My day began at 6am. I was bright-eyed, bushy-tailed and ready to go! Today I was heading to Limerick for the PJBT Championship Weekend Pro-Am! Matt Himmelreich and the PJBT had invited myself and a few of my peers from the industry to come out with Doug Kent, Kelly Kulick, Danny Wiseman, Bill O'Neill and Parker Bohn and bowl with the PJBT bowlers and other guests. I’ve been in the industry for a long time and I always look forward to spending time with youth bowlers on the lanes. The youth are the future of the sport and I will always make time for them.

I walked through the door of the center and…I’m not going to lie or play it down. I was a little excited to be sharing the lanes with some of the PBA’s elite players. I spent some time talking with many friends and headed into the paddock area that they had set up for us. Once in the paddock area, we received our instructions from Matt and it was off to the back of the center for the introduction of the our starting lineup. Bill O'Neill heads out the door and I’m on deck… I kind of space out while listening to Matt read off the bio sheet and snap back to hear "….From Adamstown, PA….Brian Krantz!“. Through the door I go to flash bulbs and applause, raise a friendly hand to the crowd, give them a wave and head up to my starting lane. Matt goes on to finish the lineup and it’s time to fire up the lanes! I walk back from the foul line to the settee area. I’m excited! Ready to make some new friends and have fun with the kids!

I’m digging in my bag for something and get a pretty firm slap on the shoulder followed by a voice saying "I throw!” repeatedly. I turn around and there stands “Joey” with my brand new, just drilled last night Track 100P spare ball. It’s bright red and shiney with sparkles (yes…sparkles. Is that a problem?). I looked at Joey and told him if he could pick it up and get it down the lane, then have at it! Let’s see how it works! The smile on his face was a mile wide. Determined, he picked up to the ball, awkwardly waddled to the foul line and dumped it down the middle of the lane. Slowly but surely the ball made it's 60 foot jouney and finished it out by knocking down all 10 pins for a strike! Joey’s hands immediately rose towards the sky as a round of cheers came from his friends. His smile was even bigger than before! The smile on my face matched Joey’s. Why was I so happy that a man presumeably in his 30’s, struggled to pick up my ball and gave it everything he had to roll it off of his chest, down his arms and onto the lane? Because Joey….and his friends are special bowlers.

Some bowlers had mental disabilities and others physical disabilities. Some of the bowlers were in wheelchairs using ramps, while others were able to get to the line and get the ball down the lane with minimal assistance. What did they all have in common? Today and everyday from here on out, they were bowlers! Just like me. Just like Parker Bohn. Just like Bill O'Neill and everyone else at Limerick today. Today, for a few hours, there were no….disabilities. There were no…handicaps. Today there were smiles, laughter, hugs, high fives and bowling! I was pulled aside by the parent of a younger special bowler. She thanked me for coming out today and said “These guys really look up to you." I thanked her back, but told her that I look up to these bowlers. I wasn’t talking about the other pros… I was talking about the special bowlers that were there today, doing things that some people didn’t think they could or should do. These bowler’s know no boundaries. They judge no one. Everyone was an equal, striving for the same goal, which was knocking down bowling pins by whatever means necessary and having fun while doing it.

I bowled with three different sets of junior and adult bowlers today. I had tons of fun with each group, but the special bowlers were just that….special. These bowlers truely touched my heart and put lots of things in perspective for me. I re-learned what it was like to have fun while bowling again. I’ve got myself to a point where the game has been about competition….always. No matter what I shoot, I’m never happy. No matter how many points I win, there is always something that I needed to work on or somthing that I didn’t get right. Today…was different. Today, I missed a spare and walked off the approach to three high fives and a "You’re awesome!” from a lady named “Wendy”. And ya know what? I thought that was great! I never felt so good about chopping the 3-6-10 in my life! I challenge ANYBODY to try that on a league night when somebody flags a ten pin! I could have gone 10 opens for a 76 and been happy about it today!

I was about to say that scores didn’t matter with that group today, but I would be wrong. Wendy, whom I mentioned earlier, was the last bowler on her lane. She finished out her tenth frame, looked up at the scoring monitor and began to cry. She covered her face with her hands and began jumping up and down. Those weren’t sad tears. Those were tears of joy. She had just shot over 200! Another round of cheers, high fives and hugs erupted from her peers. I was frozen. I was cheering for her, but she couldn’t hear it. Why? Because I’m a sap and I was too busy choking back my own tears of joy for this woman. I made my way over to her after some of her friends had moved away, gave her a hug and told her that she… was the awesome one. They were all super stars!

Throughout the day, I signed several autographs and was in plenty of photos with PJBT bowlers, adults and my special bowlers. All of my special bowlers made sure they got signatures from myself and the other pros that they bowled with today. I had finished up my first game, autographed the last score sheet for super star, Wendy, when I realized that I wasn’t leaving Limerick until I had the autographs I wanted! I got all of my super star special bowlers together and told them it was my turn. I wanted their autographs! They were the people I look up to. They had given me a new perspective, not just on the game, but on life in general. One by one they wrote their names on the back of a flier that I had picked up when I walked in that morning. My AUTOGRAPHED FLIER will serve as a constant reminder that it’s not all about winning and that you can still find a way to have fun, no matter how bad your situation may be.

I’ve had many dreams over the years that I’ve wanted to chase in the bowling world. I looked up to Danny Wiseman for years and years because when I was a youngster, Danny was the man! I wanted to be just like Danny. I even grew the hair out, just to look like him at one point. Today I realized that you can look up to somebody for something other than envious reasons. Today I had aspirations to be like Wendy and Joey. I wasn’t looking up to them because of the number of titles they had won or how much money they made or the ball company they were with or the clothes they wore. Today I looked up to somebody because they had no fear, jumped right in and had fun. Throughout my years in bowling, I’ve shot numerous 300s, 800s, won tournaments and traveled the country. Nothing I’ve EVER done prior to today can compare. Today, June 11th, 2011 was the best day I’ve EVER had in a bowling center.

I’d like to say congratulations on another successful season to the PJBT. I also want to thank Matt Himmelreich, Travis Sparks and the rest of the PJBT Staff for the opportunity to come out and bowl with a very special group of bowlers and the bowling stars of tomorrow.

Photo opportunity with Joey “Pants" Paluszek and Anna Costa.

Pro Introductions.