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Saturday, January 12, 2008

PRO-AM

It's not often I get to associate with professional athletes of any stripe. I'm not a sports reporter, and there aren't any professional sports teams in our little corner of Oregon. But there is exactly one professional sporting event, The Earl Anthony Medford Classic. And in case you didn't know, that's a pro bowling tournament. And as fate would have it, our station is a sponsor. And that means I got to participate in the tournament... the pro-am part of it, anyway.

The pro-am teams pro bowlers and people who are really bad at bowling. I fell into the "really bad at" category. But despite my utter lack of talent, I had quite a bit of fun at the event.

Perhaps the coolest thing was seeing a professional sport that hasn't gotten too big for it's own good. Fans were free to walk up to their favorite players, ask for an autograph, and even have a short chat. I was most surprised by the number of young kids who clearly had their favorite bowlers. Bowling never struck me as a sport kids followed, but I'm clearly wrong.

Now I know some of you are snickering at the idea of bowlers at athletes. I must admit, I may have been among the snickering classes just a few months ago. But after bowling three games in a row, well, I've had to change my tune. That's tiring, it really is. My arms, wrist, and shoulders were quite sore after I was done. And that was after three games. The pros play 7 in some days. I shall never mock a pro bowler again.

That's all for tonight. Baby pictures this weekend, and maybe even a return to Faroe Island trivia... assuming I can find any.

3 Comments:

At 11:45 am, Blogger Ellen said...

This reminds me of the movie: A League of Ordinary Gentlemen. We saw it a few years back (2004). It's a documentary on professional bowlers and if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it!

 
At 12:17 am, Blogger Ogie said...

I was one of those kids. I never made it to any professional matches but I watched bowling every Saturday and Earl Anthony was one of my favorites. I don't bowl much any more but is still one of my favorite sports to play and watch.

Thanks

 
At 7:22 pm, Blogger Darrell said...

I used to watch cliff diving from Hawaii on Wide World of Sports, but I don't remember watching bowling. Somehow, I know the name Earl Anthony. By the way, the first package I ever did as a local sportscaster was about an aspiring professional bowler named Ken Tynan. I'll always remember Ken Tynan, even though he never made it to the PBA, as far as I know.

 

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