I joke about it in my league. Simply b/c I do not like it.

I was talking to my buddy on my old team and he said that his dad was saying it. He also heard a few other people in the league say it. That is a mixed league that is non-competitive.

I have, and it was met with sarcasm.

A guy on my Tuesday team says it, but he does it mainly in a joking manner. He's also very new to the game as of this year so he didn't grow with the history, but he's trying very hard to learn the game and get better.

As for my Wednesday league, I haven't heard anyone say it yet. Though in that league most of the guys are much older (I'm the youngest guy in the league by about 5 years) and most have been around the game for a very long time.

I have.. people had fun with it. And it was in a sport league at that. I know, we're all going to bowling hell.

Nope - never heard anyone use it.

The other thing that no one here has seems to either admit or acknowledge is that Stone makes fun of himself and the Hambone.

I guess there was a break in the lines of communication there. My apologies.

But as far as being an insider sport, well, I feel that most people who aren't "in the know" have a hard time understanding it because there's so much skill involved. Sure, knocking down 10 pins at the end of 60' worth of wood (or synthetic material) doesn't look tough, but as well all know it is. Doing it consistently is daunting at the very least and it takes a lot of effort and time to be good at it.

I'm not saying that any sport is easy, because they're not, but because bowling is deemed more "recreational" and not "serious", well, it's tough to get even the casual bowler to understand the full dearth of this sport. Golf, for most people, is recreational, and outsiders who think that "it's so darn easy to hit that little white ball straight" find out it's not the case once they tee up that "little white ball" and try swinging without missing. A lot of mechanics make up a golf swing (as you know), just as a lot of mechanics make up a bowling approach. Golf, up until recently, was somewhat of an "insider sport", but the proliferation of Tiger has made more people appreciate just how difficult it is to play the game at even a bogey level.

But, there too, bowling isn't promoted like baseball, football, basketball, etc. because it's not really seen as "physical". My high school bowling coach promoted bowling better than anyone I know, yet he was not a bowler himself. He respected the sport, understood it's intricacies, and revered those who could "make the pins dance" as he put it. He was the best PR person you could ever want, and he didn't try to "dumb down" the sport. He learned everything he could learn, asked the better bowlers what they knew, and talked to the proprietors. He pitched his "sale" to the board every year to make sure we had a sport that we could enjoy and get a letter for.

Honestly, bowling, like any sport, has it's own "fraternity", and as long as you respect the game you're always welcome into the fraternity. I don't exclude "outsiders", I welcome them. Anyone willing to learn the sport I try to educate, otherwise I wouldn't be here nor would I have bothered to spend money on a coaching certification. However, if you disrespect the game, well, you better prepare yourself for any kind of backlash. I can provide that much as well.

That doesn't automatically excuse him, and the fact that he doesn't even take himself seriously actually rubs a little more salt in the wound. But, I know, I have issues.

He's being self deprecating and having fun with "hambone". He's knows it's a joke. I know it's a joke. Lots of other people know it's a joke. He's not making fun of bowling or bowlers. At this point, he's making fun of himself. The other week he ever said "What did I do?!"