PBA Tournament of Champions vs Australian Open Tennis

wchester

wchester

Bowling Tragic
Which event would you rather watch in person? The crotch chopping, glaring, head shaking and smirking of Pete Weber and Chris Barnes matching each other strike for strike whilst involved in a one game match for a $50,000 winner's share....or would you prefer to watch the shrieking, grunting, sweat filled match between two 20 year old glamour girls of tennis, pounding a tennis ball back and forth for 90 minutes in the Summer heat of Australia.
Winner's share...a mere 1.2 million dollars.

I know they're both Major tournaments, but how in the world can bowling compete with THAT?
 
In the days of bowlings US Open paying $100,000 for first it was different. The gap to golf and tennis was a fair bit smaller than now. Does anybody know what happned? How did bowling become 'uncool' to sponsors and advertisers over the last 20 years?
 
In days past I would've loved to have seen a PBA event live, can't say I'm all that interested these days.
The magic's gone for me, maybe I'm getting old and am not as easily impressed, I don't know.
I hate tennis greatly but gimmee an enormous umbrella, a court-side box and a set of earplugs and I'll gladly watch the ladies play :snack:
 
My opinion is that tennis is a spectator sport. Bowling is not. I find it difficult to watch anyone else bowl - I honestly don't know how people can sit in a centre for hours on end during tournaments without actually participating in a squad themselves. The fact that you have to pull teeth to have a decent seat to watch a Masters final does not help the cause. Watching bowling on TV is good, but I don't sit there for hours watching it like I do for the Australian Open Tennis. I have often wondered why this is the case.

Don't get me wrong, I love bowling, but if compared to watching the tennis, I would choose tennis every time. It is just more exciting to watch.
 
I should probably say that I play both sports but unless I am participating in a bowling tournament, I don't go out of my way to watch it. Kudos to those who do. Whereas I go to the Australian Open / Medibank International every year.
 
Bowling is very boring to watch. If you want to put it on tv, then you need to do something to spice it up. What do the sponsors get out of it?? Most of the time.... nothing. Thats pretty much why its not on tv.

Kristy
 
Problem is Bowling has no atmosphere. I think the only time bowling can produce atmosphere is if Pete Weber played against Jason Belmonte. So until PBA telecasts bring in cheerleaders, flashing disco lights and music after a strike from a bowler with character and shows emotion (like Pete Weber and Belmo), tennis will always be more entertaining to watch. What gets me the most watching a sport like Championship Darts on fox sports where theres a large boozed up crowed getting caught up in the action and generating atmosphere. I love it when a player scores 180 on his turn and the scorer gets on the microphone, in a deep loud voice screams "ONE HUNDRED AND EEIIIGGGHHHTTTYYYYYY!!! Really gets the crowed reved up its great. So forget Tennis, people would rather watch Championship Darts
 
People attend sporting events to watch skilled athletes do their thing. People watching tennis have an appreciation that 99.9% of other tennis players cannot do what the elite players can. The problem with bowling is that there is no difference to 99% of people between watching Joe Sandbagger shooting 250 on china at the local centre or Petey shooting 250 on TV. Bowlers have become desensitised to high scoring. If the pros don't seem to be any better than good league bowlers, why bother watching?
 
Ok then.

I would rather watch the bowling. I download every PBA event and burn them to DVD so I have my own collection. In fact I'm only down at my computer so I can burn the Dick Webber Open. I tried to watch the tennis last night but I found myself flicking back and forth between a movie and the tennis just to check the score.

Prize money does not make a sport or game good to veiw. I feel that a lot of your so called big money sports or games are very boring to watch. Tennis, golf, poker and so on.

I feel that if you where to ask this question to a tennis fan they would rather watch the tennis. Or if you where to ask a swimming fan what they would like to watch more, tennis, bowling or swimming they are going to say swimming.

Prize money does not make a good spectator sport, it just makes you want to play it.
 
I like watching tournament bowling (live) the Mrs. hates watching ~ to boring for her.

On saying that though, there is no real atmosphere or excitement to create interest for the social / league to stop and watch or be encouraged to come in and have a look.

Just out of curiosity, I was not there on the weekend in Adelaide but what was the crowd of spectators like?

A while ago in Melbourne, we were watching a few matches with some non bowling friends, most excitement for them for the afternoon was watching a well known bolwler slam his ball back into the ball return because someone 3lanes away stepped up on the approach. Besides this they were bored to tears.

Back to the original thread though, I would love to go to both and watch. I would be more interested in the behind the scenes workings of a PBA tournament though, so I would have to pick the bowling.

Rob
 
Bowling lacks atmosphere because it lacks crowds. Not the other way around. Watch any sport, especially team sports. The Crowd is what makes it amazing.
I'll never forget watching the Man Utd Chelsea game at Old Trafford where the United fans began booing every Chelsea touch and cheering every time they lost the ball. It gave me goosebumps in my living room some 13,000 miles away. Was it the brilliance of Rooney or Ronaldo that made the fans do it? No. It may have helped, sure, but it was the damned crowd wanting beyond anything to see their team win.
Until the people watching bowling have that kind of passion. We'll never get the atmosphere. It might be time for the crowd to stop this polite I'll cheer for no-one because I'm friends with everyone. Pick your man (or woman) and cheer them the bloody hell on! Hell cheer for everyone, just make a little noise... it might just inspire the guys out there to make a bit themselves. We can't just rely on PDW and/or Belmo to make it all the time... they can't possibly be on every telecast or at every tournament.
A bit of noise from the crowd might just make those randoms coming in stay just a little bit and watch. Maybe even get drawn in a little bit... A dead boring crowd gives the impression of a dead boring sport. If the guys playing darts, who do absolutely nothing to get the crowd going, can get the crowd going. why can't bowling?

Later Da Cowman!
 
I don't know about the 'dead boring crowd".....there have been times when we have been spectating at finals, and making the appropriate appreciative noises as the pins hit the deck....some bowlers like it, but a lot don't. The evil eyes you get from a bowler (who, don't get me wrong, is obviously concentrating on the match at hand and does not want to be distracted, and there is nothing wrong with that) can be very discouraging to a spectator, so then they DO sit there and politely clap - or worse, they leave the bowl altogether. Unfortunately I don't know what you can do about it.:(

I would sit and watch the bowling any day - having just had 3 months as a spectator, it is probably just as well I like to watch, or I would have been a very bored missus too! Tennis is for tennis fans, and bowling for bowlers...no contest between the two, IMHO ;).
 
I'm more talking about finals here... There is nearly always a complete lack of noise as bowling events where there is a head to head final... Often you do get evils for making noise... and the saddest part is it's not always from the bowlers...
I reckon bowlers could do with learning to block out some outside noise... It's time we stopped being so protected. Stop making excuses for your bad shot. you threw it bad. Live with it and learn from it. Some clapping 20 lanes, or even 5 lanes away definately shouldn't distract you.

Later Da Cowman!
 
da_cowman said:
I'm more talking about finals here... There is nearly always a complete lack of noise as bowling events where there is a head to head final... Often you do get evils for making noise... and the saddest part is it's not always from the bowlers...
I reckon bowlers could do with learning to block out some outside noise... It's time we stopped being so protected. Stop making excuses for your bad shot. you threw it bad. Live with it and learn from it. Some clapping 20 lanes, or even 5 lanes away definately shouldn't distract you.
Later Da Cowman!
Click to expand...


I couldn't agree more, but unfortunately there are some that you cant block out! I know i'm not the only one thinking this when there a just a certain few, who have to talk loudly and have very annoying (off pitch) voice that no matter how good you are at blocking out noises, these go right through your head!
I'd have to say us Sunshine bowlers have had to adapt to this for the fact of loud clappers from 20 lanes away, but it something we all have and need to learn to deal with, if you want to use them as an excuse then do so, but dont take it out on them for supporting their sport!
 
Deadman Inc said:
Problem is Bowling has no atmosphere...
Click to expand...
Yeah. Unlike other sports like Golf, Cricket, Formula One...

You know... All those sports where if you hang around in a blank torpor long enough, something alters in the state of play and you jump out of your seat screaming "Oh thank God! SOMETHING HAPPENED!!"

And I disagree about atmosphere with regard to the PBA telecasts. It's got every bit as much atmosphere as the tennis. It's just not as combative. I watch the PBA and I see these guys execute within such a narrow band of room and I'm in awe. It's like watching 20ft putts on fast greens for the money. You know it's gotta be really hard. Trouble is, you do need to know a lot about bowling to get just how good the great players are.

Then again, anyone who saw TJ eat up the ToC last year would have to be impressed.
 
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