Taking a cue from the popular commercial for the NFL on FOX where one pro bowler tackles another during her approach, Dale Eagle, the only bowler on the PBA Tour who uses a stage name when he competes, jumped to his feet and tackled his opponent, Mike Durbin, just as Durbin released his final shot. Eagle then yelled to the crowd, "Everybody give Mike Durbin a big round of applause," while he wrapped his arm around Durbin’s shoulders with a wrestling move.
The action Eagle took against Durbin was so spontaneous that an ESPN camera only showed Eagle charging up behind Durbin as Durbin released his final strike. It didn’t swing around fast enough to catch the initial tackle at Spanish Springs Lanes at The Villages in Lady Lake, Fla. Instead, the camera showed Durbin and Eagle playfully grabbing hands and swinging each other in circles as Eagle nearly landed in the audience in before they let go.
The exalted top seed Eagle beat Durbin, the former PBA commentator, 238-234, in the March 12 title match of the inaugural Villages Senior World Championship to earn $18,000—an amount somewhat less than what a pro wrestler would receive—and his second consecutive Senior Tour title.
When asked if he would say, "The Eagle has landed," Eagle responded, "No! I would never say that because it would mean that I’ve crashed, and I’d be finished. I prefer to think that I’m always flying high and never landing."
Eagle was reminded about the astronauts and their heroics in reference to the famous expression and that John Glenn recently returned to space as a senior citizen. Eagle, whose real name is Glenn, said, "Yes, I can relate to John Glenn and what he’s done for all of us as a high-flying senior. I’m another Glenn who flies high as a senior."
Eagle served in actual combat situations in Vietnam. Surviving the jungles of that war gave him the confidence to survive any challenge that might arise on the bowling lanes.
"I know how to adjust in tough situations, and that makes me an instinctive bowler," Eagle said. "I go with my feelings. I’m not sure I know what I’m doing sometimes, but it keeps me loose and from thinking too much."
Eagle instinctively found the right shot in the championship game, beginning with five consecutive strikes. Durbin fired back with his own strikes in five of his first seven frames, but he believed that two factors caused him not to get strikes when he most needed them.
"That lane was breaking down quickly, and I moved in a little on that shot but just not enough," Durbin lamented. "I threw the ball decent—just not hard enough and I paid the price."
Eagle concurred that the faster you adjust, the higher in the finals you go. He attributed his quick decisions to his recent success.
"I believe it’s the person who thinks the quickest on the lanes who wins," Eagle chirped. "I’ve improved on the tour this year because I’m making better decisions, and I’m making them quickly. I think that’s been the key to my quick start. I tried to keep my speed up so the ball would hold the line.
"This is the best I’ve ever bowled in my life, and I want to break all the records out here this year. That’s my goal."
Syndicated columnist Richard Kolb is a member of the Bowling Writers Association of America.