What happened that Sunday afternoon in Milwaukee's Miller Park was really more than history. It marks the dawn of a new era for the PBA and its new audience. To set four lanes inside a major league sports facility for the second time was more than an ABC Masters title, the first show of the 2004-05 season, or another look through the overhead crane camera for an hour and a half. This show just might symbolize the future of the PBA. Could there have been a more festive crowd in AMF Bolero, where the rest of the tournament was held? Perhaps not. But what made this show more unique was what went on for the 4,307 attending was the approach taken by event organizers. It wasn't just a TV show, it was truly a major-league sports event, complete with live music, manufacturer booths, Bernie Brewer, the sausage race participants, and of course, tailgating right in a parking lot where it supposedly began all those years ago. This event really put Chris and Bo with ABC's Pro Bowlers' Tour telecast light years back in the rear view mirror.

      OK, let's see if I can paint a picture if you didn't make the early morning jaunt north up the Edens Expressway on I-94. The smell of fresh bratwurst, the sound of blaring music fill the air. Could this be a typical Sunday before a Brewer or Packer game? Tailgating was in full flight, footballs and frisbees in the air. Wait, the sight of a the human bowling ball took care of that. Nope, this was a bowling event for bowlers. With all the energy outside, what could be waiting for us inside? A drawing for ABC members, various manufacturer booths showing off new technology, the smell of Miller Park brats and sausage, and then there it was; the four lanes ready and waiting for four bowlers and a national television audience. No seating around the two pairs unlike other arena finals, no chance of flash bulbs going off in Walter Ray's face. That would have chewed up the grass. Not just any grass. Major league baseball field grass.

     Ready and waiting in the left field corner was the pep band from UW-Madison. It reminded us were we inside. And it was OK to make noise. Then, one of those moments occured. A type of moment where you actually hear one collective gasp of air while knowing something really cool was about to happen. The four players emerged from the first base dugout to practice so they could get lined up and we could get used to the acoustics of pins falling inside a eight-story high arena. Different, oh yeah, but we heard the sound piped in from the ESPN audio feed. Ball manufacturer reps are watching each thrown ball as if they were drawing plumb lines themselves. Wait, that's what they are doing. They are seeing if the more aggressive ball flips over too early, or the weaker ball can drive hard enough, and suggest what to do if neither occur. Tournament Director Kirk Von Krueger grabs a crowd microphone and reminds us to find our seats, social hour is over. Air time is just a few minutes away. While reminding us to have fun, he also tells us a TV bowling crowd rule is to wait until the ball leaves a players hand before making any noise. Then, notice is given. Just one minute to airtime. As a former broadcaster, that was always the point of no return. No time to run a comb through the hair, check for bits of lunch in your teeth , or even make a bathroon run. You were locked in place. If everything is ready, it's similiar to the national anthem for an on the field athlete. One final check of mental notes for the day's battle. Then, another of those moments occured. Up on the big Jumbotron screen, Chris Berman segways from the end of NFL Gameday to the next ESPN show at 1:00 pm Eastern, Noon Central. It was our showtime. This first ever finals from a major league baseball park was reality. Out of the first base dugout the players ran to the lanes, high-fiving Bernie Brewers' hand. The Jumbotron showed us what viewers saw, but the sight lines inside were pretty good, too. Seeing Patrick Allen throw a lot of strikes happens frequently on the PBA Tour, but add the left-field foul pole in the background and infield dirt just three feet below his feet, and yes, this is very unique indeed. A group of females up in the second deck were chanting for their guy, Danny Wiseman and his sharp-looking shirt while he warmed up for the finale. Wiseman, unknown to most, has a sharp knowledge of TV bowling history and knew this would be a great major to win. He bowled in one of the final Tournament of Champions stops at Riviera Lanes in Akron, Ohio back in the early 90's when everyone referred to the tourney as the Firestone. Wiseman's father, who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, was on hand to see his son bring home the big prize. He lost that semifinal to eventual winner and Wisconsin native Marc McDowell and had not come close since to capturing a major title. But like he told us after the show, he just needed to focus and make shots during the long format tournament. He didn't even acknowledge to well wishers from the second deck before the match, but he sure did at the end after his nine strike 268 game. And just like that it was over. Ninety minutes seemed like only a half hour. What a great event to show off how much fun this sport can be in person.

     Once Dave Ryan and Randy Pedersen said, "So long for now," live music resumed, the Cheesehead's shouts for putting the Packer-Redskin game on the Jumbotron screen were answered, and that smell of bratwurst was still in the air. Was this a dream? Oh yeah, the pictures will be ready tomorrow. And I can still smell the bratwurst. And somewhere, Bill Veeck is smiling.