Rusty Rollers

It is a game I used to excel at more than twenty years ago and I have many trophies to show for my competitive standing back then. So, when a friend asked me to participate in a ten-pin bowling competition last week-end, I did not hesitate. I managed to coax two of my friends, Audie and Mahani, to join me in forming a team.

My bowling bag, which can accommodate two balls, had to be dusted and cleaned as it had gathered dust and cobwebs in the store room. Two balls, why would one need two balls to bowl? Well, according to the pros, one ball is for strikes and the other for spares but it turned out that strikes and spares were few and far between on that day.

We went to the bowling alley early so as to practice because we did not want to be an embarassment since all of us had not bowled for years. Our scores were not too bad so we were really looking forward to the competition.

There were 100 competitors, men and women, and the women were given a handicap of 20 pinfalls as we had to compete with the men. Each competitor had to bowl 3 games.

We did not do too badly considering that we were competing against regular bowlers but during the second game, aches and pains started to surface. It was a torture to finish the third game and boy, were we glad when we did!

Including the practice games, I had bowled a total of 5 games. Assuming that I needed two throws for every frame and spared in the last frame, I would have swung my ball 105 times for the 5 games. To put it in perspective, swinging a 13-pounder 105 times and balancing on one knee when delivering the ball can cause all kinds of aches - to the thighs, upper arms, neck and back!

The real impact of bowling 5 games was felt the next day - I came down with the flu while the other two had to take painkillers just to be able to move around. Moving around felt like a robot due to all the stiffness!

Much as we had a lot of fun during the game, we all unanimously agreed on one thing - NEVER AGAIN!

High End Victims of the Economic Crunch

First, it was AIG and soccer, next was General Motors and golf and most recently, Honda and F1 racing. One by one, big-time sponsors are reassessing their financial positions in view of the credit crunch and are forced to make tough decisions. Hence, luxury spending would be the first to go during times when companies are struggling to keep afloat.

AIG has been bailed out by the US government, GM's boss is still on Capitol Hill begging for a lifeline and Honda recently announced that US car sales in the last quarter have plunged more than 30% year to year.

There are two schools of thought about brand marketing (this is what sponsorship is all about) during recession. One believes that sponsors should not pull out but adapt as marketing generates business. The other believes that continued sponsorship is not sustainable and would be insensitive to the plight of workers who have lost jobs, especially if a company had to be bailed out with taxpayers' money ala AIG. In the case of AIG, the company is forced to come up with a business plan to turn itself around and, it is not surprising that luxury spending must go.

The impact of the pullout would spill over not only to those directly involved such as employees; but others providing associated services as well, and eventually, the sport itself. With reduced sponsorship, it would be difficult to attract big names that are crowd pullers. Countries like Malaysia that depend on the F1 to draw tourists would also feel the impact and this, in turn, would impact the service industry like hotels and restaurants....and the list could go on and on!

As for the Average Joe for whom these spectator sports provide entertainment on TV, they probably would not care anyway, as there are other more serious things to worry about such as trying to make ends meet or if the paycheck would continue to come in....the stark reality of life for some today!