chirping of birds
brrrrrrrr, click clack
Bowl coming! It's a little cannonball.
ball skitters down road loudly
So when you say, "I'm going to go chuck a cannonball down the street," people get really confused. You have to Google it, and once you do, you realize, "I want to do that." Why not chuck a cannonball down the road? It's exactly what it comes down to. That might live. On the backroads of La Crosse County, Luke Seielstad and Brady Hoeth have come to play.
metalic clack
That'll do. Basically, it's a sport that they do in Ireland on back roads.
ball skitters down road loudly
Irish road bowling is a sport born during the Renaissance and now enjoyed by these modern-day Renaissance men. It's a historic thing that happened in Ireland all the way back to the 1600s. There is a theory that the Irish stole cannonballs from the English and didn't want to carry them the whole way, so they just threw them down the road. The weapon of choice these days... We call it a bowl. That's why they call it Irish Road Bowling. B-O-W-L and it weighs 28 ounces. So, it's a 28-ounce steal and lead and iron ball. On this particular evening... I gotta figure that out....Luke and Brady scout the course for the 5th Annual Irishfest Road Bowling Championship. I'm really kind of wondering if they're going to let us play that back section. The gravel? - That could be interesting. And these defending champions are ready for battle. When you talk a big game, you have to be able to put up a fight. So let the championship begin.
Irish jig music
Think we're going to win? Absolutely! Better.
ball wobbles and rolls metallically
Bowl coming! Once a year, I live for this game. Just like Irishfest. The rules are simple. As simple as propelling a two-pound cannonball. It's heavier than you think and you want to chuck this two-pound ball as hard as you possibly can, as far as you possibly can. It's exhilarating. It really is. It's liberating. There ya go.
Onlooker
Nice throw. Can't toss it overhand. It's all got to be underhand. You can be gentle; you can be hard. But the answer is, you have to go across the set course in the fewest number of throws. It's kind of like golf in that respect. The gamesmanship is intense.
Fellow bowler
Stop talking and start bowling!
Another bowler
You gotta put some mustard behind it! That's a nice line. Get that pull. Get that pull! This might look like chaos... Is it far enough or not? Yeah!...but there is a method to Luke and Brady's game plan. I think Luke takes care of the long power shots. I thought it was going to wind up short. It just kept going. It works out, having a partner like Brady. He has the finesse roll. He can make those curves, and things like that. Look at that too. Dead on. Dead on! Where it goes off the road, that's where you mark it. Hey, you wrote 19, right? So, this is 20. - Yeah. Between the two of us, we make it work. Perfect. Making it work isn't always easy. One bad throw
friction of ball on road
Another bowler
We'll find it. Other times, that's just how the bowl bounces. You could have a perfect shot, and one little rock in the middle of the road might just send it flying the other way. Stay up.
exhaling in exasperation
Another bowler
Mulligan! Then again, redemption lies in the luck of the Irish.
Onlooker
Good roll, Rick. Told you about that side. Aye! We'll take a kick! That's what I'm talking about. The game also teaches patience and perseverance. Road bowling takes a lot of time, only because you lose the bowl.
tick, tack of bowl in gravel
Onlooker
Right off the edge? - Yeah! Didn't go that far either, but I just didn't watch the exact spot it left. Thankfully, there are a bunch of people there that are watching it and that are willing to help you find it. Otherwise, you spend a lot of your time tromping through the grass, and just trying to find your bowl so you can throw again. That'll do donkey.
Both
That'll do. At the end of the day, with the battlefield behind them, Luke and Brady win another championship while sporting their Irish pride. We got a lot of Germans, Norwegians around here, and they have all their festivals and stuff. It's kind of cool to bring the Irish bit in. I hope people get excited about it. I hope they see how much fun we have. And I hope we bring more people into it.
Passport
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