Bowling. For many, it's an all-American pastime. If you're from a small town, a bowling alley can provide a welcome respite from the monotony of, well, living in a small town. Although I grew up in a not-so-small suburb of Phoenix, I spent many a hot summer's day at Brunswick's Via Linda Lanes. The smoke, the undercooked hot dogs, the smelly bowling shoes -- those are the things I'll remember fondly. Was hanging out at the local bowling alley glamorous? No. But neither was getting heatstroke from standing outside for five minutes.
The moral of the story is that everyone bowls. I don't care if you're from Manhattan or French Lick -- you've been to a bowling alley before. And chances are, you probably enjoyed it. At least in Arizona, I couldn't think of a cheaper form of entertainment. My friends and I would head to Via Linda Lanes and stay there for hours. We'd bowl. We'd shoot pool. We'd play arcade games. We'd get those little sticky hand things out of the vending machines for 25 cents. And we'd keep ourselves amused all day. How much did it cost? Probably under $20 a person.
Shortly after my arrival at the University of Pennsylvania, I discovered that the nearest bowling alley was in Cherry Hill, N.J. Sadly, I would be relegated to showcasing my 150-plus performances only once a year at fraternity rush events. Enter Strikes, the swanky new bowling alley on Locust Street between 40th and 41st.
When I learned that Strikes was opening, I thought all my Christmases had come together. I had big plans. I would bowl multiple games a night. My friends and I would gather there to drink four or fewer. Pretty soon, I'd be ready to drop out of Penn and join the Pro Bowling Association.
Unfortunately, only one of my dreams would come true -- each one of my friends had four or fewer, not because they're all responsible, but because you'd have to take out a second mortgage to get rip-roaring drunk at Strikes. My Miller Lite draft wasn't too bad -- only $3 -- but mixed drinks were hellaciously expensive. Although the menus didn't have prices for the alcohol (a little sketchy, right?), our waiter told us that mixed drinks were around $8 and that we should "never order shots" because they would run us even more. This wasn't the end of the world -- we came to bowl, and that would be cheap, right?
Wrong. It costs $6 per person to bowl a game at Strikes. And that's before you pay $4 to rent shoes (fortunately I have my own, conveniently "appropriated" from a rush event a few years back). Whatever, we didn't care. It was 6 p.m. on opening night, and my housemates and I weren't going to let a $10 bowling tab spoil our evening. So we paid -- all four of us -- a sum total of $36 to bowl one lousy game. Actually, the game wasn't all that lousy; I bowled a 167, which still stands as the all-time record for 235 Beige. Granted, the bowling alley has only been open for a week.
We took our sweet time with the game -- at $6 a pop, there weren't going to be a lot more where that came from. So we ordered some food. I had chicken fingers that had more breading than actual chicken. My housemates had mediocre $8 burgers. Before we knew it, we had racked up a $70 bill. To recap: we spent over $100 in less than an hour at the brand-spanking new bowling lounge.
Not surprisingly, Strikes has been virtually empty since it opened. This is a total shame, as Penn needs more on-campus entertainment alternatives and Strikes has the potential to be a viable one.
Strikes can, and should, survive. However, some changes need to be made, and fast. The recent institution of "Frat Tuesdays," which offer half-priced shots and appetizers, is a step in the right direction but still falls short. The cover charge has to go, at least until the lounge establishes a premium reputation. Who the heck charges a cover at a bowling alley anyway?
The situation is certainly delicate, and there is no easy solution. Strikes is simultaneously trying to build its image while focusing its promotional efforts on the college market, as opposed to the West Philadelphia community. Unfortunately, the college market has limited resources. Strikes does have some alternatives, however. Offer discounted bowling for students and create some bowling leagues. Eliminate the cover charge. And offer drink specials on beer and mixed drinks. Most importantly, listen to what the students want. Otherwise, your balls are headed straight for the gutter.
Conor O'Callaghan is a senior in the Management and Technology program from Scottsdale, Ariz. The OC appears on Fridays.
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