1998 PBA Nat'l Fin. C'ship - Voss vs. Williams, Jr. (Part 1)

I have mixed feelings about arena finals. On one hand, they are unfair to the tournament leaders who have dominated at a particular bowling center, gotten accustomed to the lanes, and have worked hard to win the top spot. Put them in an arena and their advantage, except for their top seed, flies away. On the other hand, arena finals are tons of fun for the viewers both in the arena and at home, as the bowlers often give outstanding performances (think Bob Learn, Jr.) and throw lots of strikes. The final of the 1998 PBA National Finance Championship between Brian Voss and Walter Ray Williams, Jr. has to rank among the most exciting. Lots of strikes, a clutch 10th frame, and big-time emotion out of both players. I think the audience in Virginia Beach was on speed. Part 1 of 2.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• brian
• voss
• walter
• ray
• williams
• jr
• pba
• bowling

[mrtvmankiller01]

@PrEttYbAbYmx bit late for that, he's married and has kids

[apdorkfish]

Is the audience on crack?

[StickTweedles87]

Voss almost left the 5-7-10 lol

[upliftmofo00]

Couldn't agree more. I think a lot of it has to do with his release - he throws a fairly straight ball, which isn't affected by lane conditions quite as much as the wide hook balls that most of the other players throw. That and he has his approach, however unorthodox, completely down to a science.

[deesyphrr]

Plus the gold pins were maximum weight, 3 lbs. 10 oz.

[thunderstruck665]

I don't think anybody has had a better approach to the game over the last three decades than WRW. No matter how much the equipment, lane surfaces and oil patterns change, he has had the most deadly accurate and consistent shot in the game.

[stormBIGbowling]

cause 3 and 4 were the tv pair

[BrownWolverine]

Why were lanes 1 & 2 set up with the regular white pins, while 3 & 4 had the gold pins? I know that 1 & 2 are used for warm ups and also in the event that another lane breaks down, but if you're warming up, wouldn't it be best to warm up against the pins you'll soon be knocking down in your match?

[terpdx]

Is it just me, or is Walter Ray Williams revving it up a lot more than he usually does? Must be the lane conditions.

[Rahhhzel]

IMO, the randomness of only bowling 1 game has a far greater effect on the outcome of the television matches than any theoretical advantage a player may have going into a TV match. Anything can happen on TV, and I think it's worthwhile to have these exciting arena finals, even at the sacrifice of any slight advantage a player may have, in theory.