Webster’s dictionary defines the word “natural” as something or someone “marked by easy simplicity and freedom from artificiality, affectation, or constraint”, which would seem to be a fitting way to describe Russell Cyr’s abilities in the bowling alley.
In a year when a golfer who never took a lesson or analyzed his swing won the Masters and when a freshman led the University of Kentucky to its first national championship in men’s basketball in over a decade, sports fans are becoming accustomed to these improbable stories, and Cyr is making his claim as Westfield’s bowling “natural”.
This week, Cyr, 48, will embark on a cross-country journey that will start at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut and end in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he will compete in the AMF National Tournament at The Orleans Hotel & Casino, for a shot at $50,000 this weekend.
However, the fact that Cyr is competing in such a major event only heightens the intrigue and makes this story that much more remarkable.
You see, Russell Cyr has only been bowling for a year and a half.
Save for a summer in which he bowled at camp at the age of seven, the Westfield resident hadn’t bowled in over 40 years until his two sons, Jason and Jeremy, convinced him to get back into it with them.
Sadly, Jason passed away suddenly a few weeks after Russell got back into bowling, and it is in his memory that Cyr is bringing his “A” game.
“There is no bigger pleasure than to do things with your kids,” Cyr said in a phone interview yesterday, “So I am definitely inspired (by Jason) and looking forward to this event.”
Employed full-time at Westfield State University in the Environmental Services Department and as a part-time custodian at Westfield City Hall, Cyr has competed and won regional events, and will be representing New England at the tournament.
Despite all of his recent success, Cyr cannot get over how the game has changed in his absence.
“I played with wooden lanes when I young,” he said, “but it’s a much more technologically advanced game today. The oil patterns, the conditions, it’s very different.”
Growing up in Holyoke, Cyr was no stranger to organized sports, playing and coaching numerous youth teams. However, he loves bowling and is amazed at how it has remained relevant.
“I remember when I was young, the lanes would be pretty full. But I go to play now and the place is still packed!” he said. “You see how some sports took off and have sort of fallen off, but bowling is still big, and I don’t see that changing.”
