End of Summer League

Even though Jerry and I will continue with league bowling this year with some of our friends in a fall league, the end of the summer league is always a bittersweet moment. This was our 4th year bowling in this league, and all of our friends bowl with us, so it's like a friend gathering every Thursday night. I mean, as a group, the 14 or so of us, get together pretty frequently anyway, but bowling is different, ya know?

Anyway, some details about tonight's last night of the summer league: My team did indeed place 2nd in the league; however, we did not get a trophy. Kinda bogus since the 2nd place teams have received trophies before, but the league must have been running short on cash, I don't know. But, I must extend a giant "congrats" to my teammate Crystal who got a trophy for best female something...I don't know what score or category she won her trophy in, but a trophy is a trophy! So, congrats to her!

After the trophy "ceremony" (ie: handing them out of the cardboard box they came in), we played our fun games for the night. The fun games, or "goofy" games as they are sometimes referred to, are just variations on traditional league bowling and serve as a light-hearted way to end the season. So, first game, it was like regular bowling except that if you knocked down 9 pins with the first ball, it scored like a strike. Here I am ready for the challenge: Here I am, with Jerry, after I scored a 206 in this game (with my handicap, I scored a perfect 300!): I won money, yo!
So, yeah, I rocked the first game, but the 2nd game? Uff, that one is supah hard. It's called low-pin, and you try to knock down as few pins as possible. Before you say, "Oh, I could rock that" consider this: if you gutter ball, it's a strike, and if you hit zero pins on the pick-up, it's a spare. It's a game that sounds easy, but actually turns out to be really, really difficult.

I did not rock that one.

In the last game, you play with a partner, and you bowl when it's your turn, but if you leave pins standing after your first ball, your partner has to pick them up, and vice versa. Again, seems like no big deal, but there's something about it that throws off your rhythm, and it's pretty dang hard. Crystal and I bowled decently with this last game, but it wasn't enough to win.

Still, the entire night was a load of fun. I won a little cash (promptly spent back at the bar and the "snack shack" -- I need my corndogs and beer!), I drank some beers, limited myself to one shot, had lots of laughs, and in general, enjoyed a great night with friends. The fall league that starts in two weeks will certainly be fun, but nothing can replace the summer league!