THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 1, 1996 TAG: 9608010024
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY VICKI L. FRIEDMAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 102 lines
LISA WAGNER LIKES TO SLEEP in the parking lots of bowling alleys. So do her five ferrets and her black-and- white border collie, Sam.
Wagner, the winningest female bowler in history with 30 Ladies Professional Bowling tournament titles, parks her one-bedroom motor home right outside whatever alley she happens to be playing in. This week it's anchored in Franklin, where defending champion Wagner and 31 of the nation's top bowlers are competing in the $65,000 Franklin Open.
``When I started doing this, I was pretty much on my own. I flew most of the time,'' says Wagner. ``Or I'd rent cars and drive. But I've been bowling 17 years now, and this is so much better, because I can have family and animals.''
Wagner bought the 34-foot home over Christmas and has already racked up 26,000 miles in what has become her respite from fast food and motel room shared with three or four other bowlers. That's often the routine for many of the 400 women who make up the LPBT.
Unlike many other professional athletes, lady bowlers will assure you that their life is not led in the fast lane. They find their own sponsors, book their own reservations and pay their own entry fees. Living out of suitcases, they travel to cities like Little Rock, Ark., or Rossford, Ohio.
Or Franklin.
Mainly what they see is the inside of a bowling alley before packing and moving on to the next stop. There are no caddies to lug around all that heavy gear, save for husbands along for the ride. Bowlers carry their own monster-size duffel bags that hold the eight balls they are allowed to bring into the alley.
All of that, says pro Cheryl Daniels, leaves little room for ego.
``Bowlers are never bigger than their sport,'' says Daniels, a Detroit native who has been on the tour for 17 years. ``Michael Jordan is bigger than basketball. Arnold Palmer is bigger than golf. You don't have that in bowling.''
Daniels is one of only three women who made more than $100,000 last year by bowling. Prize money has increased substantially with the help of Sam's Town, a Las Vegas-based hotel and bowling center that became the tour's major sponsor three years ago.
But women's bowling lags behind the men's game, as well as other women's professional sports. At this week's event, the winner receives $9,000, the runner-up $5,000. Male bowlers earn an average of $20,000 by finishing first.
``When I look at it in perspective of everything else, it kind of hurts,'' Daniels says. ``I could play golf and earn $700,000, or tennis and earn half a million. But when I look at it in terms of my sport, it's pretty good.''
Daniels also dabbles in music. She often sings the national anthem before events, and at each tournament she peddles her independently-produced cassette single, ``You Can Be the One.''
Like most of the other pros, she grew up bowling and dreamed of doing it professionally and ``making the TV show,'' the universal words used for being part of televised finals. When Daniels started, if bowling was on the air at all, it was at 2 or 3 in the morning several weeks after the fact. Today, bowling is getting more TV exposure and more regular hours, thanks to Prime Sports Network and ESPN.
Other areas of the tour have improved as well. Tish Johnson, a 15-year tour veteran, says planning her itinerary used to be a hassle since the sport initially had no set schedule.
``You wouldn't play for three months, then you'd have three tournaments in a row,'' she says. ``Now we know our schedule in advance.''
And while names like Wagner and this year's points leader Wendy MacPherson-Paponas aren't known in every household, women's bowling has made strides promoting itself. For sale this week in Franklin are all the goodies you'd expect from a pro sporting event: LPBT socks and shirts, shoelaces, a wristwatch, even a program called ``adopt-a-pro,'' which allows fans to receive a color glossy, bio and certificate of adoption from their favorite pro.
``A lot of people in the bowling world know me,'' Daniels says. ``Even a lot of athletes like pro basketball players watch me on TV, and they know who I am.''
For wanna-be pros, it's a hard sport to break into. Amateur Leslie Livesay of Portsmouth, 21, has been seeking a sponsor for years, going so far as to advertise in the newspaper. Until she does, she can only compete in tournaments close to home.
``Last year I made money; this year I haven't made much,'' she says. ``I need to find a sponsor willing to help with equipment, room and board, someone who will go all the way.''
Krissy Stewart of Cape Coral, Fla., won last year's Rookie of the Year award after cashing in at 11 of the 16 events she competed in. She had no sponsor problems, but it's difficult being away from her 5-year-old son so much.
``The story used to be, `When I come home, we'll go to Toys R Us,' '' she says. ``But that doesn't work so well anymore.''
While the tour is getting younger, with more bowlers joining right after college, Daniels says the main deterrent to growth remains money.
``There's a lot of women of all backgrounds, all nationalities that would compete out here, but they can't afford it,'' says Daniels, one of three African-American pros, whose expenses often total $1,000 per week.
But for most, the chance to play out a dream makes the lifestyle worthwhile. Female pros often don't have the perks of other athletes, yet they still endure the discipline. Bowlers generally practice four or five hours a day while maintaining peak physical conditioning. Injuries that range from tendinitis to pulled groins are commonplace, and painful shoulders are an everyday reality.
Nevertheless, ``I love it,'' Johnson says. ``I wouldn't trade my job for any other in the world.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by CANDICE C. CUSIC, The Virginian-Pilot
Lisa Wagner and Sam, her dog, travel together during the tour by CNB