row), I threw what looked like a 4th strike in a row. This time though, despite throwing a PERFECT looking ball right where I wanted to, it left the fucking 7-10 split, one of the most evil things in the world. Nevertheless, I don't care what the split is, even that pile of shit, I genuinely try to pick each one up. 7-10 is pretty fuckin hopeless though, even for top pros. So...I did what I always do...got in my little diagonal stance for my "power ball" throw, basically how I can throw my hardest curve ball, approached to the right, and threw the ball towards the 7 pin (the left one). I threw it so perfectly that I knew even when I let it go that it actually had a chance to pick the split up. It was headed RIGHT FOR THE PIN, and thus, curving left, barely hit the 7 pin on the left side before it dropped into the gutter. The key was the spin...I put so much fucking spin on the ball that the pin went nuts, went off the back (which almost never happens) AND the RIGHT SIDE, coming BACK OUT and KNOCKING OVER THE 10 PIN! I picked up the FUCKING 7-10 SPLIT!!!
Most non-bowlers don't know quite how rare this is, so I'll enlighten. These statistics are probably from about 3 years ago, but I assure you the difference can only be greater now. I think it was in 1999 or 2000 that there were approx. 65,000 perfect 300 games bowled that year that were documented. This is out of millions upon millions of bowlers, some bowling hardly at all, some bowling 6+ games a day 7 days a week, thus probably hundreds of millions of games. Documented 7-10 pickups? Only around 2,000. Like I said, the difference is probably greater now...last year probably around 90,000 300 games were bowled, while I'm sure 7-10 pickups are still at the most less than 3,000.
Needless to say, that was the last ball I threw tonight, mainly cuz I could hardly even stand after I did it. I eventually was going home, and in my car I was feeling a mix of emotions and did a bit of joy crying. I mean today up until bowling was a horribly shitty followup to one of the most horribly shitty days I've ever had, and I worked at my job for 11 hours with no break and no slowdown today, pooped as hell before I even got to the bowling alley. Now, I have proof that even when the worst fucking shit is happening to you, it can all turn around. My job is a mess...I'm keeping an absolutely huge lie from almost everyone I know that's eating me up inside, I'm nearly hopelessly single, I have almost no friends, and I managed to be SO happy despite all that dragging me down, just from one little thing I did. Maybe I can turn things around this year and pick my life up.
Oh yea, and the Padres had a nice comeback win too tonight! What a day!
<P ID="signature"><center><img src=http://www.crooky.us/ad5.jpg>
New songs and updates at Soundclick (http://www.crooky.us>Crooky.us</a>)</center></P>
I had been starting to finalyl emerge as a great bowler ever since I got this new ball (only a $50 ball at Sports Authority, but it was drilled to fit how I throw). It took a week or 2 to get used to the ball, but after that, I've been averaging about 210-215.
Tonight, I bowled a series of 222-244-236, for a total of 702. First 700 series I've ever bowled, something I've probably been capable of for at least a year, and I finally do it. BUT...this was not the highlight of the night. I was ECSTATIC over this, but then, after the league was over and I was fucking around in practice bowling, bowling lefthanded n shit, something else happened.
I was getting hot with my left-handed bowling, throwing quite a lot of strikes, so I kept doing it for a while. After probably the first turkey I've ever bowled left-handed (turkey = 3 strikes in a row), I threw what looked like a 4th strike in a row. This time though, despite throwing a PERFECT looking ball right where I wanted to, it left the fucking 7-10 split, one of the most evil things in the world. Nevertheless, I don't care what the split is, even that pile of shit, I genuinely try to pick each one up. 7-10 is pretty fuckin hopeless though, even for top pros. So...I did what I always do...got in my little diagonal stance for my "power ball" throw, basically how I can throw my hardest curve ball, approached to the right, and threw the ball towards the 7 pin (the left one). I threw it so perfectly that I knew even when I let it go that it actually had a chance to pick the split up. It was headed RIGHT FOR THE PIN, and thus, curving left, barely hit the 7 pin on the left side before it dropped into the gutter. The key was the spin...I put so much fucking spin on the ball that the pin went nuts, went off the back (which almost never happens) AND the RIGHT SIDE, coming BACK OUT and KNOCKING OVER THE 10 PIN! I picked up the FUCKING 7-10 SPLIT!!!
Most non-bowlers don't know quite how rare this is, so I'll enlighten. These statistics are probably from about 3 years ago, but I assure you the difference can only be greater now. I think it was in 1999 or 2000 that there were approx. 65,000 perfect 300 games bowled that year that were documented. This is out of millions upon millions of bowlers, some bowling hardly at all, some bowling 6+ games a day 7 days a week, thus probably hundreds of millions of games. Documented 7-10 pickups? Only around 2,000. Like I said, the difference is probably greater now...last year probably around 90,000 300 games were bowled, while I'm sure 7-10 pickups are still at the most less than 3,000.
Needless to say, that was the last ball I threw tonight, mainly cuz I could hardly even stand after I did it. I eventually was going home, and in my car I was feeling a mix of emotions and did a bit of joy crying. I mean today up until bowling was a horribly shitty followup to one of the most horribly shitty days I've ever had, and I worked at my job for 11 hours with no break and no slowdown today, pooped as hell before I even got to the bowling alley. Now, I have proof that even when the worst fucking shit is happening to you, it can all turn around. My job is a mess...I'm keeping an absolutely huge lie from almost everyone I know that's eating me up inside, I'm nearly hopelessly single, I have almost no friends, and I managed to be SO happy despite all that dragging me down, just from one little thing I did. Maybe I can turn things around this year and pick my life up.
Oh yea, and the Padres had a nice comeback win too tonight! What a day!
<P ID="signature"><center><img src=http://www.crooky.us/ad5.jpg>
New songs and updates at Soundclick (http://www.crooky.us>Crooky.us</a>)</center></P>