Megna drilled rubber balls back in the day and adapted to plastic, urethane and resin as ball technology advanced. He’s seen many other changes in the bowling industry....
“I think the industry has changed to more of a party atmosphere, which I don’t like,” he said. “I mean, we need that party atmosphere, but some of the centers have gone to open bowling only, no leagues. I didn’t grow up in that kind of environment, and I hate to see the serious league bowler vanish. The internet is killing pro shops... People buy shoes and bags online for less than I can buy them. Fitting is the only benefit we have, but if we don’t sell enough product pretty soon there won’t be any pro shops. Then what are people going to do?”
July 11, 2017
"Besides being a great ball-fitter, he’s just a great person. He’s a legend in the local bowling community."
From "Milwaukee legend John Megna passing on art, 'feel' of fitting bowling balls" (in The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel).
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17 comments:
Thanks for sharing. Two of my three children are long-time league bowlers. My youngest (a daughter) had a 702 series in the last year.
Fitting is the only benefit we have, but if we don’t sell enough product pretty soon there won’t be any pro shops. Then what are people going to do?
Well, candlepin bowling has no holes.
I hope -- and I sort of expect -- that Althouse realizes that this article could be rewritten for all sorts of sports, and indeed all manner of human activity in the internet era.
I know there are a few avid golfers here. I understand that Atlhouse and Meade are not among them. But you could substitute "golf clubs" for bowling balls in this story and would scarcely need to change another word.
Sporting goods. Book stores. Record shops. All disrupted, in the era of the internet. This is one occasion on which I won't use the Althouse Amazon portal.
Went to a bowling alley for a birthday party just this weekend. About a fifth of our group were wearing hajibs. Houston, Texas (Trump country)... you may do that here.
I never knew Candlepin balls were hole-less!
I never knew Candlepin balls were hole-less!
Yup. AND....You get THREE per frame!!!
Candlepin balls are roughly the size of softballs - holes would be kind of pointless, and there isn't enough surface area to drill them!
Bowling as a sport and industry is still in a rapid decline.
"Bowling Alone" thesis doesn't explain it so well as the rise of computers and videogames. These things have badly hurt any number of male hobby industries, everything from photography (compare markets for true aficionado gear in 1980 vs today) to woodworking to futzing with cars.
So does the Althouse Amazon Prime Portal include free delivery for bowling balls. That is a lot of weight.
Mookie Betts, the all-star outfielder for the Red Sox, was the Tennessee high school bowler of the year in Tennessee (and the high school player of the year in baseball as well). Bowling is a lost art.
Chuck......that's the word on the street. The youngsters don't golf. They don't have the attention span or patience for a 3-4 hour event.
Where my parents live........they covered over the bowling lanes and do weddings in the space instead. I suppose they aren't several hundred dedicated bowlers anymore to fill up several leagues.
As Chuck says the spectrum of disruption to craftsmen is wide and deep. Expert systems have been around for awhile now and the experience gained from a lifetime of specialized work is not in the demand it used to be. "Untouched bY human hands" used to carry connotations of shoddy workmanship. Today it is more likely to mean precision workmanship. It is sad to see, but inevitable. The singularity is near and by definition we have no way to prepare.
Dave from Minnesota said...
Chuck......that's the word on the street. The youngsters don't golf. They don't have the attention span or patience for a 3-4 hour event.
Dear Dave;
My theory tracks that of my friend Geoff Shackelford... The advent of golf carts has substantially killed off most caddy programs. (Along with kids just not wanting or needing to caddy.)
And the death of caddy programs has killed off a generation of golfers.
I got into golf as a 13 year old caddy.
Try finding someplace that will replace the heels--or the soles and heels--on a pair of dress shoes
DavidD said...
Try finding someplace that will replace the heels--or the soles and heels--on a pair of dress shoes
7/11/17, 11:05 AM
Trick question? Shoe repair shop. Or I give it to the shoeshine guy and he brings it back next week done.
We used to have a bowling alley near school. Two weeks of gym class a semester. That was fun...
Golf was never a universal sport for kids. Circumstances need to be just right for the opportunity to play. Even with the opportunity they still need to catch the bug. The niece is built for golf success and has a wonderful swing but alas, her face is in her phone before the back nine.
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