Bowling

(There are many bad bowling puns to be made, but I will spare you the pain.  Also, I can’t exactly pin down why bowling is so fun, but maybe it is a result of the feeling of accomplishment that strikes you when you do well.)

The secret strategy to doing well in bowling is to pick the lightest ball possible that doesn’t pinch your fingers.  The lightweight (8-10 pound) bowling balls are better because they can be thrown significantly faster.  In addition, they tire you out slower, allowing you to do better in later games.  Most guys feel the need to choose a heavy ball to prove their strength, which can result in an unexpectedly high number of gutter balls.

At one bowling alley in my area, the only large size lightweight bowling ball is pink.  If you are a guy who feels self-conscience about using a pink ball then you have some self-esteem issues.  Recently I recommended to one of my friends (who wasn’t doing very well) to use my lightweight ball.  At first he resisted, obviously feeling intimidated by the amazing pin-knocking ability in the nine pound pink ball, similarly to how a medieval knight would not accept the legendary sword as a gift from his dying king.  After another two rounds of scores under six points each, he decided to use the pink ball instead.  Because he is as good at bowling as a hippopotamus is at tightrope-walking, he still did terribly.  I, on the other hand, got a score of 141.