- 4 hours ago
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:13You may be asking yourself, what is the history of the bowling ball?
00:23Okay, maybe you weren't.
00:26But we're going to tell you anyway.
00:31Throughout history, bowling balls have taken many forms.
00:35The first balls were made of wood.
00:37Then, in the early 1900s, came rubber.
00:40And by the 1970s, plastic balls were adopted by the PBA.
00:44Because plastic balls didn't have enough friction, they often went skidding down the lane.
00:50In the 1980s, urethane bowling balls emerged, drastically changing the game,
00:56allowing more friction, which translated to more control.
01:01But it wasn't until the early 90s that resin helped revolutionize the, well, revolution of the bowl.
01:08Like earth, every bowling ball has a core.
01:11Those cores vary, with different weights and shapes, all affecting the hook and speed of a roll.
01:17The outer core, it's for texture and looking cool.
01:22So, yeah, professional bowlers need lots of balls, which they put in ball sacks.
01:28And that's what they call them.
01:42The day has come.
01:44It's the U.S. Open Championship Finals.
01:48For Saimo, this is a chance to win $100,000, etch his name in bowling history, and start living his
01:56best life.
01:57If you win, will there be any celebrating at all?
02:00Maybe. I don't know.
02:01Maybe I'll run to, like, Cheesecake Factory and grab a slice of cheesecake before I hit the road.
02:06But to get that cheesecake, he'll have to beat four other bowlers,
02:10including E.J. Tackett, the reigning player of the year.
02:14This building's obviously been very historic to me.
02:17I weren't in here after my mom passed away.
02:19I weren't in here after my dad passed away.
02:21In three, two, one.
02:28It's title time here in Indy as we get set to crown the champion of the 83rd U.S. Open.
02:41Simonson, he opens up with back-to-back strikes.
02:48Hey, three in a row for Saimo.
02:51How's the head?
02:52Feeling pretty good.
02:52I knew there was a commercial break coming up.
02:56And I'm slowly trying to decompress, bring the heart rate back down.
02:59I, like, turn to set my rag down, and I look back over,
03:02and then they were giving me the we're going symbol, and I'm like, oh, fuck.
03:07Because for most TV shows, there's a commercial break slotted for five and a half frames.
03:13It just completely caught me off guard and kind of just set into panic mode.
03:18I'm not thinking about bowling at all.
03:19I've got to try to get myself prepared to make a shot in 25 seconds, or I might forfeit the
03:26frame.
03:28Simonson to close out the sixth.
03:31Not the 7.10!
03:39And all of a sudden, just like that, things have fallen off for Simonson.
03:43I was still a little fucked up from not having the commercial break previously.
03:52So I'd ultimately finished fifth.
03:54That was kind of rough.
03:56I've been on TV a decade, and that's the first time that's ever happened.
03:58So I'm sure I could complain, but then people would just say I'm bitching for no reason, right?
04:05God damn it, Anthony.
04:08Simonson's dream of victory cheesecake may have gone sour, but one of his rivals is still chasing the sweetness of
04:15victory.
04:23E.J. Tackett has won the PBA Bowler of the Year Award the last two years.
04:29And there's no place he'd rather kick off his campaign for a third straight than right here.
04:36A short hundred miles from the U.S. Open, you'll find E.J.'s hometown of Bluffton, Indiana,
04:43where he owns two trucks and lives on three acres of land with his wife and his one-year-old.
04:49Oh, and they recently purchased a bowling center his parents had owned ever since he was a kid.
05:00In 98, my parents took over a bowling center in Huntington, where I grew up.
05:04Meet five-year-old E.J. Tackett.
05:07He's been bowling for three years and already carries a 115 average.
05:11His high game is a whopping 179.
05:15I'm just, like, trying to want to throw the ball really, really hard as I can.
05:21Yeah, that's what I do all the time.
05:23So since I was five, I've basically lived inside of a bowling center.
05:28Also since age five, he's been strictly following doctor's orders.
05:33I drink a lot of Dr. Pepper.
05:35With the Dr. Pepper difference.
05:37That's where I get my caffeine from.
05:39Charge! Get going again!
05:41Dr. Pepper. Dr. Pepper.
05:43You only put these Dr. Peppers away.
05:45You always want more, more, more!
05:48Yes, there is Dr. Pepper available.
05:51Among E.J.'s biggest bowling goals, there'd be no greater honor than being sponsored by the doctor.
05:59More, more, more!
06:02When I'm not bowling on tour, I'm in here.
06:05Typically, 8, 10, 12 hours a day.
06:08Watch out.
06:10Coming for you.
06:11When I'm not fixing a toilet, I can just go bowling.
06:15Dollar!
06:17This is E.J.'s dad, who is also his coach.
06:21I have worked with my dad and only my dad my entire career, and I've never sought help from anyone
06:28else.
06:28You know, he just chased me, did what I did, and got a little better at it.
06:36We bought Easy Bowl from my in-laws July of 2024.
06:41We painted about every wall in this building, ourselves.
06:45We got a quote for it, for the interior and the exterior, and we thought, we'll handle the inside, but
06:51we'll hire some money for the outside.
06:53Yeah.
06:54Yeah.
06:54I would say it takes not a super sane person to get into a bowling business.
06:59We're fresh into it, and right now, we don't pay ourselves anything out of it.
07:08But you have to keep looking ahead and believe that things will just work out.
07:14Bowling and the Tackett name, they're one and the same.
07:20I'm married to a bowler.
07:22My brother actually bowls on tour as well.
07:25Bowling is the story of my family.
07:29This sport created everything in our life.
07:34And it's taken us to heights that I don't know if any of us dreamed of, not even dad.
07:46The one I'm proudest of, it's going to be U.S. Open, for sure.
07:52In 2022, I had led the U.S. Open by 500 pins at Woodland Bowl in the state of Indiana,
08:00just close to home.
08:02And a bunch of friends and family there.
08:05And it's one of those things in my career I always wanted to win in the state of Indiana.
08:14And I eventually lost to Anthony Simonson in a title match.
08:18Woo!
08:20Dad, I love you. I miss you.
08:23That was one of the hardest moments of my career.
08:27It was devastating.
08:32And to be able to come back in 2023, lead the field at the U.S. Open once again, at
08:38Woodland Bowl, have another opportunity to win a U.S. Open.
08:43Oh, my God!
08:46Super-time winner!
08:48Yeah!
08:49Woo!
08:50Woo!
08:52Woo!
08:54Woo!
08:56Woo!
08:57Woo!
08:58Woo!
08:59Woo!
09:01Woo!
09:10The wings are big.
09:17And this one, like, I'm never going to clean it, because this, it was so emotional.
09:24Right?
09:24So I'm holding it.
09:25I'm all crying, you know, stuff.
09:27there's actually a tear still on,
09:30like, it dripped from my face onto the trophy.
09:32So that one's gonna stay there forever.
09:42Uh-oh! There goes the foot!
09:46There goes the foot!
09:50Rawr! Rawr!
09:52Let's leave the foot on the trophy, buddy.
09:57There are now just two matches left in the U.S. Open.
10:01EJ, baby!
10:02How long have you guys been waiting out here?
10:04About two minutes.
10:06Okay.
10:07And some of the wildest fans in bowling
10:10have come out in full force...
10:16...to see if EJ, the local favorite,
10:19can become just the eighth bowler ever
10:21to win multiple U.S. Open championships.
10:26This building has so much history in it,
10:28which is why I love bowling here so much.
10:30It just so happens to be in a great state I live in,
10:32in Indiana.
10:33And, uh, these fans here are the best.
10:36EJ's four-day pin-knocking success
10:39might have gotten him to the finals,
10:41but his climb into the second position
10:43is that much more impressive
10:44if you knew just how bad he was doing days before.
10:49EJ Tackett was in 78th place,
10:52and I mean way off the cut line.
10:59One more point!
11:02EJ Tackett!
11:03Perfect!
11:05And, oh, Tackett needs another jacket!
11:09I pulled a great game,
11:10and, you know, I didn't really have to do much
11:11but get ready for that dogfight
11:13in the title match.
11:14Welcome to the championship round
11:16here at the U.S. Open.
11:20Back-to-back solid nines?
11:23This is interesting.
11:26Oh, God.
11:28Oh, buddy.
11:29That wasn't great.
11:31I'm sitting here thinking,
11:33I have an opportunity.
11:35My opponent made a mistake.
11:36I have to capitalize on that mistake.
11:39EJ Tackett steps up,
11:41foot on throat,
11:43ready to come in for the kill.
11:55No more away from the title!
12:04Two U.S. Open!
12:05Ah!
12:08Yeah, really?
12:11A lot of emotion came out in that moment
12:14because I was so buried in the standings
12:18that it looked like I was gonna be watching
12:21this tournament from my couch.
12:25Two U.S. Open!
12:27Yeah!
12:28We spend a whole week putting ourselves and our bodies through all this torment for those moments is why we
12:36do what we do.
12:49Whoa.
12:50Say, whoa.
12:52What is that?
12:54Uh-oh, there goes the foot.
13:00The PBA Tour isn't just made up of major tournaments with big paydays.
13:05It also includes smaller events with humbler payouts.
13:10There are a lot of these events.
13:14And a tour favorite is the tournament named after one of bowling's most controversial legends,
13:20the Pete Webber Classic in Springfield, Missouri.
13:24Are you excited about today, Pete?
13:27I never get excited until it's time to get excited, you know?
13:32Pete Webber is an icon.
13:34Pete Webber is a legend.
13:36Five-time winner of the US Open. No one's ever won that tournament more than twice.
13:43Pete Webber is the bad boy of bowling.
13:47The most polarizing figure in the history of bowling.
13:50You wanted it, you got it.
13:52Pete loves to be the bad guy.
13:54Come on!
13:54Give it up!
13:55Come on!
13:56Let's go!
13:57Pete Webber changed the game because of his shot hurt around the world.
14:01Strike to claim it.
14:02A strike to claim it.
14:04And he got it!
14:06Get it!
14:07Get it!
14:08Get it!
14:08Get it!
14:09Get it!
14:09Get it!
14:09Get it!
14:11Get it!
14:13Get it!
14:13Get it!
14:14One of the most iconic and confusing statements in sports history.
14:20Who do you think you are?
14:22I am.
14:23Who do you think you are?
14:25I am!
14:25Pete Webber!
14:26It's iconic.
14:27That's right, baby!
14:28Pete Webber!
14:29That's right!
14:29Pete Webber!
14:30Pete had some, we call them antics.
14:35I think he was trying to find something to piss him off.
14:40Because he bowled way better mad than he did when he was happy.
14:46God, do not flash the camera in my approach.
14:49I'm telling you, don't do it.
14:51Pete!
14:51Christ!
14:52They loved him for it.
14:55Crotch chopping.
14:57Get it right there!
14:58Right there, baby!
15:00Right there!
15:01Right there!
15:01Right on!
15:02Give it up!
15:03And he did most of that under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
15:07He's been suspended from the tour several times for conduct undercoming a professional.
15:12It's no secret that you've had some encounters with rehab of some sorts over the years.
15:16Four trips.
15:17Are you an alcoholic?
15:18Do you have a problem with drinking?
15:19Well, I guess, yeah, I am an alcoholic.
15:22But I'm not gonna quit drinking because somebody else is telling me I have to.
15:28I've had a few experiences with Pete Webber.
15:30My father, they tore up the bars and the lanes in the 80s while they were on tour.
15:36There was a pretty good amount of guys that partied back in that day.
15:41Now, if you want to go to the acid or the masculine, I'm the expert on that.
15:49Sometimes we talk about it.
15:51Do we think Pete would have more or less titles if he was sober?
15:54We don't know.
15:56He was so great.
15:57I did, but I took the win.
15:59Yes!
16:00That's right!
16:01That's right!
16:01Give it to me!
16:03If that was showing my emotions, so be it.
16:06I wouldn't change it for the world.
16:07How about that for winning?
16:09If you love me, you hate me, you're gonna watch.
16:12It's all you can do.
16:17It was kind of exciting for me to have the tournament named after me.
16:21Actually, it was a big surprise.
16:23When you have a tournament named after you, you've hit the very top of your career.
16:31You can't go anywhere.
16:34By the second day of the Pete Webber Classic, Cam and Simo are both out,
16:38having struggled in earlier rounds and missed the cut.
16:41Also absent, Belmo.
16:44Following his disappointing loss in the U.S. Open, Belmo decided he needed a break.
16:50So he flew back home to Australia to recharge for the next major.
16:56Aussie style.
16:58Meanwhile, with those guys MIA, that leaves Kyle and EJ in striking distance of making the show.
17:07When I missed the cut at the U.S. Open by two, it was tough.
17:11The PBA Tour can definitely be a grind mentally.
17:14You get a win or you get a show.
17:16And then the next week, and it's the cut, it's a mental roller coaster.
17:24But I was able to spend a little time at home, but I was able to actually relax.
17:32And this was a family photo.
17:34I would almost bet that's crown and water.
17:38And there we are.
17:40So that's 1998.
17:43My mom and dad, they met through bowling.
17:45They got married in a bowling alley, actually.
17:48I know this was Guppy's third wife and mom's third husband.
17:52So it worked out perfect.
17:54Third time's the charm, I guess.
17:57That's about the last time I think I've had a tie on.
18:00It was 35 years ago.
18:02My mom was pregnant with me.
18:04I was already in a bowling alley before I was even born.
18:07Sign from God, sign from my parents that you're going to grow up and be a bowler kid.
18:13Yeah, this was definitely a little bit later in life.
18:16This was when my mom was actually wearing a wig, you know,
18:19because she lost her hair due to her breast cancer and stuff, so.
18:25I do recall, you know, my father, with all his gold, you know, he loved it,
18:29but he did have to sell all his gold.
18:31You know, when my mother got cancer, I lost her job.
18:34You know, financially, times were a lot tougher then.
18:37My father wasn't making as much money bowling.
18:39But, you know, he did whatever he needed to for the family,
18:43and my mom and dad were married 29 years until my mom passed away.
18:4829 years married to a bowler.
18:51That's a lot, you know.
18:54Miss her dearly.
18:56But I remember bowling on Saturday mornings,
18:58and, you know, if I beat mom, I got $5.
19:05The Pete Webber Classic isn't a major,
19:07but its payouts are still a big step up from Kyle's $5 weekends.
19:12And as he's closing in on making the show,
19:15he can almost taste that $30,000 first place prize.
19:24Almost.
19:26Gets down to the 10th frame and leave a 5-10 split.
19:31Wow.
19:32Got to make it.
19:34Unbelievable.
19:34Yep.
19:35He's double-checking the turn to Timmy.
19:37He says, yeah, you got to make it.
19:38He says, my goodness.
19:42I don't think I've ever seen that in that moment from anybody.
19:47How the fuck did I ever shoot it?
19:48Yeah, I know that.
19:49I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to shoot it.
19:54I got to tell you, Kyle has to flare for the dramatic.
19:58I think he's picking.
20:00This crowd just went dead silent.
20:02Oh, they're going to go crazy when he picks this.
20:05Still trying to visualize how to make it.
20:06I bet he hasn't shot a 5-10, but maybe once or twice in his lifetime.
20:15For the TV show.
20:24Nope.
20:26Wow.
20:26Timmy Tan makes the show.
20:35I lost by one pin.
20:37Have a great night.
20:39Missed by single digits again in a different way, but this time to miss the show.
20:46Our number one seed.
20:48He was the number one seed through qualifying and remains that way into the show.
20:51He's a 24-time champion on the PVA Tour from Bluffton, Indiana.
20:54Please welcome E.J. Tackett.
21:05Ah, I don't even know how that happened still.
21:25Luckily, I'm leading the tournament, so that guarantees me on the show.
21:29I'm not really superstitious, but I guess maybe I am a little bit, but I don't wear red on TV
21:34anymore.
21:35Every time I wore red, I lost, so I quit wearing that and started wearing blue and started winning.
21:39So, you know, this one here is one that I always wear, one that I always wear on TV.
21:53We're here in Springfield, Missouri.
21:58And legendary PVA Hall Famer Pete Webber is set to throw off the ceremonial first ball in the event named
22:06for him.
22:06PDW, 37-time titles.
22:10Back on TV, left lane, Pete goes for a strike.
22:14Brooklyn, but it counts all the same.
22:22Bowling is such a unique sport.
22:28It's just a game of imperfections.
22:35You're chasing to be perfect, but it's never achievable or attainable.
22:41It's just not possible to happen.
22:49But it is really fun chasing it.
22:52Pete actually just said to Dave and Randy a little bit ago that he is in awe of you and
22:57all the things that you have done.
22:59To have someone that's an icon of the sport say those words to you, it doesn't get any better.
23:06That never-ending battle of trying to conquer the game.
23:10A lot of sauce on that shot.
23:14Is what makes all of us come back and go home and practice and show up to the next event.
23:22Nine pins for number 25.
23:35He has done it again.
23:3925 career titles.
23:43Thank you, buddy.
23:45Love you, pal.
23:46Love you too, man.
23:49I was very happy for EJ.
23:51He's putting on a hell of a year at this point.
23:56Might as well give him player of the year.
23:58I mean, he's crushing us.
24:01There are still three majors left in the season.
24:04But tonight, EJ's quest for this year's player of the year award is momentarily interrupted so that he can accept
24:11last year's player of the year award.
24:14It all begs a question though.
24:16How do they get all these pro bowlers to show up for an award ceremony honoring one of their rivals?
24:24Free all-you-can-eat buffet works every time.
24:28The winner of the 2024 Chris Schenkel PBA Player of the Year award, EJ Tackett.
24:40It takes a whole career to figure out if you're going to be good or not.
24:45How about great or not?
24:47Well, that's for everyone else to decide, not me.
24:50All I can do is go bowl.
24:53First off, I want to say thank you to all of my fellow competitors that voted for me for this
25:01award.
25:02The last couple of years have been a crazy ride.
25:06And I want to thank you guys for appreciating this award.
25:11That was a tough moment.
25:13There may be a certain level of jealousy.
25:17I wanted to win, obviously.
25:20But yeah, it definitely sucked.
25:23But, you know, all those thoughts and feelings, I'm trying to just keep that in the back of my mind.
25:31Because at the end of the day, it's about confidence.
25:34If I feel like I'm at the top of my game, then I don't believe anybody can beat me.
25:41EJ kind of came along in the last couple of tournaments and has overtaken everyone else.
25:47No!
25:49You know, now that target is definitely on his back.
25:56EJ winning every tournament just gets on my nerves a little too much sometimes.
26:00I need to beat him on TV, off TV.
26:03Probably want to beat him too much.
26:06Rising up, back on the street.
26:09Ultimately, my goal is to make money.
26:11So I have to beat EJ to make money.
26:13It's the eye of the tiger.
26:15It's the thrill of the fight.
26:18Rising up to the challenge of our rival.
26:22He's the guy I'm trying to beat.
26:23What he does is insane.
26:24I love that shit.
26:26Like, I eat it up.
26:26That's going to make me go harder.
26:28I'm about to eat.
26:29And y'all going to be in trouble.
26:30Face to face, out in the heat.
26:35Hang him tight, staying hungry.
26:37Hearing a lot of people say someone else is the best in the world, I like it.
26:42I also started thinking bigger than the best in the world.
26:46And look, being number one is an incredible honour and achievement.
26:50But there have been a lot of number ones in the world.
26:53But there's only one greatest of all time.
26:56And so now that's my goal.
26:58The Eye of the Tiger.
27:03The Eye of the Tiger.
Comments