01x03 - Who Do You Think You Are?

[bunniefuu]

[TV static drones]

[bright tone]

[dramatic music]

- You may be asking yourself,
what is the history

of the bowling ball?

♪ ♪

OK, maybe you weren't.

But we're going
to tell you anyway.

[funky music]

Throughout history, bowling
ba*ls have taken many forms.

The first ba*ls
were made of wood.

Then in the early
1900s came rubber.

And by the 1970s, plastic
ba*ls were adopted by the PBA.

Because plastic ba*ls
didn't have enough friction,

they often went
skidding down the lanes.

In the 1980s, urethane
bowling ba*ls emerged,

drastically changing the game,
allowing more friction,

which translated
to more control.

But it wasn't until
the early '90s that

resin helped
revolutionize the,

well,
revolution of the ball.

Like Earth,
every bowling ball has a core.

Those cores vary with
different weights and shapes

all affecting the hook
and speed of a roll.

The outer core is for
texture and looking cool.

So yeah, professional
bowlers need lots of ba*ls,

which they put in b*ll s*ck.

Eh,
that's what they call them.

♪ ♪

[vacuum whirring]

The day has come.

It's the U.S. Open
Championship Finals.

[upbeat music]

For Simo, this is a
chance to win $100,000,

etch his name in bowling
history, and start

living his best life.

- Maybe.
I don't know.

Maybe I'll run to, like,
Cheesecake Factory

and grab a slice of cheesecake
before I hit the road.

- But to get that
cheesecake, he'll have to beat

four other bowlers,

including EJ Tackett,

the reigning player
of the year.

- This building has obviously
been very historic to me.

I won here after
my mom passed away.

I won here after my dad
passed away.

- In three, two, one.

[bluesy rock music]

- It's title time
here in Indy as we

get set to crown the champion

of the 83rd U.S. Open.

♪ ♪

Simonsen, he opens up
with back-to-back strikes.

♪ ♪

Hey, three in a row for Simo.

- I was ahead,
feeling pretty good.

And I knew there was a
commercial break coming up.

And I'm slowly trying
to decompress,

bring the heart rate
back down.

I, like, turn to set my rag
down, and I look back over.

And then they were giving
me the "we're going" symbol,

and I'm like, oh, f*ck.

Because for most TV shows,
there's a commercial break

slotted for 5 1/2 frames.

Just completely caught me
off guard, and kind of just

set into panic mode.

I'm not thinking
about bowling at all.

I've got to try to get
myself prepared to make

a shot in 25 seconds,
or I might forfeit the frame.

- Simonsen to close
out the sixth.

Not the 7-10.

♪ ♪

And all of a sudden,
just like that,

things have fallen off
for Simonsen.

- I was still
a little f*cked up

from not having the
commercial break previously.

♪ ♪

So I ultimately
finished fifth.

That was kind of rough.

I've been on TV a decade,
and that's the first time

that's ever happened, so--

I'm sure I could complain,
but then people would just say

I'm bitching for no reason,
right?

God damn it, Anthony.

- Simo's dream of victory
cheesecake may have gone sour,

but one of his rivals
is still chasing

the sweetness of victory.

[twangy guitar music]

♪ ♪

EJ Tackett has won the PBA
Bowler of the Year award

the last two years,
and there's no place

he'd rather kick off
his campaign for a third

straight than right here.

[upbeat quirky music]

A short 100 miles
from the U.S. Open,

you'll find EJ's hometown
of Bluffton, Indiana,

where he owns two trucks and
lives on three acres of land

with his wife and
his one-year-old.

Oh, and they recently
purchased a bowling center

his parents had owned
ever since he was a kid.

[upbeat rock music]

♪ ♪

- In '98, my parents took over
a bowling center

in Huntington,
where I grew up.

- Meet five-year-old
EJ Tackett.

He's been bowling
for three years

and already carries
a 115 average.

His high game
is a whopping 179.

- I'm just, like, trying
to throw the ball really,

really hard, as hard as I can.

Yeah, that's what
I do all the time.

So since I was five,
I've basically lived

inside of a bowling center.

- Also since age 5
he's been strictly

following doctor's orders.

- I drink a lot of Dr Pepper.

- ♪ With the Dr Pepper
difference ♪

- That's where I get
my caffeine from.

- ♪ Charge, get goin' again ♪

- Dr Pepper.
Dr Pepper.

Yeah, let me put these
Dr Peppers away.

- ♪ You always want
more, more, more ♪

- Yes, there is
Dr Pepper available.

- Among EJ's biggest
bowling goals,

there'd be no greater
honor than being

sponsored by the Doctor.

- ♪ More, more, more ♪

- When I'm not bowling
on tour, I'm in here,

typically 8, 10,
12 hours a day.

Watch out.

Coming for you.

When I'm not fixing a
toilet, I can just go bowl.

Dollar.

- This is EJ's dad,
who is also his coach.

- I have worked with my dad and
only my dad my entire career,

and I've never sought
help from anyone else.

- You know, he just chased me,
did what I did,

then got a little better at it.

[upbeat music]

- We bought EZ Bowl from
my in-laws July of 2024.

We painted about every wall
in this building ourselves.

We got a quote for it for
the interior and the exterior,

and we thought,
we'll handle the inside,

but we'll hire somebody
for the outside.

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

- I would say, it takes not
a super sane person to get

into a bowling business.

We're fresh into it,
and right now, we don't pay

ourselves anything out of it.

[jazzy music]

But you have to
keep looking ahead

and believe that things
will just work out.

Bowling and the Tackett name,

they're one and the same.

I'm married to a bowler.

My brother actually
bowls on tour as well.

Bowling is the
story of my family.

This sport created
everything in our life,

and it's taken us to heights
that I don't know if any of us

dreamed of, not even Dad.

[gentle music]

The one I'm proudest of, it's
going to be U.S. Open for sure.

In 2022,
I had led the U.S. Open

by 500 pins at Woodland Bowl

in the state of Indiana,
which is close to home,

and had a bunch of
friends and family there.

And it's one of those
things in my career

I always wanted to win
in the state of Indiana.

♪ ♪

And I eventually lost
to Anthony Simonsen

in the title match.

- Whoo!

Dad, I love you.
I miss you.

- That was one of the
hardest moments of my career.

It was-- it was devastating.

♪ ♪

And to be able
to come back in 2023,

lead the field
at the U.S. Open once again

at Woodland Bowl,

have another opportunity
to win a U.S. Open--

♪ ♪

Yeah!
- Second-time winner!

- Yeah! Whoo!

Let me hear you!

Let me hear you!

Yeah!

Yes!

[gentle music]

♪ ♪

- All right, kid.

- The wings are big.

♪ ♪

And this one, like,
I'm never going

to clean it, because this--
it was so emotional, right?

So I'm holding it.

I'm all crying,
you know, stuff.

There's actually a
tear still on-- like,

it dripped from my
face onto the trophy.

So that one's going
to stay there forever.

♪ ♪

Uh-oh.

There goes the foot.
- Well, there goes the foot.

[laughs]

- There goes the foot.

Rawr.

Rawr.

- Let's leave the foot
on the trophy, buddy.

[dramatic music]

- There are now just two
matches left in the U.S. Open.

- EJ, baby.

- About two minutes.

- OK.
[laughter]

- And some of the
wildest fans in bowling

have come out in full force

to see if EJ,
the local favorite,

can become just the eighth
bowler ever to win

multiple
U.S. Open Championships.

- This building has so much
history in it, which is why

I love bowling here so much.

It just so happens to be
in a great state I live in

of Indiana, and these
fans here are the best.

- EJ's four-day pin-knocking
success might have gotten him

to the finals, but his climb
into the second position is

that much more impressive,
if you knew just how

bad he was doing days before.

- EJ Tackett was in
78th place, and I mean,

way off the cutline.

♪ ♪

EJ Tackett, perfect.

Hambone!

Tackett needs another jacket.

- I bowled a great game, and I
didn't really have to do much

but get ready for that
dogfight in the title match.

- Welcome to the championship
round here at the U.S. Open.

Back-to-back solid nines?

This is interesting.

- Oh, God.

Oh, buddy.

That wasn't great.

- I'm sitting here thinking,
I have an opportunity.

My opponent made a mistake.

I have to capitalize
on that mistake.

- Tackett steps up,
foot on throat,

ready to come in for the k*ll.

["Barns Courtney's "Fire"]

♪ ♪

- One more win from the title.

♪ ♪

- Yeah!

This is my house, baby,
my house!

- A lot of emotion
came out in that moment,

because I was so
buried in the standings

that it looked like
I was going to be watching

this tournament from my couch.

- ♪ Give me that fire ♪

- Two U.S. Opens.

And we spend a whole
week putting ourselves

and our bodies through
all this torment

for those moments,
is why we do what we do.

♪ ♪

- ♪ Lord, give me that fire ♪

♪ Burn, burn, burn ♪

- Wow.

- Say, whoa.

Yeah.

What is that?

Uh-oh.
- Uh-oh.

- There goes the foot.

- The PBA Tour isn't just
made up of major tournaments

with big paydays.

It also includes smaller
events with humbler payouts.

There are a lot
of these events.

And a tour favorite
is the tournament

named after one of bowling's
most controversial legends,

the Pete Weber Classic
in Springfield, Missouri.

- I never get excited until
it's time to get excited.

You know?

- Pete Weber is an icon.

- Pete Weber is a legend.

- Five-time winner
of the U.S. Open.

No one has ever won that
tournament more than twice.

[rock music]

- Pete Weber is the
bad boy of bowling,

- The most polarizing figure
in the history of bowling.

- You wanted it, you got it.

- Pete loves to be the bad guy.

- Come on, give it up.

Come on.
Let's go.

- Pete Weber changed the
game because of the shot

heard around the world.

- Strike to claim it.

A strike to claim it.

And he got it!

- Yes! God damn it, yes!

- That's right. I did it!

That's right.

Who do you think you are?

I am.

- One of the most iconic
and confusing statements

in sports history.

- Who do you think you are?

I am.

- Who do you think you are?

I am.

- It's iconic.

- That's right, baby.
- That's why you're Pete Weber.

- That's right.
- That's why you're Pete Weber.

- Pete had some--
we call them antics.

[rock music]

I think he was trying to find

something to piss him off,

because he bowled
way better mad

than he did when he was happy.

- God.

Do not flash the camera
in my approach.

I'm telling you, don't do it.

Jesus Christ.

- They loved him for it.

Crotch chopping.

- Wah! Get it right there.

f*ck yeah, baby.

Right there. Yeah!

Right on.
Get it up.

- And he did most of
that under the influence

of drugs and alcohol.

- He's been suspended
from the tour

several times for conduct
unbecoming a professional.

- It's no secret
that you've had

some encounters with
rehab of some sorts

over the years, four trips.

Are you an alcoholic?

Do you have a problem
with drinking?

- Well, I guess, yeah,
I am an alcoholic,

but I'm not going to quit
drinking because somebody

else is telling me I have to.

[rock music]

- I've had a few
experiences with Pete Weber.

My father,
they tore up the bars

and the lanes in the '80s
while they were on tour.

♪ ♪

- There was a pretty
good amount of guys

that partied back in that day.

Now, if you want to go to
the acid or the mescaline,

I'm the expert on that.

♪ ♪

- Sometimes we talk about it.

Do we think Pete would
have more or less

titles if he were sober?

We don't know.

He was so great.

- I did what it took to win.

- Yeah, that's right.
That's mine.

Give it to me.

If that was showing
my emotions, so be it.

I wouldn't change
it for the world.

How about that for winning?

You love me, you hate me,
you're going to watch.

That's all you can do.

P-D-W.

♪ ♪

It was kind of
exciting for me to have

the tournament named after me.

Actually,
it was a big surprise.

When you have a tournament
named after you,

you've hit the very
top of your career.

You can't go any higher.

[upbeat rock music]

- By the second day of
the Pete Weber Classic,

Cam and Simo are both out,
having struggled in earlier

rounds and missed the cut.

Also absent, Belmo.

Following his disappointing
loss in the U.S. Open,

Belmo decided he needed
a break, so he flew back

home to Australia
to recharge for

the next major, Aussie style.

Meanwhile, with
those guys MIA, that

leaves Kyle and EJ in striking
distance of making the show.

[applause]

- When I missed the cut at the
U.S. Open by 2, it was tough.

The PBA Tour can definitely
be a grind mentally.

You get a win
or you get a show,

and then the next
week you miss the cut.

It's a mental roller coaster.

[twangy guitar music]

But I was able to spend a
little time at home,

where I was able
to actually relax.

♪ ♪

And this was a family photo.

I would almost bet
that's Crown and water.

♪ ♪

And there we are,
so that's 1998.

And my mom and dad,
they met through bowling.

They got married in a
bowling alley, actually.

Yeah.

I know this was Guppy's third
wife and Mom's third husband,

so it worked out perfect.

Third time's a charm, I guess.

- That's about the last time
I think I've had a tie on.

[laughs]
It's 35 years ago.

- My mom was pregnant with me,
and I was already in a bowling

alley before I was even born.

Sign from God,
sign from my parents

that you're going to grow
up and be a bowler, kid.

Yeah, this was definitely
a little bit later in life.

This was when my mom was
actually wearing a wig,

because she lost her hair due
to her breast cancer

and stuff, so--

[gentle music]

I do recall my father with
all his gold, he loved it,

but he did have to
sell all his gold.

When my mother got
cancer, lost her job,

financially, times were
a lot tougher then.

My father wasn't making
as much money bowling.

But he did whatever he
needed to for the family.

And my mom and dad
were married 29 years

till my mom passed away.

29 years married to a bowler.

That's-- that's a lot.

I miss her dearly.

But I remember bowling
on Saturday mornings,

and if I beat mom, I got $5.

[rock music]

- The Pete Weber Classic
isn't a major,

but its payouts
are still a big step up

from Kyle's $5 weekends.

And as he's closing
in on making the show,

he can almost taste that
$30,000 first place prize.

[audience groans]

- What the hell?

- Almost.

- Gets down to the 10th
frame and leave a 5-10 split.

- Wow.

Gotta make it.

- Unbelievable.
- Yep.

- He's double checking.

Turned to Timmy, he's, "Yeah.
you got to make it," he says.

My goodness.

- I don't think I've ever seen
in that moment from anybody.

[tense music]

- How the f*ck do
I even sh**t it?

- Yeah, I know that.

I'm trying to figure out
how I'm going to sh**t it.

[sighs]

♪ ♪

- I gotta tell you, Kyle has
the flair for the dramatic.

I think he's picking it.

- This crowd just
went dead silent.

- Oh, they're going to go
crazy when he picks this.

Still trying to
visualize how to make it.

I bet he hasn't shot
a 5-10 but maybe

once or twice in his lifetime.

♪ ♪

For the TV show.

♪ ♪

Nope.

Wow.
- Timmy Tan makes the show.

[melancholy music]

♪ ♪

- I lost by one pin.

- And have a great night.

- Missed by single
digits again,

in a different way, but
this time to miss the show.

- Our number one seed,
he was the number

one seed through qualifying and
remains that way into the show.

He's a 24-time champion on
the PBA Tour.

From Bluffton, Indiana,
please welcome EJ Tackett.

♪ ♪

- I don't even know how
that happened still.

♪ ♪

[light guitar music]

♪ ♪

Luckily,
I'm leading the tournament,

so that guarantees
me on the show.

I'm not really superstitious,

but I guess maybe
am a little bit,

but I don't wear
red on TV anymore.

Every time I wore red, I lost.

So I quit wearing that
and started wearing blue

and started winning.

So you know, this one here
is one that I always wear,

one that I always wear on TV.

♪ ♪

[dramatic music]

- We are here in
Springfield, Missouri.

[cheers and applause]

And legendary PBA Hall
of Famer Pete Weber

is set to throw out the
ceremonial first ball

in the event named for him.

PDW, 37-time titles,
back on TV.

Left lane,
Pete goes for a strike.

Brooklyn.

But it counts all the same.

[rock music]

♪ ♪

- Bowling is such
a unique sport.

♪ ♪

It's just a game
of imperfections.

♪ ♪

You're chasing to be
perfect, but it's never

achievable or attainable.

It's just not
possible to happen.

♪ ♪

But it is really fun
chasing it.

- Pete actually just
said to Dave and Randy

a little bit ago that he is in
awe of you and all the things

that you have done.

- To have someone
that's an icon

of the sport say those words to
you, it doesn't get any better.

♪ ♪

The never-ending battle of
trying to conquer the game--

- A lot of sauce on that shot.

- --is what makes
all of us come

back and go home and practice
and show up to the next event.

[exhales]

- 9 pins for number 25.

[crowd shouting]

- Yes!

Yeah!

[upbeat music]

- He has done it again.

25 career titles.

- Thank you, buddy.

- All right.

- Love you pal.

- Love you too, man.

♪ ♪

- I was very happy for EJ.

He's putting on a hell
of a year at this point.

Might as well go and give
him Player of the Year.

I mean, he's crushing us.

[orchestral music]

- There are still three
majors left in the season.

But tonight, EJ's quest for
this year's Player of the Year

award is momentarily
interrupted

so that he can
accept last year's

Player of the Year award.

It all begs a question,
though.

How do they get all
these pro bowlers

to show up for an
awards ceremony

honoring one of their rivals?

Free all-you-can-eat buffet.

Works every time.

- The winner of the 2024
Chris Schenkel PBA Player

of the Year award, EJ Tackett.

♪ ♪

- It takes a whole career
to figure out if

you're going to be good or not.

- Well, that's for everyone
else to decide, not me.

All I can do is go bowl.

First off,
I want to say thank you

to all of my fellow
competitors that

voted for me for this award.

The last couple of years
have been a crazy ride,

and I want to thank you
guys for appreciating...

- That was a tough moment.

There may be a certain
level of jealousy.

I wanted to win, obviously,
but yeah, it definitely sucks.

But all those
thoughts and feelings,

I'm trying to just keep
that in the back of my mind,

because at the end of the
day, it's about confidence.

If I feel like I'm at
the top of my game,

then I don't believe
anybody can beat me.

[Survivor's
"Eye of the Tiger"]

- EJ Kind of came along in
the last couple of tournaments

and has overtaken
everyone else.

- [shouting]

- And now that target is
definitely on his back.

♪ ♪

- EJ winning every tournament,
it just gets on my nerves

a little too much sometimes.

I need to beat
him on TV, off TV.

Probably want to
beat him too much.

- ♪ Rising up,
back on the street ♪

- Ultimately,
my goal is to make money,

so I have to beat
EJ to make money.

- ♪ It's the
eye of the tiger ♪

♪ It's the thrill
of the fight ♪

♪ Rising up to the
challenge of our rival ♪

- He's the guy
I'm trying to beat.

What he does is insane.

I love that sh*t.

I eat it up.

That's going to
make me go harder.

I'm about to eat, and y'all
going to be in trouble.

- ♪ Face to face,
out in the heat ♪

♪ Hanging tough,
staying hungry ♪

- Hearing a lot of
people say someone

else is the best in the
world, I didn't like it.

I also started thinking bigger
than the best in the world.

And look, being number
one is an incredible honor

and achievement, but there
have been a lot of number ones

in the world.

But there's only one
greatest of all time,

and so now that's my goal.

- ♪ The eye of the tiger ♪

♪ ♪

[suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

[bright tone]