A Scattered Brain

Last night was why I like to bowl.  This post may be a bit long, but I want to try to remember the entire night for posterity.

Game 1 – I was a little tight, and pulled a couple of shots in the early going.  I also missed three really easy spares (two of them single pin) and was only at 85 through six frames.  From there, I still wasn’t getting great carries and only had one strike, but at least started making my spares for a 159 game.  I thought it was going to be very hard to keep my streak of 600 series alive, but I was ok with that; not all nights can be good.

Game 2 – Started out with 2 strikes and then 2 baby splits that I missed both on.  I was clean the rest of the game with 4 more strikes, 2 spares, and an 8 on my fill shot for a 208.  The 600 series would be tough as I needed a 233 to make it, but it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility.  By the end of the game, I was feeling fairly comfortable with the shot on both lanes and knew I’d probably just need to move a touch to the left.

Game 3 – First ball was a good, solid strike.  Always good to start out with a strike as the team’s lead off bowler.  2nd frame was another strike, but this was a bit lucky.  I hit the pocket a little high and got the 4 to trip along with the 9 for my luckiest strike of the game.  Frame 3 was another lucky strike, got a late trip on one of the corner pins, but don’t remember which.  The 4th frame was a good strike.  Frames 5 and 6 also had some late trips on single pins that could have stayed up but helped me stay perfect.  Frames 7, 8, and 9 were all pretty decent strikes as I remember and after that the nerves really started to kick in.

I came to the approach at the beginning of the 10th frame with a lot of nerves.  I didn’t really notice a crowd behind me at all, although it was starting to grow a bit.  In the past, whether practice or league, the best I had done was strike the front 9 and miss the first shot in the 10th.  This was in the back of my mind but I tried to shut it out to make a good shot.  My knees were knocking but I took a breath and started my approach… all 10 down!  I knew that I still needed two strikes, but no matter what, I was going to beat my previous best of 277.

The nerves went down a little for the second shot.  The ball seemed to take a bit longer than usual to come back from the ball return; I was glad it finally came without having to call service.  My knees shook a little, but I knew I could do it… all 10 down!

At this point, things were a little quieter around my lane, but not too bad and I just kept looking down the lane and didn’t even think about the people around me.  As I stepped on the approach, I was just as, if not a little more nervous than I was for the first shot.  My knees were shaking so much I found it hard to even start walking.  Since the first two strikes were pretty solid with no late trips, I at least felt confident of where I was starting my approach from.  I finally made my first step and with my heart pounding, threw the last shot… it was clean off my hand… hit my mark… looks like it has good rotation… makes the turn… squares up to the pocket… all 10 down!!!  Cheers erupt!

Apparently quite a large crowd had gathered and once the cheers started, everyone I know from this league started coming up to hug and congratulate me.  I couldn’t believe it… my first 300 game!  Even thinking about it now, I find it hard to believe.  And of course, got my 600 series too.

I was told by other members of the league that have 300 games that the first one is always the hardest.  I can believe that and feel really happy that I didn’t come up to that last shot and get a 298 or 299.  If that happens in the future, I’ll be okay with it because I have my perfect game, and that can’t be taken away from me.

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