Windy City Pride Move

Ok, so here is the big secret, we are moving to Monday nights. While this doesn’t seem like a big deal, it is to us. We’ve been on Tuesday nights for more years than I could say (mostly because I don’t know the exact number), so why do it? Elbow room, simply put, we had no real choices. We were boxed in where we were and we were turning away new teams.

So what does this really mean? It means we won’t have to turn away bowlers because we didn’t have the room. This means more new friends, more new memories, more excitement.

Signups are going up now so come join us this September on Monday nights, Go Bowling!!!

Big News

Yes I have a secret. Ok, probably not a huge secret, its not the 7 herbs and spices in KFC or the secret ingredient in Coke or who the Scranton Strangler is but still.

There are still some final things to be worked out before I can spill the beans. So keep watching/reading to find out more…

Watch This Space

First, lets get to the big news, congrats to Backalley Bangers on their win of split 2. They join Taste the Rainbowl in securing a semi-final spot. Half the post-season places filled, next week we start the final push for the championship.

That said, there is going to be news related to Windy City Prides’ future coming soon. All that I can say for now…

Musing over a warm mug…

So it seems that winter has finally arrived, with a vengeance. First it was that widow maker snow followed by some serious wind chills. It was so cold, I had to pick a shirt that had sleaves when I was bowling, did keep the shorts thou, have to stay true to who I am.

Not only is it cold, but we are hitting the halfway point in the league season. The new bowlers are starting to show improvement, getting more consistent with their scores (much to the chagrin of teams who face those high handicap teams). Its about now that you start to see those players start to ask the questions: “How do I make the ball hook like you?” “I want to get my first ball, what should I buy?” “What... is the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow?” Its nice to hear those questions as it usually means we’ve hooked (see what I did there) a new player to the sport. Its up to us to help guide people when they start asking these questions. Last year or last century we all started the same way and asked the same questions. Don’t be dismissive of them or afraid to answer. Its ok if you don’t know, sometimes its not about knowing but knowing who to ask.

Well, my mug is no longer warm so I guess I need to meander off and get it taken care of. Keep watching the site and social media for the plans for this summer session.

It’s that time of year

Well, it’s that time of year again. I was going to do one of those sappy posts that seem to be all over social media. But then I remembered, that isn’t me. However, with snow starting to come down and the roads and sidewalks are getting slick, I’m going to do a PSA about keeping those clean. The last thing we need is to have a bowler go down in a non-sport related injury. Take a moment to clear the snow and put down salt/sand to make sure that you don’t slip. I would hate to see a team forfeit because someone slipped on the ice. I mean falling on the lanes is one thing and at least you can spin the story into something fittingly athletic. Falling on frozen stairs/sidewalk is youtube fodder.

In the mean time, happy holidays and remember, when your family (born with, found, made) is driving you crazy, you can always go bowling

Miss Me?

So its been a few weeks since I’ve been able to ramble on about whatever thoughts were fluttering about my head.

Leagues are in full swing now and the business of getting the league setup are behind me now. There is a surprising amount of paperwork that needs to be filled out… CORECTLY. But since that is all done, I’m back baby… Yea!

So what do we have to look forward to now you ask? Firstly many more rambling run on sentences from yours truly. I hope to get back to my weekly postings and maybe get a guest writer or two who would like to babble about some that they think matters but the rest of us think is frivolous, not like the important works I put to screen.

Secondly I hope to have news on a number of upcoming tournaments, check out the link the Chicagoland USBC association on our links page for teases of what they are. One I want to point out is the return of Beat the Champs. This one is really good because besides the cash prizes and other stuff for the people who advance, if 100% of the league participates there is a chance to have money added to our prize fund ($500).

Ok, back to work!

It’s Official

So, it’s finally time. We have filled all the teams and we are ready to start! When September 12th rolls around, we start to roll baby!

Thanks to all of you that came out to register in person and were able to enjoy the free bowling. Some things to expect your first week. Captains will have a mandatory meeting to approve the rules for the season as well as pick up the prize fund breakdown. Everyone will get a USBC sanction card to review and sign. There will be some chaos for no other reason than its the first week, but don’t worry, we are old hands at getting this done.

This year we have some new faces and some old faces we haven’t seen since the pandemic, welcome back. Now we won’t be doing any side pots this first week, but after that, whoo hoo.

It’s Almost Time

It’s been a little while since I prattled on here about what ever random thought has crossed by mind. Sadly the real world has conspired to take my time away from here. But fear not my 10s of readers, I have returned.

So summer leagues are ending, in my case just this week. It’s sad as that means I won’t be at the lanes for a while but that also means a return to the competitive fall/winter season is just around the corner. In fact I have just emailed/posted our registration event (Sept 5, 2023). This is where the rubber melts on the road (that’s a heat joke for us locals as we’ve had a little bit of warm temps). Until now its all been a “Yea I want to bowl” in an abstract way, but the signups make it real. Now we will see who wants to make the commitment to the time and yes, money, and bowl the season.

Ok, I’m off for now, but I’ll be back, posting more of this nonsense and hopefully seeing some new faces soon.

Musings…

I’m sitting here in front of the keyboard confidently avoiding doing some much needed yard work, trying to come up with something for this weeks posting. I’ve just picked up the league packet for the fall. I suppose I could talk about the upcoming season or the upcoming tournaments. I could even talk about world cup play (go USWNT). I really don’t know. Its an odd time. The summer league is entering its final set with just about a month to go. Things are about to go into full swing for the fall league.

It just seems I’ve hit a lull, kind of like what happens in a bar/restaurant where you get that moment when every conversation ends all at once (usually followed by someone making some very embarrassing statement out loud).

“If you keep using the cream the rash should clear up!”

See, just like that.

Well, I think I’ll wander off and look like I’m busy.

What are Side Pots

A common thing in bowling are side pots, but what are they? Well the short answer is that they are mini-games that use your bowling score to complete for cash and/or prizes. I’m just going to talk about the more common ones you may see/hear about. Side pots typically run between 1 and 5 dollars. Some like 50/50 allow you more than one buy in so they can cost more. Side pots should be settled by the end of the night and in the case of our league don’t have a “fee” for running the pot (meaning 100% of the proceeds are paid out)

50/50 Raffle (or just 50/50)

The 50/50 game is a common game where you buy a ticket (or multiple tickets). Then at a certain point in the night the tickets are all collected and a winner is drawn. The owner of the ticket then has 1 chance to bowl a strike (usually on a different lane than they were using). If they win they get the full pot, if not, they get half. The remaining pot either goes into the prize fund or in the case of our league goes into the charity fund. Donations for the past 2 years have exceeded $3000 (yea to us for doing good) but that also means we have paid back at least that much to participants.

Mystery

Draw a number out of a bag, if it matches your score, you win! If nobody wins, it rolls over to the next week. This is an easy one because everyone has chance to win.

Handicap

Highest score with handicap for each game wins. There is also a winner for handicap series.

Brackets

A bracket game is similar to other bracket type setups you’ve see (march madness, best Sean Bean death, best pizza style, etc). Basically you purchase one to many slots on the bracket (a bowling bracket is typically 8 per bracket) and are randomly placed. If you win your bracket (based on score of first game) you advance to the next round and compete again, winners advance to the final round with the winner taking home the pot. Brackets are always in sets of 8 since there are only 3 rounds of bowling.

King of the Hill

King of the hill is similar to brackets, except instead of competing head to head with 1 bowler, the object is to be in the top half of everyone who is in the pot. Say 20 bowlers start, in the first round, only the top 10 scorers advance, in the second round only the top 5 advance, in the last round, the top scorer wins.

Poker Hands

This is a game that is usually played by a single team (though multiple teams may play) and not administered by the league. Usually you get to draw one card for a spare and two for a strike then form the best poker hand you can with the cards you have. Usually there is a limit to the number of cards you can have at any one time (5 - 7 cards). Best hand wins.

Know Before You Bowl

So, you are going to join a bowling league for the first time and you have questions. How is a league different from bowling with my friends. In some ways it’s not very different and in others it is. Wow, could I be a little more vague there…

Equipment

Almost all league bowlers have their own equipment (shoes, balls, bags, etc). Now, you don’t need all that to start, shoes you can rent and bowling alley has “house balls” that you can use. That being said, the place to start when getting equipment is to buy your own bowling shoes. These can run anywhere from 30 to 250+ dollars but they make a difference. Like most sports, footwork is important and having a having a comfortable and consistent pair of shoes goes a long way. Plus, eeeww someone else’s shoes (note that bowling alleys do a good job of disinfecting shoes after use). What about a ball? This is probably one of single largest equipment expenses that a league bowler makes. Its a personal choice and not one you need to make right away. Many bowlers have more than one ball (first ball, spare ball, balls for different lane conditions, etc). If you check out the links page you will find a couple of pro-shops that you can contact to discuss more about ball options (get a bag while you are at it to carry everything).

Etiquette

So what is bowling etiquette. Unlike open bowling, league bowlers try to follow some basic etiquette rules. The first has to do with food/drink, those should be kept out of the bowling area (typically the uncarpeted area behind the lane approach). This is to keep any spills from getting on the players shoes and impacting them when they bowl (its why you see bowlers where those booties on the shoes). Distracting bowlers on the approach, unlike when you are out with friends or in the bleachers, is a no-no. While most things can be blocked out, its still inappropriate. Now for the big one, the approach, that area with the ball return and where you stand to throw the ball. First of all its like crossing the street, look both ways. If there is someone on the approach in the lane next to you (either side) wait. You only need to look to the immediate left/right. In the event of a tie, the bowler to the right goes first. Don’t step on to the approach until its your turn and if you have thrown your ball, step off the approach so the next bowler can throw.

Commitment

Bowling in a league is a commitment of both time and money. Leagues have their schedule planned out in advance (days, times, length, holidays) as well as the cost so there should be no surprises.

Well, that is enough for today, have fun.

League Registration

So, you may be asking yourself, when are we going to open up registration. Well the short answer is soon. We are looking to schedule registration events as well as online registration and we will be communicating this to everyone soon.

As always, we will be looking for full teams, partial teams and individuals to join the league. Space, as always will be at a premium so once we get started, make sure to get your information in.

Our New Website

So the idea for this site began a while ago. We had an old website but, well it had been abandoned and forgotten (like Riverside Park for you old-timers or history buffs). With us moving into the Fall 2023 season I wanted a new look and some flair. So we moved to a new address (humming “Movin’ on up’), a new look, and a whole new attitude. We will be using the site to help inform new and returning players of events, news to know and anything else that amuses me.