This installment of The One Board originally appeared in Bowlers Journal International, November, 2019
Since 1958, professional bowling has boasted the accessibility of its athletes as one of its greatest assets. In no other professional sport can a fan attend an event and expect—not just hope, but truly expect—to meet his or her idols. Bowling fans know with certainty they can get any autograph they want, take photos with legends and even cull bowling tips from the absolute best.
The bowlers always happily oblige. In many cases, fans feel like they’re gaining new friends rather than simply having a quick celebrity encounter. The astounding accessibility of pro bowlers has to be a positive, right?
Maybe not.
In his book, David and Goliath, Malcolm Gladwell investigates things perceived as advantages that eventually become disadvantages.
Gladwell says more money means more happiness to a certain amount, at which point contentment plateaus and then begins to decrease. Also, when school class size shrinks from 30 to 18, the students do better, but once the class dwindles to 12 or fewer, the students actually do worse. Essentially, he’s saying too much of a good thing can lead to a bad result.
Sadly, there’s one glaring omission from Gladwell’s research: the accessibility of professional bowlers. Right here in our own sport, we have too much of a good thing.
It’s unquestionably good that you can walk into a PBA event and get an autograph from Jason Belmonte, have your picture taken with Jason Sterner and ask Jason Couch why there are so many Jasons. With very few exceptions, every bowler you approach is going to be friendly and give you a reason to come back and root for him. Pro-ams and practice days are amazing opportunities for fans and players to interact.
However, the culture of accessibility has become so strong that it’s hard to distinguish appropriate times (pro-ams) from inappropriate times (the 10th frame of a possible 300 game) to interact with players.
Unlike other sports, pro bowlers are never separated from fans. As a fan, you park your car next to EJ Tackett. You find yourself in line ahead of Bill O’Neill at the snack bar. You visit the facilities next to Sean Rash.
You won’t find LeBron James at the snack bar. You’re not allowed in Mookie Betts’s parking lot (unless he’s bowling). If you’re caught visiting the facilities in an NHL locker room, you’re going to jail.
These things detract from the mystique of the professional athlete and lower the prestige of professional bowling. It’s less awe-striking for a fan to meet a player in these situations and a player doesn’t want to be met while he’s preparing for or in the middle of competition (and certainly not while he’s visiting the facilities).
Granted, most sports have arenas and stadiums specifically built for professionals with private areas for the players. Since bowlers compete inside real, functioning businesses, the logistics of separating players from fans is difficult. More than the actual physical separation, though, is the perception of prestige.
When a player is feeding dollar bills into the vending machine, he doesn’t quite exude the aura of celebrity. When a player fries out in the locker room, fans should not be able to witness it.
Unlimited accessibility doesn’t only hurt the bowlers; it hurts the fans, too.
Consider this hypothetical situation based on countless real situations: a professional finishes a bad block and wants nothing more than to retreat to the locker room and loathe himself. He can’t get there without fans asking for photos and autographs. He’s not in the most pleasant state of mind and, while he’d normally indulge the requests, now isn’t the time. The fans sense—maybe even receive—his attitude and now they have a bad impression of him. The immense accessibility creates a bad experience for the player and the fans.
The accessibility of the pros is and should remain one of bowling’s best assets, but perhaps we should scale it back a bit. A little less access makes fan encounters even more special, both for the fans and the players.