Professional Bowlers Association

So as you know by now,  Jason Belmonte won this year's Best Bowler ESPY in one of the biggest snubs in bowling award history, when probably even Belmo would admit openly that reigning PBA Player of the Year Mika Koivuniemi was the best bowler in the world over the last 12 months.  There is a reason that since its inception, the Best Bowler ESPY has been awarded mainly to two of the greatest players ever, Walter Ray Williams, Jr. and Norm Duke.  While it could be argued that many of those years one of those two were indeed the best, it also stands to reason they won the award simply because the "fan vote" in these scenarios is about name recognition.

Mr. Laneside wrote in his recent topic that this award speaks volumes, more or less, to Belmo's influence on the recent wave of international stars making their way overseas to compete on tour. If that were the criteria however, I'd argue that Mika has been much more influential in bringing the rest of the world over to test the waters with the best bowlers on the planet.

Take a minute and reflect on this with me, but there is one PBA Hall of Famer whose career and persona compare very well with Mika's career. That player? His name is Mike Aulby.

Mike Aulby is quite arguably one of the three greatest southpaws ever to compete on tour. His silky smooth style, even-keeled temperament, and his ability to throw strikes in clutch situations propelled him to sheer and utter dominance when he was at his best. And while he did win an ESPY, he was never the superstar in the eyes of the public that some of his contemporaries, such as Walter Ray, Duke, and Pete Weber, were.

I vividly remember the first time I witnessed Mika bowl. I was a freshman in college, and was going to a school not too far from where the Super Hoinke Classic is held. Throughout the week's events, the sheer power of guys like Nick Vogelgesang, Tim Mack, and Robert Smith was fully on display. Whether it was lofting gutter caps or throwing rockets at the infamous lead pins, it was amazing to witness. But as the actual elimination portion of the event took place, there was this tall, quiet, guy from Finland that kept winning matches until he took home the rather large first place prize check. His name? Mika Koivuniemi.

Mika's dominance globally over the past year simply cements his status as not just one of the top 20 players to ever shoe up on the PBA Tour, but in my opinion he has been the greatest influence in bringing the rest of the bowling world to our country. Belmo may be a rock star and indeed could potentially become one of the greatest ambassadors our sport has seen, but he may not have had this opportunity if not for Mika's influence and success.

While it may not be fair to compare career accomplishments with Belmo's at this point, and even if Belmo is the future, Mika is still the man when it comes to helping expand professional bowling on a global horizon.