Bowling for my bank account

Getting together with friends at the local bowling alley. The exhilaration of seeing that last pin teeter over for a strike. Inhaling two packs worth of second-hand smoke.
Yes, a night of league bowling can be a lot of fun. But don’t' have too much fun, and you better bring your checkbook (or a mortgage).
About a month ago, my co-workers and I joined a Thursday night bowling league. When they approached me to join, I thought "sure." I enjoy bowing and shouldn't turn down any social invitation. Little did I know the financial commitment I was making.
The first night of bowling costs $25. Ten dollars for three games and $15 for "membership" in some national bowling association. Each additional night is $10. Now that's a lot of money to roll a ball down a lane. And granted, it is fun, but I'd like to know where that money is going. Supposedly there will be a party at the end of the league (sometime in February or something), but I will believe that when I see it.
And get this; even if you can't make it for a week and can't find a substitute willing to pony up the money (yes, subs have to pay the one time $15 too), you still have to pay! What kind of racquet is this? And where is the money going? The lanes still look the same as they did back in 1945 or whenever this place was built. They take the name "Classic Lanes" quite literally. And there are only two employees that I can tell: The owner who distributes shoes and a lady at the food counter. I don't know where the money is going. It's not on the owner's wardrobe.
Given the bank breaking fees, you would think you could at least do what you want on the lanes. Not so. Bowlers are some of the most uptight people, and they take their customs very seriously. First and foremost, you better stay at least five feet away from the lane if someone on either side of you is getting ready to bowl, finishing a bowl or even thinking about bowling. Because if you are anywhere near them, you will throw off their entire concentration for at least 10 minutes.
I learned this the first night when I began approaching the balls but didn't even step up on to the lane and the guy preparing to bowl next to me had to step away, walk around the front part of the building and regain his composure before he could bowl. Then, after I failed to hit my fifth strike in a row, I fell to the lane dejected. The uptight bowler couldn't handle this either and told me to get off the lane when I was finished.
I mean seriously, this is bowling. A sport where the most accomplished members of our league are a fat guy whose crack shows every time he rolls and old ladies with blue hair who have to bring an oxygen tank with them to the lanes while they continue to smoke between rolls. How much concentration can this game really take?
And you can't touch the video screen, either. On the second night, I was trying to enter our team name (Which is "Headline Bowlers." Does that make us nerds?) on the screen, just for fun. But I pressed a wrong button. Before I knew it, a member of the team sharing the lane with us came up from behind me and said, "what do you think you're doing?" With the press of a few buttons, the screen was back to normal but our team name was still blank. "Sorry, I won't touch it anymore" I said with a trace of sarcasm in my voice. How annoyed this person who I originally thought was a man but later found out was a woman (I think there's a reason they don't go bowling on The OC) seemed with my antics. I'm surprised she didn't slap my hand with a ruler and send me to some sort of holding cell in the back for delinquents (I bet it exists).
As for the bowling, somehow our team is in third place overall out of eight teams. So I guess all the money spent will be worth it if we can claw our way to first place and beat all the uptight bowlers.
More likely, I'll get suspended for my behavior after I cough while someone is bowling. But I'll still have to pay the $10 a week.