The Professional Bowlers Association, thanks to dynamic new leadership with a truckload of financial strength, is headed for happier times.
Recently, in a candid interview with syndicated columnist Dick Evans, new PBA President Steve Miller made some striking statements.
I haven't yet met Mr. Miller, but a few of the things he said to Evans struck me as a tad disrespectful of PBA's past leadership, and those of us who know these people also know that they deserve credit and respect for keeping the PBA alive in very trying times. I'll chalk it up to his lack of experience in bowling.
At the end of Evans' interview, Miller poses the question, "Tell me one thing PBA has done in the past 10 years that has been innovative? The product, the PBA Tour, has been absolutely dead, flat on its back for a long time."
Evans confesses that he couldn't think of any. Well, I can, and if he had asked me that question, I would have responded that it wasn't lack of innovative thinking that led to PBA's problems, it was lack of industry support.
The innovative thinking of people like Mark Gerberich, Kevin Shippy, Bobby Dinkins, Dave Schroeder, Kirk von Krueger, Sandy Curtis, and many others is possibly the only reason the "old" PBA has survived at all. Just to mention a few innovations they brought to the PBA in recent years:
And to their credit, they did all this in bleak times with little financial support. They were a bright spot in a crumbling industry. It's easy to be innovative when your resources and industry support are good; it's tough when times are bad, but these people maintained a positive outlook, never giving up on the PBA or the sport.
Before anyone gets the wrong idea, let me say that I am 100 percent in support of the new PBA leaders, but if they are thinking that the PBA's problems were caused by a lack of innovative thinking, they should think again.
Almost all of us have experienced the tension and apprehension associated with management and ownership changes in business. It happens every day in corporate America in large and small organizations. New people come in, and everyone is on edge, worried about their future. It's difficult for existing employees to say the least. Transition from "old" management to new is usually awkward and difficult.
One very high profile example of how it should not be done is the Dallas Cowboys. When Jerry Jones purchased the team in 1989, he announced that "winning was the only thing that mattered," and he swept away virtually every person and aspect of a once proud sports franchise that had become the most respected and successful in the world of sports. Sure, Jones' short-term thinking and big bankroll led to short-term success, but it all came crashing down, and today, the Cowboys are at best an ordinary franchise.
Based on this example and many others, I hope the PBA leaders are thinking long-term and planning long-term. At last year's Bowl Expo, PBA chairman Chris Peters said that "long-term" was their philosophy, and I hope he keeps his word. I also hope he passes on that philosophy to President Miller and Commissioner Hamilton.
Miller said some other things in the Evans interview, most of which I agree with. He said, "Previously the PBA had too many people with too much input about how to run the organization." That's true, because that's how PBA founder Eddie Elias wanted it. Elias was a promotional genius who didn't want the responsibility of day-to-day operations, so he set it up as a member-owned association. If he had a fault, it was not passing on more of that promotional talent that he possessed.
"It's about setting standards for athletes, it's about maintaining integrity, and it's about doing what is best for the sport, even if some people have to sacrifice for the greater good," said Miller. That's also true, and some have already made those sacrifices, especially Gerberich and Shippy, who stepped aside to make room for the new management team.
"There will be fewer players—maybe only three—in the TV finals," said Miller. Many will disagree with this, but not me. I never really cared for the crowded finals, except I do like the faster pace of the matches. The players themselves really like this format because it increases their chances of getting on TV and earning incentive money from the ball companies. However, the PBA's move to give stock to the top 70 players, a long-term payoff, should more than make up for this short-term loss.
Finally, Miller said, "We should honor the past, we should revere the past, but we cannot live in the past." No argument here, but the new PBA leaders should also be thankful that the PBA had strong leaders in the past, and they should never forget or forsake the sacrifices and work they did so well. They were and are all professionals, and those who are staying on deserve a chance to reap the rewards of a new dawn.
The new PBA leaders should think long-term, and never forget that without the innovative thinking and hard work of their predecessors, they wouldn't even have this exciting new opportunity.
Jim Goodwin, a BWAA director and LPBT's regional program director, is the award-winning editor/publisher of Stars & Strikes, in which the preceding originally appeared. Subscription rates are $20 per year (Pin Point Publishing, 2850 Red Valley Run, Rockwall, Texas 75087 ... voice/fax: 972/771-0069).