"Spare thoughts" campaign imagines the minds of bowlers �� with a smile - PBA Tidbits - Brief Article

IT TAKES AN AVERAGE OF 30 SECONDS FROM THE time bowlers approach their rolls to when the ball hits the pins. What does the inner voice that keeps them focused and in the pocket say? Is the voice a mental checklist of fundamentals and routine? A formulaic rundown of what they have practiced their whole life? Do they wonder what they will have for dinner? Or are they worried their pants are too tight? ESPN's "Spare Thoughts" provides a humorous look at what is going through the minds of bowlers during that time.

"Spare Thoughts" is a new PBA on-air campaign that provides fans with the potential thoughts of professional bowlers in the heat of competition. "We're going to provide humorous answers for fans that wonder what the voice inside the athlete's head is saying to them," says Lee Ann Daly, ESPN's senior vice president of marketing. "Without teammates or coaches, bowlers have to rely on their thoughts and emotions to keep them going. This campaign will show the mental and physical requirements of this sport in a humorous light without jeopardizing the intense nature of the athletes."

The first spots feature two of the PBA's brightest stars. Southpaw Jason Couch debates how to best knock down an especially uncooperative pin from his last roll, and Chris Barnes, a 2000 BOWLING DIGEST Men's Bowler of the Year, describes how he prepares himself for "the show."

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COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group