If you are old enough to have a little snow on the roof you will remember a nationally televised show that selected one woman to be treated as a queen for a day. On January 24th, at the Red Rock Lanes in Las Vegas, 63 of the finest men bowlers in the world had to bow to Kelly Kulick who executed two wonderful games, under pressure we can only imagine, on her way to winning the Professional Bowlers Association Tournament of Champions, and to become the first woman to win a tournament on the men’s tour. When asked about her calm demeanor during the matches, she was quoted as saying “It may have looked easy, but my legs were like jelly – I couldn’t feel them. Believe me, I was nervous and was just letting adrenaline take over.” She said it was a dream of hers to win a PBA tour event, now it is one she can relive over and over for time to come.
The shock wave throughout the media was music to the ears of anyone who feels our sport should receive more coverage form the national and local level.
Las Vegas has always prided itself as the bowling capital of the world, but coverage of events taking place here depends on our wonderful local Ten Pin Alley. Kulick’s victory happened on the same day the Saints and Colts advanced to the Super Bowl. Her victory was awarded with a trophy picture above the headline in Nevada’s largest newspaper “The Review Journal”. Inside was a wonderful story of the event by Jeff Wolf and two photos capturing the emotion of the new champion.
The PBA officials had to be smiling inside and out because they had the foresight to reach out and offer the top women bowlers an opportunity to share the spotlight and the monetary rewards that go with it.
It goes without saying Kulick’s win created a lot of conversation pro and con as to what effect it will have on the men’s tour. I for one feel there is a strong positive side that young men who have a game but have been quietly sitting on the side lines because they feel the cream at the top is just too tough to spend hard earned money in chasing their dreams, look at Kelly’s performance as anything is possible if you are willing to jump into the deep end of the pool.
My son called me from Michigan and reminded me that I called and talked with him after crossing with Kulick during the Women’s U.S. Open in Milford, Conn. The year before she won the “Rookie of the Year” honors. I was so impressed with her solid anchor and flow to the line and competitive attitude that sent a signal this young lady will be heard from for many years to come.
Back then, as now, her mother Carol was her greatest cheerleader. If you missed the telecast, the most touching moment was when she handed the trophy to her mother and said “It’s yours”.
Hall of Famer – Virginia Norton was in town to cheer on her son Scott who earned a birth in the T of C and missed the cut by 16 pins. With his inherited competitive drive, that has been his mother’s hallmark for years – you can bet he will be a force on the PBA tour in years to come.
Like the historic Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs history making tennis match – Chris Barnes and Kelly Kulick will be remembered when talking about major moments in bowling. Both will go on to hopefully win many more titles, but Kulick’s place in Ten Pin history will live on in history books, but more importantly, what a wonderful representative the ladies have to carry the banner.
