The High-5; Love it? Hate it? Just wiish it would go away..?

[jason_doust]

The High-5; Love it? Hate it? Just wish it would go away..?

OK. I’m going to barbeque a sacred cow here and ask possibly bowling’s most taboo question…

What’s your honest opinion of the high-5?

Is it the social lubricant that makes the team machine run smoothly? Is it an invasion of your personal space? Is it just something that nobody really understands and does because everybody else does it?

What’s it for and when is it appropriate? When somebody wants to slap my hand because I spared a 10 pin, I’ll do it out of politeness. No other reason really. I expect to spare a 10 pin. It’s one of those things I practice for the exact situation of when I leave one. Some people very kindly get as excited as if I’d spared something quite difficult. As a friend of mine said recently, “I’m just too tired to argue. I just put my hand out and it makes them happy…”

As you can see, I’ve created a little poll on the subject, which I’ve collected some quotes to each level of response. As the quotes made the questions too long, I've pasted them here.

1. I love the high-5. Love it, love it, love it. I want a high-5 for cleaning up my 5-pin. “You don't know who you messing with man, I slap people for fun.” (Chris Tucker)
2. I think the high-5 is a good thing. It builds positive team relationships. “Hit me baby, one more time.” (Britney the philosopher.)
3. I’m ambivalent about the high-5. I do it to keep the peace. “You can kill a lifetime without feeling anything but skin” (Chuck Palahnuik)
4. High-5’s are for when someone does something amazing, like textbook sparing the 6-7-10 or a washout to win the game. “By appreciation, we make excellence in others our own property.” (Voltaire)
5. I just hate the high-5. “Take your stinking paws off me, you damn dirty ape!” (Charlton Heston – Planet of the Apes - 1968)

For the record, I think the high-five belongs exclusively in the domain of celebrating excellence. When one of your teammates has an awesome night, you spare the 6-7-10, or make a super-washout to win a match, that’s high-5 time. I'm in camp 4. (And don't get me started on man-hugs...) I used to be in camp 5, but am slowly letting my personal space requirements shrink on our overpopulated planet. I will grudgingly accede to camp 3 as society requires, as quite frankly, I just get sick of explaining things like sparing a sleeper is no big deal. It's easier just to slap the hand that's proffered.

I decided to make your poll answers anonymous, as some folks get confused or even offended that you think a high-5 is a strange custom that makes very little sense (as you’ve probably worked out I do.)

If you’re feeling bold though, put your thoughts up here and shake up a norm that until now has seemed to go unquestioned. It’s a touchy subject. (Pun not only intended, but premeditated.)

Yours in social deviance,
Jason

 

[jimcross]

I don't need anonymity. I would vote for 3, 4 and 5 !!. Seeing I have to choose one, I voted 3, mainly on the " Keep the Peace" part.

 

[Toon]

I don't often see it that much in high level competition. I see it as a team motivation/companionship gesture for league bowlers. You don't ever see high 5's in the PBA. EXCEPT! In the Geico Team Shootout, which is teams.

I bowl in a semi social league as I find the scratch league here quite pretentious. Everyone hi 5's everyone for everything. But in this league some bowlers are new to bowling and others just want to enjoy themselves. So sometimes a 10 pin spare is a big achievement for them.

I'll put my hand out to be part of the team/league but the only time I really want a high 5 is when I mark a hard split or throw 6-7 in a row.

The only thing I hate is when people want to give you a hi 5 when you just threw a terrible shot or when people want hi 5's for every shot of theirs but when it's yours they couldnt care less.

So...to sum up. I think it is a good thing for Team tournaments or social leagues. Scratch leagues and tournaments, I think it could go.

 

[DrewC]

Good One Dousty!

Rachuig has always been fun to watch in the high five department (maybe a little less so in the last few years)...

The high five in the opponents face of years gone by always raised eyebrows....made it interesting to watch though...

The old high five when one of your team mates is over hyped and the team just scatters as they run back into the players area..or having to remember to put out your non bowling hand to prevent not feeling anything in your preferred hand for the next 20 mins..

But you are also right, having to run around and give everyone on your team, the opposition and possibly the team next door for sparing a single pin (though i consider this an accomplishment some days ) can get a little old...

 

[jason_doust]

Good One Dousty!

Rachuig has always been fun to watch in the high five department (maybe a little less so in the last few years)...

I'm actually with you there Drew (and Toon). Rep teams (Rachuig and Shield especially) are a different dynamic and a genuinely excited team going slap-happy with positive momentum is just joyous to watch and even better to be a part of. It's a very different thing.

 

[Ryan_E]

I voted 4.. You get a split, you got a 4 bagger, you get a five....

 

[Roysa]

Good thread Jason

Lots can be said on this but I will keep it short and to the point.

Tapping for a spare is s a waste of time both yours and mine

I don't want to feel bad for not tapping you after I get one and I also dont want to ignore you accidentally if you get one. Not through rudeness but because I simply can't be bothered.

A strike is only marginally better.

This Is amplified in 5 man teams. By the time I've tapped everyone it's my turn again.

If you bag out in the 10th in anchor to win the individual point and team point then that's a high 5

 

[Easy Tiger]

I personally do it more to be polite, so I will give and take high 5's / hand slaps (which is more what they are most of the time) without really thinking about it, particularly in league. I voted 3.

For me it came from juniors, when you are young everyone celebrates everything and if you didn't participate then you weren't a team player / were anti-social. In adult leagues / competition I don't really think it is necessary. As others have said, by all means if someone has the front 6, converts a tough spare or throws a big shot for a win then give them a high 5. For sparing a 10 pin it really is a bit "dudey".

The problem is you come off looking arrogant if you don't do it. So you really can't win. I have to say I've never really understood it, nobody use to high 5 when you beat the bat or hit a boundary in cricket, but it's everywhere in bowling.

The big issue I have with it is when it is exclusionary. I experienced this recently at a tournament where 3 excellent bowlers were on a pair with me and all 3 kept completely to themselves and congratulated amongst themselves, but barely recognised that I was even on the pair. The behaviour shown by one in particular in which they belted a chair because they got an unlucky break was disgraceful, and if I had done it I am quite sure I would have been given a reprimand. It's also not the first time I have seen this bowler act in this manner. I walked away from that experience never wanting to bowl a major tournament again, and I have bowled a lot of tournaments over the years and have never experienced such poor sportsmanship. Not such a good way to increase participation. Anyway, I'm getting off topic now.

 

[mongoliantreesloth]

I detest it. Does everyone in my vicinity really think I want to make bodily contact every few seconds? Unfortunately it's generally a case of "when in rome..........."

 

[Pie]

I also hate it, and now there is a strange version of it for missing as well.
What next, high 5's before your shot?
Bring it on for something special, but that is all (and only for your team, not the opposition).

 

[K-C]

Great thread!!

I am voting 3. I am all for it in a team environment such as Rachuig, for example. However, what drives me absolutely nuts is the "compulsory" high-five for everything, without fail (especially in league). Or more to the point, those people that chase you around the players area for one and almost act as though their lives depend on getting that hand slap/high five.

 

[Roysa]

Can we or should we call for a nationwide strike (pun intended) on the hand slap.... il start tonight in league... who is with me?

 

[magpi17]

I'm going against the grain a bit here, Firstly I don't do HIGH fives but I do give the low five to anyone that wants it. I feel it is more about sharing, a bit of here have some good vibes before you bowl sort of thing. I can understand a lot of the more serious bowlers not doing it as your focused on the job ahead and when I see that I don't try and do it.
So to me it's not about going overboard because one of us got a spare rather an acknowledgement of good 1 mate I hope I can emulate your skill.
Plus have some of us forgot what AMF Means!

 

[Hooligan]

Mr Doust.
Please add Option 6.
"Well I'd go one step further than that even and I'd say the High Five should be outlawed from the game altogether, its just a bit of Seppo bull**** the West Indies have introduced into the game, and I reckon when it comes to congratulating one of your teammates, there's simply no better way of doing it than with the traditional Australian hug or a kiss or a lick, a grope on the arse or a dry root, Its still the most appropriate way, I think, of showing one's exubberance and excitement, and its certainly the most masculine and manly way of going about it." (Billy Birmingham)

 

[John_Velo]

Hi Jason,

When I stopped bowling 25 year ago there were no hi-5's. The lanes were a serious place reserved only for the serious, the occasional nod of approval was enough. Coming back to the world of the bowling hi-5 was very hard to take. It felt like I was being violated for doing what was expected as a normal bowling task 25 years earlier.

I have always cheered and clapped for my bowling colleagues, still do. The hi-5 has taken me some 9 months to get use to, but I got there. I don’t mind it. I do think it should be reserved for excellence.

But, what is excellence, for the 140 average bowler, that would be a ten pin spare, for the elite that would be a six bagger minimum.

But the hi-5 I do dislike the most is the one given to you by some-one wearing a mechanical wrist. How hard is it to use the other hand?

So now I have adjusted the world of hi-5, it feels normal and a highlight of my week to be slapped by my bowling buddies......as one of my league mates said when I came back, it’s all about the hi-5.

I guess it enlightens the week.

 

[Jasonguru]

lmfao at stu.

yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesssss welcome back to the MCG!

i am not a huge fan either. the low fiver for a strike and a good spare is ok but thats about it. high 5's are just ridiculous unless u make an awesome split or throw a perfect.

I voted 3 just because i do as my motto below says

 

[dylanp]

Its just a sign of respect and acknowlegement

 

[Geoff300]

I dont really mind doing it with MY Team, I HATE doing it to the team i am playing against, I mean
really, why do we want to encourage the team we play against.
I also hate the closed fist tap for an open frame, should be a slap on the back of the head for missing a spare !!!
SO i guess for me it is a mixture of all 5 options , often i feel like it is a ****

 

[da_cowman]

In team play, as a few above have already mentioned, it as integral part of the bonding and relationship of the team dynamic. Being a team is always about looking beyond yourself and doing what's best for the team. High Fives, low fives, closed fist hits are all part of that larger dynamic. It works because it's easy and everyone understands it.

In singles competition it's a different beast. In league, especially the handicap league it's way easier to just put your hand out and let those who want it to get and those who don't care to continue. But what I find as amazing and a true accomplishment, is different to everyone else in the league. There are some low averages who are genuinely happy with sparing the darn 10 pin, or making a bucket. And I respect that, as I was at that level once too. I'm never annoyed if someone doesn't offer me a high/low five, as it simply doesn't bother me.
In the higher level competitions, if I'm at the ball return and the other player makes a great shot, I'll hold my hand out and if they hit it, well, cool. If they don't... well cool, I just know I don't need to bother holding the hand out. It's no big deal.

So I guess my position is:
In teams - Definitely yes. Integral part of motivating and bonding with your team mates.
In league - Keep the peace. Not fussed, but not overly bothered (although when you are chased down four lanes away while chatting to a friend, it's a bit much)
in competition - Again, not too fussed. If the other player is keen on it, I'll do it, but I won't go too far out of my way for it.

Cow

 

[jason_doust]

Hi Jason,

When I stopped bowling 25 year ago there were no hi-5's. The lanes were a serious place reserved only for the serious, the occasional nod of approval was enough. Coming back to the world of the bowling hi-5 was very hard to take. It felt like I was being violated for doing what was expected as a normal bowling task 25 years earlier.

Almost my exact thoughts, John!

To me, the high (or low, or even of intermediate-ascension)-5 for everything is a bit like "every kid gets a present at the birthday party" or a ribbon for running 7th at the school athletic carnival. It doesn't actually mean anything. We have enough meaningless ritual in our society. Everyone who has been subjected to wearing a tie at the office because it's "professional dress" knows what I mean. Put it under the microscope and it doesn't hold up.

Cheers,
Jason

p.s. Just found this... http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2209638182