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Home » Navigation » Columns » Why bowling a 300 game still matters By Lucas Wiseman

Why bowling a 300 game still matters By Lucas Wiseman

29 October, 2016

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As scoring in bowling has skyrocketed over the years, bowlers have become numb to 300 games, especially at the elite level and even at the league level.

For most great bowlers, shooting a 300 is just another game and carries little significance anymore, especially since there were about 55,000 USBC-certified 300 games in 2015-16 alone. For some of us, though, it matters. A lot.

Pictured right is the author, Lucas Wiseman, who has covered bowling events around the world for more than a decade. You can follow him on Twitter at @Lucas_Wiseman.

After spending 13 years traveling and covering the best bowlers in the world for USBC, I fell into that trap of thinking 300 was just another game. Until it happened to me.

On Oct. 20, I shot my first 300 game. I’ve bowled since I was a kid, but 30 years later I had finally bowled the elusive perfect game.

And despite having personally witnessed hundreds and hundreds of perfect games, I found it to be an incredibly special moment.

I knew after the fifth frame that I had a legitimate chance to bowl a 300. By the time the final shot came around, I’ll admit I was extremely nervous. I took a deep breath, calmed myself down and did what I had done the 11 shots before that – strike.

My league, which has just seven teams, erupted into cheers in celebration of my accomplishment, and I was glowing after my life-long chase for a 300 game came to a close.

For a vast majority of the regular bowlers like me, bowling a 300 game is not just another game. It’s the biggest bowling accomplishment they will achieve in their life.

So the next time you see a bowler with a chance for a 300 game, don’t take it for granted. Stop. Pay attention. You’re witnessing something special that deserves your attention, especially if that person has never bowled a 300 game before.

By Lucas Wiseman

Herbert Bickel