300

As most of you know I’ve been league bowling since last summer.  I bowl with two guys that I met in a business group here in Greensboro, Joe and Tim.  Joe used to be a semi-professional bowler, meaning that he’d travel around to various tournaments as a means of supporting himself and paying the bills.  Since Tim and I have known Joe he’s told us that he’d get a 300 for us one night in league.  He’s done it 18 times before.  Well, last night it happened, and it was awesome.

I think I got a taste last night of what it’s like to be part of a no-hitter in baseball.  When someone’s on a 300-pace, you don’t talk about it.  It’s like Fight Club.  Joe has come close a few other times since we’ve been bowling together but he usually taps in the 7th or 8th frame.  Once he got through the 8th last night I knew something was going on.

It was really pretty cool, though I found myself struggling to find things to talk to him about while Tim was up that weren’t about the game.  “Uh, so I hear there’s going to be a lunar eclipse tonight and stuff.”  Smooth, Jamie.

So the cool thing was about the 9th frame you could hear people around us whispering about it.  People started to gather around our lane, but not too obviously.  It really is a weird dynamic.

Joe’s 12th and final strike was a bit off mark but it carried and he had his 19th 300.  The place went nuts.  People were coming by for like the next hour to shake his hand and say congrats.  It was pretty cool.

The funny thing about this is that Tim and I both kinda suck.  Not just compared to Joe, but compared to most other folks in the league.  We were having sub-par games even for us while Joe was bowling his perfect game.  We ended up winning our game by 90 pins, which was all Joe since he normally averages a 210.  We were excited for Joe but scared for us.  We had decided that if Joe bowled a 300 and we still lost that the American Bowling Congress would come to our doors and take our cards away. 

In the end, Tim and I have decided that we are the ugly girls to Joe’s hot chick.  Every now and then we’ll string some strikes together and get some high-fives, but in the end it’s all about Joe.  That’s who everyone is there to see. 

I wouldn’t have it any other way though.  I have a blast with those guys each week.  Bowling has been a real release for me over the past year.  I’ve met some great people, drank some beers, and got to experience special moments like last night.  You just can’t beat that.