Of all the things that have ever been said about famed Vice Presidential nominee and occasional Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, none have been as trenchant or as poignant as this: "Her presence underscores the impact and importance of bowling." HER VERY PRESENCE DOES THESE THINGS.
That's from the statement proffered by the Bowling Proprietors' Association of America, who "announced today that the bowling industry rolled a strike [ed. note: WITTICISM!], securing Sarah Palin as the keynote speaker at this summer's International Bowl Expo 2010."
UHM...BREAKING, I THINK(?!):
"Sarah Palin is a great friend to the bowling industry and we're so proud and honored to welcome her as our keynote speaker at International Bowl Expo 2010," said Steven Johnson, executive director of the BPAA.
Of course, the BPAA may end up being disappointed when the obvious benefit of having Palin as a speaker -- hyper-intensive, nonstop media coverage of the event -- comes to naught when Palin refuses the "gotcha" media entry to the event.
Oh, and here's real-live bowling columnist Dick Evans, questioning the BPAA's decision:
If Sarah Palin or any other politician would jump in and help bowling become stronger financially, I would vote for her or him.
But to be honest I think I am dreaming. Politicians don't seem to give a hoot about championing the great sport of bowling and that bothers me when politicians who know nothing about bowling are invited to speak at a bowling convention and barely mention the sport.
I would venture a guess that a keynote speaker at Bowl Expo earns between $25,000 and $50,000 for maybe 25 minutes of jokes and their beliefs about what is happening in the country...views they probably have expressed numerous times on numerous cable and network TV shows.
In the old days, before 24/7 political related cable shows, I was interested in what politicians had to say at political rallies because that might be the only time you got to hear them speak on national issues.
Now you can't turn on TV without hearing one political candidate or another speak so I have found three political candidates telling BPAA members the same thing they have been saying on TV for 12 months while serving as keynote speakers at Bowl Expos over the years.
Seriously: Dick Evans is ALL KINDS OF AWESOME. I encourage bowling enthusiasts to bookmark him immediately.
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