Bowlers Behaving Badly – Part 3

Over the first two parts of this series (available here and here), we discussed everything from lane pattern manipulation and noises in the approach to sandbagging and not “giving five.” Even though we’ve covered a lot of ground already, we are still not done with our discussion of bad bowler behaviors!

This time, we will look at lane courtesy, watching the ball too long, tardiness, and moving other people’s stuff. Let’s get started!

Lack of lane courtesy

This is always a sore spot for bowlers. Some leagues use one-lane courtesy, some give two, tournaments might have their own rules, and if you’re bowling a PBA event, have fun with the “double-jump” lane courtesy system! To make matters worse, bowlers tend to disagree with the meaning of one lane courtesy: does this mean that there must be one open lane, always, between me and the bowler to my right and to my left?

Have you ever crossed with bowlers who are accustomed to two-lane courtesy in their other league, and who stubbornly insist on the same, even though your league only requires one-lane courtesy? Don’t those nights against those bowlers seem to last an eternity? And what about the reverse, where you expect everyone to obey two-lane courtesy? How dare this bowler violate courtesy?!

Lastly, we have the “if my name is on the monitor screen, I’m bowling and that’s that” bowlers. These are the folks who never look right or left and just bowl when it’s their turn. Sure, you can’t ever accuse them of not being present for their turn, but this is a bit like ...