The MC Bowling Alley, filled to capacity Thursday evening, hosted bowlers of all skill levels.
Some, on their first bowl of the night, called their own strikes before they even wound up. Others, to the encouraging cheers of teammates, cleared out the gutter. All of this happened by the glow of blacklights.
Blacklight bowling, an activity offered by RecSports, has attracted quite the crowd this semester. For what reason? Is it the novelty of a light dim enough to create mystery while simultaneously causing white T-shirts to glow? Is it the quality time spent with friends? Maybe it’s the fierce competition.
Alissa Meservy, a junior studying recreation management, is a member of the team of self-proclaimed Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything. As she bowls her first gutter, her team members encourage Meservy with accusations that the performance was the ball’s fault.
“I like black light bowling because I like the glow in the dark colors,” Meservy said. “It’s pretty fun to play in. The colors just make it awesome. Bowling in general is fun — even if you’re not any good.”
Jordan Graves, a sophomore studying general studies, is a first time RecSports bowler and is proud that at the commencement of their game, her team, the Sweet Rollers, had the highest score of the night.
“I basically carried the team,” said Grave’s boyfriend, Austin Cummings, a sophomore majoring in general studies. Though he jokes, Graves affirms that there is truth behind his confidence.
Graves is confident that playing the game in the dark gives the sport a little something extra. She is not sure that she would even play the game in
normal lighting.
“No,” Graves said. “Well, maybe. But it definitely wouldn’t be much fun.”
As the semester progresses students may find less time to unwind from the stress of school, work and the looming task of dating. Parents may become worried that their kids may buckle under the pressure. For this reason RecSports seems to be an inspired program.
“For this semester I’m mostly just excited to get to know new people and have some fun with them and to get away from the stress of college life,” Meservy said.
Blacklight bowling has given old and new friends a chance to come together.
“Our team is a mixture of old and new friends and roommates,” Graves said. “It’s a bonding of the old and
the new.”
The nature of bowling can help friends come together, laugh about gutter balls and cheer each other on — even if the player has just dropped the ball behind them.
Graves insists that it doesn’t take skill to have a great time, just evenings at the alley.
“If I can do it you can do it,” Graves said.