The sport of bowling is largely a participant sport, and quite a social one at that. American bowling takes place in indoor bowling alleys that provide lanes on which groups of bowlers compete. Tenpin bowling is the most popular variety in the United States. Regular, non-athletic people can become good bowlers, if they put work into the sport. Even though bowling is on the face of it a competitive
sport, most bowlers tend to compete against themselves, striving to improve their performance over time. Many recreational bowlers, male and female, are members of organized leagues sponsored by employers. The weekly bowling night becomes a major event, the bowling trophy proudly displayed in home or workplace. Today's full-service bowling alley serves food and drink, including alcoholic beverages, and frequently contains a shop that sells equipment, specialized bowling shoes, and colorful bowling clothing. The game is affordable, and particularly suitable to socialization. As a sport, it is associated with the average American, the “working class.” The “bowling shirt,” a rather formless but comfortable garment stereotypically (and proudly) exhibiting the owner's first name stitched onto a breast pocket, is an American cultural icon. It speaks working class, stolid, unpretentious. Bowlers are proud to be bowlers. By contrast, participants in more “upscale” sports like golf and tennis are strongly conscious of being non-bowlers. Bowling fits into a well-defined, if rather large, American cultural continuum. The United States Bowling Congress (USBC) is the major sanctioning organization for bowling in the United States. In addition to overseeing bowling alley owners, teachers, and equipment suppliers, it runs a national tournament every year in different venues for a continuous 5 month period. Drawing thousands of participants. In contrast to many major American sports, spectators and television viewers of these events are likely to be themselves proud devotees of the game.
