Fowling???
No, the word is not spelled incorrectly. I am sure that many of you are wondering what “Fowling” is — it is a combination of football and bowling — really! In May 2017, several cars filled with OTPR faculty, staff, and Ph.D. students drove to Hamtramck, MI, where the fowling warehouse is located.
Our first introduction was just noticing how the game was played. The large bowling pins are set up 30 feet away and teams try to knock them down with a football. What surprised most of us is that if the football bounces (which it did a lot), it may knock down pins in the adjacent team’s lane. Those pins are counted as down no matter who hits them!
The Fabulous Foursome of Will Boning, Alecia and Traviss Cassidy, and Mary Ceccanese (who knocked down more pins in Jim’s lane than her own) actually won eight games. Champions forever!! The closest any other team could get was winning one game. However, Steve Hamilton performed a very unusual feat — he knocked down only the center pin on his first attempt in one of the games. That is called a “bonk” and it means they immediately won the match. His name was added to the winner’s board and the very loud fog horn was sounded! This was an evening we all will not forget!
