01x05 - Is This the End?

[bunniefuu]

[TV static drones]

[bright tone]

[soft music]

♪ ♪

[radio static crackling]

[gentle folk music]

- In the early days of TV,
the most viewed sport

wasn't baseball, basketball,
or even football.

It was professional bowling.

- Good evening,
ladies and gentlemen.

I'm Johnny Johnston.
Welcome to the show.

- I know.

It's hard to believe.

- And he really
throws a speedball.

Here he goes to the line,
and it's good.

He's able to carry it!

- Even the first athlete
with a million-dollar

endorsement was a bowler.

- But pros depend
on the Ebonite Gyro.

- And many more followed.

- Now is the time
to get a set of heavy-duty

Monro-Matic shock absorbers.

- So yes, all athletes
have bowling to thank

for TV endorsement deals.

- You know, I'm always
teaching bowlers

how to put fingers
into the shot.

- But over generations, while
other sports stars have signed

countless deals with companies
like Nike and Rolex,

pro bowlers are lucky
to get paid

promoting hardwood floors,
stretchy jeans,

and flushable wipes.

- Two hands cleans up
the back pretty well.

[bell dings]

- Though these deals might
supplement their winnings,

it's important to remember
they don't bowl

for fame or riches

but rather for a love
of the game.

- f*ck yourself, f*cking
c**t bag of a f*cking lane.

♪ ♪

- The Detroit area is famous
for a lot of things--

cars, Motown music,
and Eminem.

- Detroit, what?

- OK, thank you, sir.
- Detroit, baby!

- But Detroit is also
the unofficial

bowling capital of the world,

with over 50,000
regular league bowlers

and 80 bowling centers,

one of which is the host
of the USBC Masters--

Thunderbowl Lanes.

The Masters is the one major
where amateurs

and professionals
bowl side by side.

It follows
a double-elimination format,

so if you lose once,
you're still in the game.

But you lose twice,
you go home.

- Hey, don't try to flex
on my mom right now, OK?

- No, I already know
what's about to happen, bro.

You're about to strike
the beats,

be, like, it's for you, Cam.

And I'm gonna be pissed,
and then we gonna have to box.

- It's for Mama Crowe.

Nah, you already--

you know what my mom
said last week?

She was, like, I think
you can beat everybody else,

except that
Anthony Simonsen guy.

He's so good.

I was pissed.

- Fresh off the grueling
marathon of the World Series

of Bowling, Cam and Belmo
miss making the cut,

but Kyle makes 15th place.

E.J. finishes in ninth,
just short of the TV show.

Simo, however, heads
to the show in second place,

with a great shot of winning
his fourth Masters,

which would tie Belmo's record

for the most
USBC Masters titles.

[cheers and applause]

- Will that man there
in the background hoist

that trophy in the foreground
for a record-tying fourth time?

- But to win
that fourth Masters,

now Simo has to beat
this guy--

Gary Haines.

Gary isn't a household name
in bowling circles

because this is actually
his first show.

Gary works full-time at
a power plant on Long Island,

and he has dominated
this week,

remaining undefeated

in the double-elimination
tournament.

And that means that even
though the power plant worker

is a huge underdog,
because Simo has one loss,

he has to beat Gary
two times in a row to win.

[upbeat music]

- Oh, yeah.

OK.

- Correction--Simo has to beat
him just one more time to win.

- One game left for the
USBC Masters Championship.

[tense music]

- Go ahead and show 'em
how important it is.

- Ooh!
- Bang!

♪ ♪

- He never missed.

He hasn't missed on this level.

- Well, this thing is FFO--

far from over.

- This might be the shot
of the match here.

♪ ♪

- And through the face
a little bit, some extra work.

- The nerves are obviously
pouring out at this point.

- Take a look at his wife
and his father.

They look nervous too.

- Just get comfortable.

- Yeah, I think he's trying
to talk himself into it.

- Oh, 100%.

♪ ♪

- Uh-oh.

- Oh, wow.
- Oh!

- That is a big miss, guys.

- You're panicking.

Go to your wife.
Give her a kiss.

I don't care what you do.

You've got to change
something in your head.

- I think all the time
favors Anthony Simonsen here,

given his experience.

- But he needs
to strike out the tenth frame

and put all the pressure
back on Gary Haines.

♪ ♪

- Look out.

- Oh, my!

- f*ck, f*ck, f*ck, f*ck, f*ck.

f*ck, f*ck, f*ck,
f*ck, f*ck, f*ck.

- Unbelievable,
four through the middle.

- Come here,
come here, come here.

- Let's go.

[cheers and applause]

- Can he make a ten-pin?

- Gary has never
shot one for a Major.

- And for $100,000.

- It is a long, long
way away right now.

- Will the kiss from Lauren
make the difference?

♪ ♪

With a kiss,
the USBC Masters champion

for his first
professional title.

crowd: Harry! Harry!
Harry! Harry!

Harry! Harry! Harry! Harry!

[uplifting music]

♪ ♪

- I'm gonna apologize now, OK?

[echoing]
f*ck!

[dynamic music]

- With the season
nearing its end,

the standings are starting
to lock in place.

The next Major and chance
at $100,000 for a winner

is the Tournament of Champions
in Akron, Ohio.

[exciting music]

- Good morning.
I'm Phil Ferguson, WNIR News.

And we got the bowlers
in town at Riviera Lanes.

[bright music]

♪ ♪

A couple of qualifying
sessions today,

11:00 AM and 6:00 PM.

- The Tournament of Champions
is by far

pro bowling's most iconic
tournament

because it's
where the PBA began.

And you're only allowed
to participate

if you've won
a PBA event before.

That means Cam
doesn't qualify.

- Don't need to be in here.

Absolutely don't need
to be in here.

- The Tournament of Champions,

it's like the Super Bowl
of bowling.

It really is.

These bowlers don't get
enough credit.

They're very accessible.

So many of them trying
to just make a living.

- And if making a living
wasn't hard enough already

for the bowlers,
the tournament will also

be the final major
broadcast on Fox.

♪ ♪

After a seven-year partnership
that included airing

the PBA show,

Fox Sports and the league
were unable to reach

terms on a new contract.

If there's no TV deal,
there's no season.

And if there's no season,
there is no prize money.

- In 2026, there's still
some uncertainties

and hopefully not
much financial change

of how much money is out there
to be made for bowlers.

- Who knows?

Like, obviously, that's out
of the players' control.

But, you know,
all we can do is,

when we do get to TV,
entertain.

♪ ♪

- Uncertainties aside
for what the future might look

like for the PBA,
all of the bowlers

have to narrow their focus to
the Tournament of Champions.

- Good shot, Belmo.

- Aussie! Aussie! Aussie!
Oi! Oi! Oi!

- Tries to continue
the perfect strike,

does so, three straight.

[upbeat rock music]

- Simonsen.

Oh. Oh, my.

♪ ♪

- Kyle Troup.

♪ ♪

- Oh, boy.

- I actually started off well,
but, you know,

after six games,
we're in the same position

we've been every week--
out of the cut.

Patience is very thin.

If I bowl good beginning,

I don't bowl well at the end.

When I make good shots,
they split,

so not sure what ball
to throw.

It's just getting
more and more frustrating

every day, every week
out here on tour.

So if we don't make the cut,
season will be over.

[indistinct chatter]

I asked you not to f*cking
drink while we're bowling,

and you can't even wait
till noon?

I'm gonna be f*cking having
to walk you out again.

Shove your camera up your a*s.

This is my f*cking father
I'm talking to right now,

so I ain't got to f*cking
babysit him again.

If you keep this up,
you can just take your car

back to North Carolina.

f*cking embarrassing.

It's 11:30.

I don't give a sh*t if he wants
to buy you a drink.

Ridiculous.

I get frustrated with my dad
when he's watching me,

just because most of the time,
he'd rather

just hang out in the bar.

[somber music]

- I watched five games
yesterday.

I wanted to see how he bowls,
but I just get bored.

I was bored.

- So going into
the Tournament of Champions,

I had an opportunity
to do something I believe

no one's ever done before
in a single season,

and that's win
the Triple Crown.

- Yes, the Triple Crown is
exactly like horse racing's

Triple Crown, just without
the horses or fancy hats

or about 95%
of the total prize money.

But the part about
winning three

different main events to get
the crown, that's the same.

With two Majors this season
under his belt,

if E.J. wins
the Tournament of Champions,

he'll make history
as the first bowler ever

to win a Triple Crown
in a single season.

Meanwhile, not qualifying
means Cam's season is over,

giving him time to reflect
on coming up short.

- Oh, really?

Interesting.

I've never been the guy
to really, like,

fry out until I got out here.

It was not the season
I hoped it would be.

Disappointed in myself.

If I was bowling bad, there was
no way to get myself out of it.

The more and more
the weeks went by,

I think I was losing
a little bit of confidence.

But I got to go back
to square one

and realize why I'm here.

It's very lonely
out here on tour.

Usually, it's you
and your thoughts.

- When you bowl bad,
you're a little b*tch about it.

- That's not true.

- 100%, you are.

- No, I'm not.

- That's the 100% truth.
- No, I'm not.

What the f*ck do I have to do
to win a game?

Come on, Cameron.

This is why I don't
win tournaments.

f*cking damn it.

[sighs]

- If you only rely
on how good or bad you bowl,

you will drown because this
game is f*cking cutthroat.

- Fickle. It's fickle.
- It's so cutthroat.

And it's easy to get
into a bad spot mentally.

- Yeah.

- It's like that
for everybody, though.

It's like that for everybody.

- Akron, Ohio, does offer Cam
something different--

a chance to go with Kevin
to the LeBron James Museum

and find a little inspiration.

[gentle music]

♪ ♪

- Being the only
African American

most of the time,
especially out here on tour,

that was one of the reasons
why I did want to become

a professional, show all these
African American boys

that there's another route
than just basketball,

baseball, football.

There's other routes.

And you can start making
scholarship money

at the age of five
as a bowler.

I mean, I knew he did
a lot off the court.

But just seeing all
this in, like, one spot

just makes you realize
the impact that especially

he had on the city.
- The bigger picture.

- Always look
at the bigger picture.

- It's not just the bowling.
There's more to it...

- It's always more.
- Than the one part of the job.

There's different aspects
of the job.

This is the bigger picture.
- Yeah.

- It keeps you around longer
in your sport

or your profession,
whatever it is, you know.

You don't want to just do
your time as an athlete

and then bounce out.

You want to stick around
to make changes

when you're done competing.

- Yeah, I know.

I like coaching.

I give back
to the children a lot.

- What do you tell yourself
when you're getting down

on yourself when you might not
be bowling as well as you like?

- So what I tell myself is,
most people are, like--

like, either get really angry--
[laughs]

Hold on, hold on.
Let's drop it a little bit.

Ah, boop.
All right, there we go.

- The children?
But you are a children.

[laughs]
- All right.

- How do you give back to--
those are just your friends.

- Let's get out of here.

- Those are just your friends.

- I know, you gotta go to--

you gotta go to the
retirement home to see yours.

Come on, let's go.
- Ooh.

- Let's go.

- Cam isn't the only bowler
lamenting a lost season.

Last year's US Open champ
hasn't made the show

in a single tournament.

- As we're going
through qualifying,

I definitely feel everything
just kind of closing in

on me a little bit.

The pressure of making the cut
to save the season,

it's time to step up
for once this year.

[pensive music]

♪ ♪

- Should be--

g*dd*mn.

- He had 280
the last game,

which started at strike,
spare, turkey.

Then he never got it
going again.

♪ ♪

[car door opens]

[somber music]

♪ ♪

- Season's over.
[sniffles]

It was close every week,
close, close.

That don't f*cking
do me any good, so...

♪ ♪

Lots of disappointment.

Long, negative season.

Tried to fake it
till I make it.

But guess what.

Didn't make it, and now
the season's over, so...

♪ ♪

I gotta live
with that and see

if we're gonna bounce back
or just gonna keep doing it.

[sighs]

♪ ♪

I don't think I can take
too many more years of this.

Like...
[sniffles]

But yeah.

♪ ♪

I'm gonna probably go back in,
sign a few autographs.

I just needed a minute
out here before I

started talking to people.

♪ ♪

- Yay!

- That's gonna make
my mom jealous.

- Thank you.

[upbeat music]

- Man-bun year.

- Yeah.
[laughs]

Awesome, thanks so much.

- Yeah, sure.
- OK.

both:
Rock, paper, scissors, sh**t.

- Let's go.
- Oh!

- I told him all he needs
is one night in here with me.

After that,
he won't care anything.

He'll come back,
and I guarantee

he'll make the TV show.

♪ ♪

- Thank you.

- Thank you, sir.
- Appreciate it.

♪ ♪

- The final day
of the Tournament of Champions

is here.

Belmo makes it to the top 25

but ultimately finishes 23rd.

- God damn it.

- God damn it.

And Simo finishes
in 13th place,

just not quite good enough
to make the show.

- Let's get the f*ck
out of here.

- E.J., though, is still on
track to win the Triple Crown

and make history.

Then there's also another
storyline playing out

alongside the lanes,

with the Fox broadcast team
facing the reality

that this may be
the last big tournament

they take part in.

[board clacks]

[somber music]

- It's another end of an era.

This is the last Major
that will be on Fox,

and it's sad to see it go.

- Think I started with this
production team in about 2004.

♪ ♪

- How long have I been
in the show?

For almost 22 years.

- I'm pretty certain
that this is my 15th season,

and that kind of shocks me.

♪ ♪

I am genuinely sad.

It's like a big family
on the road,

and I will miss
working with them.

- Today is gonna be tough.

I told myself I wouldn't cry.

[frantic music]

- Heading to the TSC show,
we all had to have, like,

security badges
and everything.

I'm like, damn,
is the president coming today?

Nah, next best thing, I guess.

That's Ben Stiller.
[laughs]

- Big-time sports
draw big-time sports fans,

so it should be no surprise
to see Ben Stiller leave his

courtside Knicks seats
at Madison Square Garden

to come laneside in Akron

to see if E.J.
can make history.

[upbeat music]

- After today, there might
not be another chance

to win the Triple Crown again.

- ♪ Am I the one
in your dreams ♪

♪ Do you love me ♪

♪ ♪

♪ Do you love me ♪

♪ Say yes ♪

♪ Do you love me ♪

- Nice bounce-back shot.

♪ ♪

♪ Do you love me ♪

♪ If you do, say yes ♪

♪ Say yes, please ♪

- Oh, E.J.

[dramatic music]

♪ ♪

- This is not the Tackett
we've grown accustomed

to seeing this season.

This is a struggle.

♪ ♪

- He needs five.

♪ ♪

- Butturff moves on.

What an adventure.

Wow!

- It happens quickly.

Just like that, E.J. loses his
chance at the Triple Crown,

ultimately finishing fourth.

[cheers and applause]

[light music]

♪ ♪

And with the future
of the PBA in doubt,

this might be one dream
that stays out of reach.

♪ ♪

- The opportunity to do
something that's never been

done before,
opportunities like that

typically don't come around
very often or at all.

Yeah, yeah, it sucks,
sucks for sure.

[cheers and applause]

- And our number one seed
is a 12-time champion

on the PBA Tour,
looking for his second

Tournament of Champions title.

Representing Sweden,
Jesper Svensson.

- To see him make the show,
that made the week

much better for me.

And, you know, if I can't win,

that's the next person
I want to win.

♪ ♪

- Messenger?

Get in your home!

♪ ♪

- Svensson in the ninth,
one more for the win.

OK, the Iceman is back!

[cheers and applause]

- Come on!

Yes!

- Tour title number 13,
Major number 2, pumps it out.

[cheers and applause]

- Congratulations, Jesper.

It's been a long road.

Raise that trophy, brother.

- Happy tears this time.

Let's go.
[laughs]

You know, bowling has brought
me so many great things,

great memories, great friends.

I would have never known him
if I didn't bowl.

I don't know where my life
would be without bowling,

but I wouldn't have any
of these amazing people in it.

That's for sure.

♪ ♪

- The end
of the Tournament of Champions

feels a little different
this year, uncertain.

Though if you're looking
for a silver lining,

you might find it
in the notion that bowlers

are a particularly resilient
breed of athlete.

They aren't prone
to giving up,

despite how bad the odds
or the pay might be.

[upbeat music]

♪ ♪

- I was kind of born
into bowling.

I'm 41, and I started
when I was

18 months,
bowling by myself.

I think I just liked the idea
of throwing something

down the lane,
watching it,

and then having it
come back to you

and just doing that
over and over.

And I fell in love with it,
and I can't imagine

my life now without it.

- ♪ What do you say ♪

- For the title.

Got it!

- You, sir, are one of the best
I've ever seen, man.

- ♪ For one more try ♪

- So bowling,
it's not gonna be easy.

You actually have to work
for everything

that you're gonna get,
trying to achieve

that perfect week,

which we know
will never happen.

[laughs]

- This one's for the title.

He got it!

[cheers and applause]

- ♪ Whoo-hoo-hoo ♪

♪ Ooh-hoo-hoo ♪

- This year, it wasn't even
about the money.

Like, I love winning.

I just want to feel
that thrill

that all that hard work
paid off.

I hate losing, so I probably
picked the wrong sport.

But--
[laughs]

- ♪ It's a rising tide ♪

♪ Like an hourglass ♪

♪ Running out of time ♪

- Everybody's parents
wants their kid

to be successful in whatever
walk of life it is.

You know, even if we were
struggling financially,

my parents always did
whatever they needed to do

so I could at least bowl.

So it's easy to take a look
back where you are frustrated

and really appreciate
what I have

because of the sport
of bowling.

- Anthony Simonsen,
looking good.

Simo, looking good.

- ♪ Ooh-hoo-hoo ♪

♪ ♪

- Love bowling,
love it down to the core.

I remember when I went

from kind of doing bowling
for fun

to, you know, I want to become
a professional at this.

It's very exciting.

You know, we get to travel
to all these different cities.

You know, we're bowling in all
the different bowling alleys,

going to places that we've
been to in previous years,

getting to see all the fans
and, you know, friends

that I made at those stops.

And that experience
and that journey

has kind of built me
into the bowler I am today.

- Yeah, so these are just
trading cards I make.

I give one to a player
and then have them sign one.

And then there's a poem
on the back of all of them

that's the same on all of them.

- "Bowling is a sport
enjoyed by many,

"but being the best
is a rare penny.

"So let us celebrate
the bowlers who dare

"to aim for the top
with precision and care.

"Their dedication and skill,
a marvel to behold.

"Being the best in the world
is a very niche thing,

a story to be told."

- Get that trophy, Kyle.

♪ ♪

- Little shaving cream.

♪ ♪

- Kyle, Cam, Belmo, E.J.,
and Simo are just 5

of the 100-plus
professional bowlers

dedicating their lives
to this sport.

[cheers and applause]

♪ ♪

And whether they win
hundreds of thousands

of dollars or just enough

to pay for the travel
and lodging,

they're all in it together,
playing a sport

they grew up loving

not merely for the pins
but for the people.

- Good start, everybody.

We're off to a flyer.

- ♪ Won't know
until we get there ♪

♪ You know I wanna get there ♪

- The journey down the lanes
of life for a pro bowler

might be about
making a living,

but it's also
just about living,

celebrating the wins...

- And pushing through
the setbacks...

- We did it.

- Knowing tomorrow
is just another rerack...

- And he got it!

[cheers and applause]

- Another chance to strike...

- Let's go!

- And show the world you've
got the ba*ls for success.

- ♪ Won't know
until we get there ♪

♪ You know
I wanna get there ♪

[pins clattering]

- ♪ Doo, doo, doo, doo-wop ♪

- A strike!

- ♪ Rolling down the alley
with pretty playful Sally ♪

♪ Rolling down the alley,
bowling, Sally and me ♪

♪ We pretend that every pin
is someone we dislike ♪

♪ We aim
right at the knucklehead ♪

♪ And come up
with a lucky strike ♪

♪ Rolling down the alley,
my Sally ♪

[bright tone]