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Barack Obama Did NOT Bowl A 37
This needs to be cleared up forthwith.
Here is Obama's Scorecard as of the seventh frame:
<table border="1" width="783" id="table1" height="75">
<tr>
<td width="146" height="19">Player</td>
<td width="38" colspan="2" height="19" align="center">1</td>
<td width="37" colspan="2" height="19" align="center">2</td>
<td width="40" colspan="2" height="19" align="center">3</td>
<td width="40" colspan="2" height="19" align="center">4</td>
<td width="37" colspan="2" height="19" align="center">5</td>
<td width="38" colspan="2" height="19" align="center">6</td>
<td width="40" colspan="2" height="19" align="center">7</td>
<td width="39" colspan="2" height="19" align="center">8</td>
<td width="38" colspan="2" height="19" align="center">9</td>
<td width="61" colspan="3" height="19" align="center">10</td>
<td width="108" height="19">Total</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="2" width="146" height="44">Barack</td>
<td width="23" height="25" align="center">-</td>
<td width="23" height="25" align="center">-</td>
<td width="23" height="25" align="center">-</td>
<td width="23" height="25" align="center">4</td>
<td width="23" height="25" align="center">7<sup>s</sup></td>
<td width="23" height="25" align="center">2</td>
<td width="23" height="25" align="center">9</td>
<td width="23" height="25" align="center">-</td>
<td width="23" height="25" align="center">7<sup>s</sup></td>
<td width="23" height="25" align="center">-</td>
<td width="23" height="25" align="center">8</td>
<td width="23" height="25" align="center">-</td>
<td width="23" height="25" align="center">9</td>
<td width="24" height="25" align="center">/</td>
<td width="24" height="25" align="center"> </td>
<td width="24" height="25" align="center"> </td>
<td width="24" height="25" align="center"> </td>
<td width="24" height="25" align="center"> </td>
<td width="24" height="25" align="center"> </td>
<td width="24" height="25" align="center"> </td>
<td width="24" height="25" align="center"> </td>
<td width="108" height="25"> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="38" colspan="2" height="25" align="center">0</td>
<td width="37" colspan="2" height="25" align="center">4</td>
<td width="40" colspan="2" height="25" align="center">13</td>
<td width="40" colspan="2" height="25" align="center">22</td>
<td width="37" colspan="2" height="25" align="center">29</td>
<td width="38" colspan="2" height="25" align="center">37</td>
<td width="40" colspan="2" height="25" align="center"> </td>
<td width="39" colspan="2" height="25" align="center"> </td>
<td width="38" colspan="2" height="25" align="center"> </td>
<td width="61" colspan="3" height="25" align="center"> </td>
<td width="108" height="25"> </td>
</tr>
</table>
Note that although he toppled <i>all ten pins</i> in the seventh, that doesn't show up in his score (and that's something we'll get back to later). So, even arguing that he would gutter out or foul for the rest of the game, that game is a 47. But let's play this out hypothetically, shall we?
Given that he seemed to be getting the hang of it, his first balls for five straight frames were at least 7's. Giving him 7
on his next ball (first hypothetical), he's at 54 through seven. If he averages eight pins over those last three frames, also less than his previous five (43 pins over five frames, including one mark), he rolls a 78. Giving him a three-frame average as close to his previous five, he rolls 80. One more spare in there, he's close to 90. A strike or two spares (let's face it, he's just getting used to this sport when he quit), and he's cracking that three-digit "minimum requirement" for manhood in the bowling world.
Now, I'm not saying you're going to find many male league bowlers in Altoona who are rolling 90 on average. But I doubt you'll find many who would outright scoff at someone rolling 90 in a first attempt in years, if ever. And they would bowl in comfortable pants designed for deep bending of the knees, and bowling shirts, not polo and tie meet-n-greet clothes. And the Altoona regulars (and the Tere Haute and Steelton and Toledo and Wheeling and Flint and Peoria regulars too) would have those sleek wrist support and positioners, because they are serious about their bowling, and frankly, if they would pay that much for a dozen golf balls (which they don't because golf is elitist), they may as well do something for their bowling. Obama didn't have one of those either (and they make them left-handed, which seems to be his bowling preference). So Barack Obama may have done even better, had his staff properly prepared him for the game. Are'nt they supposed to iron out all these details beforehand?
But let's get back to the score Obama actually did have in that game. If he had 47 pins, why was it reported that he only scored 37? Or conversely, if he only scored 37, why didn't he get any credit for the ten pins of his seventh frame spare?
Well, it's simple, really, and anyone who's ever bowled knows why. But because some people actually have never bowled, let's go over it anyway. When someone knocks dowwn all the pins, whether in one ball (a strike), or two (a spare), that is called a mark (a term I used above). When a bowler marks, he or she gets a bonus, of adding in subsequent balls to the score for that frame. A spare gets one more ball added, a strike gets two. Otherwise, how could a game that allows no more than 120 pins to be toppled allow a score of up to 300? So Obama had yet to record an official score for the seventh, because it requires he roll the next ball, which he never did. And when the scorecard was printed, the blank in the seventh reflected that.
Now, here's where the great hypocrisy lies. Again, even if he had guttered his last six balls, Obama had 47, not 37. Understand nothing else if you wish, but get this: Only someone patently unfamiliar with the scoring system of bowling would make this mistake. And every MSM journalist who has reported on this story has made this mistake. Therefore, no MSM journalist reporting on this shows even a basic familiarity with the sport (sorry, Coach Stouffer)* of bowling.
Care to reckon who's showing elitism now?
*Coach Stouffer would bristle at the notion of a "sport of bowling." Football is a sport, bowling is a game. Yes, I remember.
Comments (9)
Although the first part of the post appears on my screen as jibberish, thank you for clearing this matter up in the part that shows up clearly as text. :
Unlike, say, UHC, global warming, or the Great Risk Shift (the latter my personal favorite for how Obama might help clearly distinguish himself thematically on economic issues from McCain), this has been a subject of some water cooler banter at my workplace.
So I will make sure that word gets around that Obama's 37 is really just another Urban Legend. :
April 18, 2008 12:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yeah, it says HTML is OK, when blogging, but that's apparently not the case (I cut & pasted code from Front Page). That's Table HTML to make a scorecard for Obama. Here's another try:
. 1 . . 2 . . 3 . . 4 . . 5 . . 6 . . 7 . . 8 .
- - . - 4 . 7 2 . 9 - . 7 - . 8 - . 9 / . ? ? .
-0- . -4- . 13- . 22- . 29- . 37- . ??? .
Basically, he's working on a spare in the eighth, but even with a gutter there, he would have 47 through 7.
April 18, 2008 1:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
The MSM lied? Gasp, I am shocked! Shocked!
April 18, 2008 12:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
Not lied.
It's that they didn't know enough to report the truth, and that they apparently didn't care.
"They don't have a score for frames when they are working on a spare? Then let them eat cake." To paraphrase.
April 18, 2008 1:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
Where did you get the scorecard data? Obama is supposed to be a reasonably decent athlete, so when I heard 37 I thought it absurdly low, even for someone who doesn't play the game. That Obama was at 37 through six frames, plus a spare, makes more sense. It's also worth noting that he started off with three straight gutter balls, then had that 5-fram streak of 7 pins or more on the first ball. That shows he's a quick learner!
Thanks for setting the record straight, Moose! And if I'd not seen you've posted before, I'd almost think you made up that avatar simply to comment, with more gravitas, on bowling. You deserve a virtual beer. Think 6-pack of Yeungling.
April 18, 2008 2:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oops. I hate it when I screw up the explanatory link.
April 18, 2008 2:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yuengling sonds good right about now.
Love your flop. Revolutionary.
April 18, 2008 7:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
Second, bowling is a slightly tacky sport, even for people who love it. The whole stupid shoes business I think. And bowling leagues, everyone knows they are a little cheesy.
April 18, 2008 12:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
O2: You need to watch The Big Lebowski...
April 18, 2008 1:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
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