Wednesday, February 1, 2012

New Lingo for the Modern Bowler

I grew up in Central New York where the Winters were long and the best places to spend them were at the local bowling establishments.  This was back when you had to keep score by hand, really good bowlers averaged just over 200 (or under), and your choice of bowling balls was limited to black dots and white dots.  Strike designations included double, turkey, four-bagger, and six pack, among others.  More recently, the term "hambone" has become popular on the Pro Bowler's Tour when someone throws four strikes in a row.  These terms have served the sport well.  But just like the changes in equipment, lane conditions, and bowling attire, strike combinations could use an upgrade.

During our most recent visit to the alleys, I had a pretty decent game going.  When I got to three strikes in a row, the screen for the automatic scorer flashed "Turkey".  This prompted my wife to ask what that meant.  I went on to explain to her how three strikes in a row was called a turkey, four in a row being a four-bagger, etc.  After commenting about how stupid the names were, my wife decided to come up with a new designation for all the strike combinations starting with the aforementioned turkey.  Here's her list.  We'll call it, Stringing Strikes 2012.

3 in a row (Turkey) -  Still Turkey.  Gotta have some tradition in the game.
4 in a row (4-bagger) - Owl.  Owls look like they wear glasses, also known as four eyes.  Obviously.
5 in a row (5-bagger) - Hawk.  A cooler bird than Owl.
6 in a row (Six pack) - Falcon.  Still cooler.
7 in a row  - Pterodactyl.  The king of birds. (Except it was a dinosaur, but go with it).
8 in a row  - Octopus.  Needed something that had eight somethings.
9 in a row  - Giant Squid.  Bigger and badder than the octopus.
10 in a row - Killer Whale.  Again, bigger and badder.
11 in a row - Narwhal.  I mean, have you seen the horn.  It's like the unicorn of the sea.
12 in a row (Perfect game) - Unicorn.  It's magical.  Enough said.

So there you have it.  Bowling has officially been brought into 2012.  I hope to one day be at the alleys and watch a kid throw his sixth straight strike and scream out "Falcon!"  Or have my teammates congratulate me on my first "Unicorn".  Until then, I still have my two "Narwhal" awards on my wall.    

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