So I've been annually attending the USBC Open Championships with a team of 10 IBMers from Tucson. You may recall
last year I went to Reno to participate for my first time. This year, the tournament is held in wonderful...El Paso, TX? I've never actually been to El Paso before, but it was interesting how one could literally see Juarez, Mexico from the interstate as you are driving into the city. My friend Chris and I arrived on Sunday, and downtown was as dead as could be. We walked around Union Plaza, where there are a ton of bars and clubs, but they were all closed. Unfortunately, we didn't pick the best nights to experience nightlife out here, as these places are only open later in the week. Nonetheless, we found our way to Sparrow's, the only bar open in all of downtown El Paso. They actually made an effort to open up the place with all the USBC bowlers coming to town, and I thank them dearly for that or else I would've been bored out of my mind.
There's really not a whole lot to do in El Paso (unless you're into Museums?), so I'll just cut to the chase. Day 1 of Open Championships featured the team event, where teams of 5 try and post the best scores they can. You're basically competing against everyone, so the goal is simply to bowl the best game you can. The lanes are oiled to be extremely difficult, and missing your mark by just a hair or not adjusting as the games go on will cause you to miss the pocket and leave all kinds of nasty splits. I didn't have many expectations going in, I just wanted to bowl a 500-series once and enjoy myself.
Day 2 featured the Doubles and Singles events. I'll say for the Team and Doubles, I had paltry series of around 420 each event. :( Yeah, it's really tough out there. However, I shined in the Singles event, posting my best games of 185 and 174, ending with a 484 series, which was pretty close to my goal, but just missed it. While bowling is a dying sport in my opinion, I still love it and plan on going back next year, which should be back in Reno.
Up next, Japan!!!
