Fan ruins bowling tourney

BruceZ · #1 12-08-2002, 03:56 PM

We talked about this last week. Today a fan took a flash picture right while Walter Ray Williams Jr. was at the critical point in his downswing, causing him to throw a 4-7-10 split which he couldn't convert. This could have cost him the match against Chris Barnes, the number 1 player in the world. Walter Ray is currently number 2. He looked at the fan and said "Do you have some kind of a problem?" He went on to lose the match. There was probably 10 grand on that game, and another 20 grand if he went on to win the finals. If you replace that frame with a strike, he still loses the match, but you can't be sure how much it affected his other shots. At their level, the game is mostly mental. If it were football, that fan wouldn't have made it out of there alive.

Sooga · #2 12-08-2002, 04:24 PM

Walter Ray is a pretty big guy too... if I were him I'da just kicked the crap outta the photographer.

IrishHand · #3 12-08-2002, 06:33 PM

I always think it's kind of funny that certain 'athletes' require silence in order to perform. If baseball players can hit a 98mph fastball with people yelling, screaming, waving and throwing things, then bowlers and golfers should hike up their skirts and play like men too. [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

SammyB · #4 12-08-2002, 06:47 PM

If there was a constant din at a golf match or a bowling match or even a billiards match then the players could tune out the noise but when you're concentrating in a silent arena and someone yells, clicks a camera or coughs it's going to be disruptive.

What I'm saying is that your baseball analogy stinks. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

BruceZ · #5 12-08-2002, 06:48 PM

They wouldn't hit too many 98 mph fast balls with a blinding light in their face. They only hit a small fraction of them as it is. They also don't have to hit a target the size of a postage stamp from 60 feet away with a ball that weighs upwards of 15 pounds.

IrishHand · #6 12-08-2002, 11:57 PM

(a) I was unaware that the photographer was standing on the lane. I thought they were generally behind the bowlers - my mistake.

(b) I'd recommend lighter balls.

BruceZ · #7 12-09-2002, 03:07 AM

(a) He was to the side in close proximity to the bowler. If he were behind the bowler it would still not be allowed since everything in a bowler's delivery must remain absolutely constant.

(b) Lighter balls would not carry as well. Walter Ray's 15 pound ball actually is lighter than the more common 16.

Sooga · #8 12-09-2002, 03:10 AM

Well with the reactive and proactive resin balls on the market today, the carrying power difference between 15 and 16 pound balls is damn near negligible. I throw a 15 and it gets just as much carry as anyone else in my league that throws a 16. When you're throwing with a good ball, the number of revolutions and the speed you throw it is more important than an extra pound of weight.

BruceZ · #9 12-09-2002, 03:15 AM

Correct, 15 pound balls will actually carry more for many people because they are able to generate more revs and a higher entry angle with the lighter ball, which produces a greater margin of error. A study conducted with the ball throwing robot (throwbot) has shown this. The weight of the ball starts to take over below 15 pounds. I use 15 pound balls also for this reason, and I suspect that's why Walter Ray does too.