Bowling Culture Essay

1103 Words3 Pages

Bowling culture, as observed in your local bowling alley, revolves around objects like shoes, alley markings, and bowling balls. Throughout the following essay, I discuss how these objects have influenced bowling culture and how the culture has influenced them. Bowling has been losing popularity in the United States. To save the sport, we need to study bowling culture and determine what is working and what isn’t. Bowling culture is one that is constantly changing and requires a strategic mindset be successful. When going to the local bowling alley, you are going to have to rent shoes. Rented bowling shoes commonly come in the colors red and blue. One could see this as a simple design choice, but a closer look reveals these colors have a more …show more content…

The sole of a bowling shoe is made slippery in order to slide around the floor with ease. The heel of the shoe is usually made of rubber. It is used as a brake when sliding. With these shoes, bowlers are able to take complete control of their movement. This reveals that bowling culture puts priority on control. Bowling shoes are made using leather. Leather is known to be an insulator of heat. This was most likely kept in mind when designing the shoes. Heat leads to sweat and sweat leads to a restriction of fluidity when taking a step. This leather is used to prevent the heat and sweat from negatively impacting ones performance. Bowling culture emphasizes the importance of mastering ones bodily functions. Bowling culture is heavily influenced by the desire for strategic superiority over ones opponent.
In order to gain this superiority, one must become familiar with the bowling lane. The bowling lane an extremely important part of the sport and features a variety of different markings. Close to the center of the bowling lane, a pattern of arrows can be seen. These arrows are clearly pointing towards the bowling pins. It almost seems to represent a hunting type scenario if one looks at the lane’s arrows as actual arrows. These arrows have been …show more content…

Several factors are providing the sport with the opportunity to thrive. Because the sport emphasizes working for the strategic advantage, those that use brain power will flourish. The culture is also easily adapts to change. Bowling is known to allow those low on the social pyramid to rise to the top. Bowling culture, while it may be losing popularity, seems to be an accepting sport where you don 't need physical strength to excel, but a complex psychological mindset. It is necessary to study these bowling qualities in order to make the sport relevant again. We know what must be done to save the sport, but is it a sport worth

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