Why Bowling Alleys Are Becoming the New Hot Spot for Singles & Dating
The “New” Nostalgic Way to Meet People IRL with Non-Alcoholic Options Challenging the Dating Bar Scene.
The world is not shy of trend resurgence. From the 2000s dress-over-jeans (millennials be scared) to the increasing sale of record players, society is attracted to the novelty of the past, and dating is not immune to a new craze. Whether you’re sporting the 90s punk eyeliner on a date or headed to a singles event in your city, our dating lives twist and turn with the times. Now, instead of shooting our shot at the cutie across the bar, we’ll be shooting our shot at 10 pins.
That’s right. We’ll be bowling.
Over the past four months, a phrase has been rolling around my different friend groups without rest: let’s go bowling. A term I haven’t heard since I was sixteen. One I’ve only associated with the creepy crawlers of a Main Event or decrepit bowling alley. However, after countless unplanned bowling nights and an unnecessary skill gain, I am confident when I say bowling means eligible suitors who are ready to strike. Both your teammates and opponents.
From New York City and beyond state borders, retro bowling alleys are popping up to give dive bars a run for their money. Ditching the laser lights and neon carpets, bowling is finding its 70s roots tapping vintage bowling lanes and attaching them to a bar. Is this in tandem with this recreational drug semi-accepting culture? Maybe? But that’s not the point. What matters is singles are buttoning their vintage Levi’s, rolling up their knit sweaters, and velcroing their shoes. Who would have thought red and blue bowling shoes could be a turn-on?
Together with the 2022 rollover desire to make connections outside of dating apps, bowling is our golden ticket.
Niche and diverse bowling alleys are solving dating dilemmas. If you’re bowling with a group of friends or on a date, the chance of making a connection triples. You ask, how one meets someone new by bowling with friends? The answer.. bowling chairs. Spaced just close enough to the cute men in Velcro shoes. Having been hit on in this exact scenario, I am confident this is a possibility for any social bowler.
Bowling with extended friend groups is the forced socialization you never knew you needed. Singles from various friend groups coming together to toss bowls at pins are sexy. Good or bad, your bowling skills aren’t required to find the perfect line to hit up the pretty girl in the cuffed jeans. Seats are limited and laps become chair alternatives. Awkward silences are spared with a turn to show off one’s bowling form. Teammates are ball buffers for the non-interested. It may be childhood nostalgia but bowling puts people at ease. Tossing a ball makes people shed their typical bar shell for bowling comradery.
Pitches of beer from the attached retro bar keep the drinking participators’ cups full while allowing those sober to stay focused on the obvious activity for their nervous hands. A solution for a dry January or non-drinker, bowling takes away the pressure of always going to grab a drink for a date. Bowling becomes the date, not the drinking.
Apart from alcohol, bowling becomes the common denominator between two people. It’s a conversation sparker as one strikes and the other gutters. Other bowlers create a healthy distraction and become the barrier against crippling silence. It’s the date activity we’ve been searching for. Culture’s past is sharing ways of non-digital meet-cutes and connections.
As opposed to the distortion of the dark, lit room, going bowling keeps us present with reality.
Bowling alleys have the je ne sais quoi we’ve been searching for. It may be the gateway social experiment that takes dating to the level of genuine connection. Bowling creates the needed social break from sardine bars and deafening music. Which then makes us appreciate the dark-lit rooms filled with musk and mystery.
Society is being balanced by bowling. You’ve heard it here first.
