Understandable. But, there was a crisis... there were hundreds and hundreds of centers all across the nation where Bowling WAS A SPORT. Then it died. Tournament pots dropped, league pots dropped, bad management all across the board. AMF was being shitty, and Brunswick was being shitty about parts, and the purchasing of Quality Products, all of that. A lot of mom and pop centers just flat out hemorrhaged a lot of money, and a lot of them couldn't make it. Then, a new profit point came... the FEC. The FEC is what almost every center is now. You couldn't make it just being a bowling center. It wasn't feasible. You had to have an arcade, a mini-golf course, a go-kart track, some sort of redemption scam.
It is this way because bowling is not what it used to be. And forget about the PBA. Yeah, woohoo, thats good. But look at them and the USBC. Forget that. We need to spend more time looking at the potential of putting out NCAA Bowling Sport Shots and WTBA Sport Shots out and making those the STANDARD for bowling. IT NEEDS TO BE DONE. IT HAS TO BE DONE.
That being said, Sport Bowling has came back strong after the horrible decade + it has suffered. But there needs to be sweeping changes, and the USBC needs to get their shit in check.
I can guarantee you that I could have more fun leagues and get more off the street bowlers into competitive bowling if the leagues were not sanctioned. But you know what? If those bowlers loved it, and they want to move onto State Team Challenges and shit, they have to bowl SCRATCH against people with USBC established averages and who get free sticks added on. The whole system isn't fair. People don't want to be in USBC sanction leagues anymore because of that.
I have people who have been bowling for 20/30/40 years who are giving up bowling because of the USBC and all of it.
BUT at the same time, I am drilling more equipment for sport bowlers who don't EVEN BOWL AT MY CENTER, but know that I can find their PAP and Revs and track and get a good ball for them. 1/4 of my total ball sales are to people who don't even bowl at my center. I am also drilling equipment for people who just want a custom fit ball. It's crazy. In 2014 I sold and drilled more equipment than 2010-2013 combined.
I am drunk. But I have known nothing but Bowling since September of 2007. I have done enough research to know why centers fail. My center will never fail because we do not have a money problem. The problem, and why bowling has failed is mainly due to a generational gap or two.
You may think that it sucks dog shit that you favorite center is now a place that birthday parties and corporate parties are favored over League Bowlers. But it had to come to this. We had to deal with this. No longer are their leagues in every city that post standings in the Sunday Paper. No longer do we have big money tournaments aired on every network. Bowling is not that anymore. We had 20/30 years of declining interest... BUT we will make it through this.
Do you want to know why? Yes you do. CHILDREN. The youth are literally the future of bowling being a sport. The more you can cater your business to getting children in there and getting them excited about bowling, the more chances you can fit and sell them a ball. If you can offer a youth league or do the BPAA stuff, you get more and more of them into bowling and into many centers when they are YOUNG. Bowling is a lifetime sport, and for decades some poor decisions were made that did not focus on this. We have to focus on the wider demographic of all children, because once we get them hooked, we know that we will have them for life.
Well, I've had too much. Goodnight.