Bill Simmons and the PBA: Successful Experiment?

Last Sunday's Dick Weber Open featured a third man in the booth. It was ESPN's The Sports Guy, Bill Simmons. Now, I have to admit that I enjoy reading Bill's columns and his interweaving of pop culture into his sports analysis is witty. I feel as if I am part of the inside joke with many of his television or movie references. I'm sure you do too. Most all males currently in their mid-40's can recite many lines from Caddyshack or Ghostbusters. Simmons' in-depth analysis of the movie Hoosiers is like something that I have never read. However, is he good for televised bowling? Does the PBA throw any random person into the announcers' booth as a bridge between the hardcore and casual fanbase? Should the PBA stick to only the 'experts' in the bowling industry?

As part of his ESPN duties, Bill also does podcasts, or taped Internet shows. The day before the telecast, he and Rob Stone discussed bowling and soccer. Entertaining interview, but one point made me wince. He asked Stone about the pronunciation of 'Weber.' He asked Rob if he should do some research or do 'fish out of water.' He, obviously, was the latter. Various comments across the Internet seem to dislike his performance.

Is this a one-time shot with the PBA? Will they also have other guest announcers? The WWE has guest host on RAW every Monday night on the USA network. Should the PBA also have William Shatner in the booth with Stone and Pederson?

This was good and bad. I think if Bill had done more preparation for the show, it would have worked better. Most everyone should know about Dick Weber. He should represent the casual fan that the PBA needs to expand its ratings. Also, to appease the hardcore fans, the announcer cannot appear to mock the sport. Rob Stone mentions this in his beginnings as a PBA announcer on the podcast with Bill Simmons.

The hardcore fans want another expert as the third announcer. Not every expert can be a good fit for the booth like Nelson Burton, Jr. or Randy Pederson. The show is not that entertaining if I hear too much technical commenting about how the bowler missed inside of target because of something the expert saw in the third step of the approach. I don't want too much hilarity, but I also don't want too much USBC gold medal coach jargon.

I like to be entertained when I watch the show. So, I give the Simmons experiment a 'thumb in the middle' sign. Maybe another celebrity who knows bowling could be a good fit. How about Jerome Bettis?
Or, bring back Simmons, and give him another shot when he is better prepared. He loves sports and can be that bridge between the casual fan and the hardcore fan if he just learned the sport. Most all of us like to explain the nuances of bowling to our co-workers. Let Randy school Bill like he does Rob.

Commercial Success

Looking back near the end of ABC's run of the Professional Bowlers Tour, one should have seen the end coming. Nearly all the commercials being run were of bowling products. Gone were the Quaker State oil and Miller Beer commercials.

The success of any show or other entertainment vehicle is measured in advertisement dollars. Obviously, with the large number of people who watch the Super Bowl, the networks charge high rates for commercial time. If professional bowling on television is to be a viable success, there must be companies willing to advertise on the programs. On ABC, there seemed to be nothing but Brunswick, Columbia, or Dexter commercials. Sure, that is targeted advertising, but bowlers buy Buicks just like golfers who watch Tiger Woods on TV.





With the new PBA on ESPN, we are seeing non-bowling products being advertised, which is a good sign. Now the bad sign. Must we see the same three commercials over and over? The GEICO commercials are clever. But they get old when you see them six times in a 90 minute telecast. I know the PBA sales staff is trying hard to get more sponsors. The more variety you see for commercials, the more successful the PBA.

The new PBA also wanted to make stars out of its bowlers. Seeing them in commercials endorsing non-bowling products is a good way to increase their visibility. WRW in Denny's commercials and the new Lumber Liquidators ad with Parker Bohn III are a good start. How about Chris Barnes drinking a Pepsi? Of course, ESPN uses them also for self-promotion. Remember all the coverage Pete Weber had under the persona of 'PDW'?




So, you can gauge the success of the PBA by watching the commercials. The more variety of products you see on the small screen, the more prize money, the more respect, and a better image for pro bowling should follow.

When is the best time for televised bowling?

Bowling Rules Cable
I just switched cable companies. I now have ESPN Classic which televises old PBA shows from ESPN and ABC. Do they have the shows from NBC? Yes, I can now enjoy the Pete Weber or Parker Bohn III marathon. These shows are on daily at 11:00am CT and the occasional Sunday marathon of shows already mentioned. With live PBA telecasts on Sunday, is bowling get all the exposure it could get? The fall/winter season competes directly with the NFL. Since I don't live in an NFL city, it is easy for me to watch the tour live as network television shows the same teams every week. I know about NFL Sunday Ticket but am too busy and too cheap to watch any NFL game every week.

Spring Tour in Prime Time?
Jeff Richgels is a regional pro bowler, newspaper reporter, and regularly takes my bracket money at the USBC Open every year. In his blog, The 11th Frame, he reports that ESPN is close to signing the PBA for a spring tour in which the finals will be televised in prime time.

I'm one of many who believe the PBA's Holy Grail is weeknight prime time, perhaps immediately following SportsCenter on Tuesday or Wednesday night.

So you can imagine how stunning it was to hear Schreyer casually mention to the Phantom that PBA was close to a deal for a Spring Tour in which the TV finals would be in prime time on ESPN.

"We have the potential right now of even possibly getting a four- or five-week run with ESPN in the spring on prime time in the evening," Schreyer said. "So we're trying to finalize that. We're hopeful that we'll be able to pull that off. And that could be really exciting in terms of getting tremendous additional exposure for the sport."

I also agree that Tuesday or Wednesday night at 7:00pm telecast would get better ratings than Sunday noon. Unless the networks come out with the next blockbuster series, Tuesday and Wednesday nights provide little television enjoyment; particularly after college basketball season.

Bowling puts me to sleep
Let me caveat that title statement. Televised bowling on Sunday puts me to sleep. I look forward to noon and get in my recliner to watch the show. After seeing who is on the show, watching their styles, lines, and ball reaction, I will soon drift off. Is the show that dull? The new 'powers that be' that run the PBA were right. The personalities of their players do catch the average fan's attention. I can fall asleep easier watching some pros than others. However, the time of day lulls me to an afternoon slumber. A tour show at 7:00pm will keep my interest just as an episode of House or any CSI franchise.

As much as we watch bowling on the tube, it is still more worthwhile to participate. I am rarely in a bowling center unless I am bowling. I don't go just to watch. I've only done that when a pro tournament is in town, like the PWBA in 1998 and the Masters in 1997.