GALEN OLSON'S BLOG - Rolloff Season 3, Episode 4

First, watch the video of episode 4 here:

Now, continuing on.......


IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED THE EPISODE, SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!







KAILIE drops out even before the competition begins. We were so sorry to see her leave so soon, as she was one of the people I saw making it to the final 3 easily. As devastating as it is, she is going to kick ass on her Softball team, and her talent never went unnoticed by the panel of judges! Kailie, season 5 in December - if you want a second chance at winning and to finish what you started, a spot will always be free for you.

NATE IS OUT!

This elimination was utterly painful for Jeff, and I felt bad for that (given it was his turn to eliminate people at the end). However, Nate’s performance was painful from start to finish, and he just didn’t seem invested in the competition anymore. Nate is just not the competitive bowler like some of the others are, which is okay! Bowling is for fun! But when you are here to win a competition like this, you need drive, and his drive simply evaporated. It was a tough elimination on me as well, since he was the very first person I casted for ‘Rolloff’ and I know how fucking talented this kid is (look at the rolloff between himself and Chase!). So, I was sorry to see him go, but he had plenty of good moments and he should feel proud of himself! Me, Jeff, and Alex are!

Thoughts on the other contestants:

SEAN: Knocked it out of the park. It may not have been much of a challenge for him, since it just enhanced his usual technique. However, he was consistent and got ALL of his spares. I’m proud of him. Good redemption after last week!

JENN: Again, TREMENDOUS improvement after last week’s disastrous bowling. Her attitude was a lot better, and she adapted to the challenge very well. She had a few missteps with her technique that kept her from winning the challenge, but she should be very proud of herself. Can’t wait to see how she does in the coaching challenge next week, which will really challenge her attitude and whether or not it has changed.

JORDAN: There were (many) moments when Jordan bowled this round where I just had to laugh. She tried bowling straight, bowling with a curve, and a technique that looked like she was pushing the bowling ball with her stomach. It was just sad to watch, because she was a front-runner and this challenge pretty much made her look incompetent. Very lucky to have survived the round! Good thing Nate was a lot worse, otherwise we would be having a different discussion right now. Sorry, Jordan. Hope you do better next week and fulfill your pinkie promise to me!!

CHELSEA: Started off terribly, but she got into her own rhythm and eventually got a strike in the end. Perhaps too late in the game where it didn’t improve her score enough to survive the bottom 4, but enough to keep her in the game for another week! Also, I have to add: this was her first time in the bottom 4! She’s been consistent and complying with the challenges, always having a smile on her face. See - THAT’S what ‘Rolloff’ was designed for! Just for pure fun, and it’s refreshing having her on the show. She’s a sweet girl and a great bowler, and now has made herself a dark horse to win the competition!

ANDREA: She got one beautiful spare, and then completely fell apart. What saved her from being worse than Jordan and Nate was that she was consistently getting pins down. Andrea, adapt your natural curve to the challenges and speed up your ball even more, and you’ll do fine!

NO NEW EPISODE NEXT WEEK!

EPISODE 5 WILL PREMIERE ON AUGUST 5TH!

On Episode 5, I am NOT judging........but I was there watching behind the scenes, and trust me, the results are pretty entertaining nonetheless!

GALEN OLSON'S BLOG - Rolloff Season 3, Episode 3

HALEI IS OUT!

Can I first say something about this challenge? The results were AWFUL. Probably the worst of all 3 seasons of this show. Even the people who won their matches were pretty terrible across the board - other than Kailie, who got 2 strikes and had decent consistency. Me and Alex were even contemplating putting 5 or 6 of them up for elimination: it was that bad. Also, this is the episode were me and Leah went bat-shit crazy on the contestants at the end! Looking back at it now, I kind of regret it - we overreacted. However, what made me snap was, during deliberations, Leah and Nick mentioned how they overheard some of the contestants saying really obscure things behind camera about the challenge, Jay, and the production. Of course, it’s hear-say, but it annoyed me because this was the THIRD week in a row that I heard about it, from different people! How am I suppose to get to know these people when they act like a completely different person when the camera isn’t on them? It‘s deceiving. Leah had a good point about etiquette though, and I’m glad she called them on it. I just hope from here on out, the attitude issues behind camera subside and the etiquette for Crosley Lanes improves dramatically (and it does, thankfully!).

Thoughts on them individually:

KAILIE: Not the best performance I’ve seen with the challenge, but she got strikes and tons of pins down, so she gets major props! Good recovery from last week.

NATE: Started off horribly, and his improvement was very slow. Still, it got more pins with each frame, and ended with a decent spare. He was up against Halei, and there was no competition there, I’m sorry to say. Nate should be lucky he was up against her and not Halei or Jordan!

CHELSEA: She’s one of the nicest people I know, and I feel really bad saying this: but for 85% of the time, she was embarrassing. Her attempt to get the ball down the middle of the lane in the beginning just had me laughing behind the camera. It was painful. The ONLY positive I’ll give her is that she played a decent strategy and stole Jenn’s Gollum/Granny/Puberty technique and started to get pins down. In fact, I think it may have tripped up Jenn, as Jenn started to gutter continuously after this. Chelsea is the dark-horse to win this competition, and I don’t want to see a performance like that again!

　

JORDAN: Disappointing she couldn’t get strikes or spares, but I’ll give her this: at least she was consistent enough to get SOMETHING down. Her score would have been demolished in one of the previous seasons, but up against her other competitors, she was one of the better bowlers of the day. Still, she lost her match against Kailie, and I expect a lot more from her!

JENN: Her bowling was okay in the beginning. It seemed like she was adapting to the challenge. Then all of the sudden, she was guttering continuously! What the hell? It was a rollercoaster ride watching Jenn - you never knew what was going to happen next. It was bad. On top of that, I heard from the fellow judges a lot of negativity from her about the judging and production. Again, here-say, but I always got that vibe she was just making fun of the whole thing and it was disrespectful, considering there were people there that actually wanted to win the show. She crossed the line with me, and when I was yelling at the bottom 4, it was mainly directed at Jenn. I don’t dislike her at all - none of us did. In fact, I totally adore Jenn - she’s a funny and really sweet girl! It just needed to be addressed, and hopefully she heard us and cleans up her attitude. She has potential to win, but with that attitude being noticed from several people, her chances would be slim if we didn't call her on it. So, here’s hoping we see a good performance from Jenn next week!

ANDREA: I like how she adapted her spin that she normally does, but specifically for the challenge, and that was very cool! She got pins down, and came nowhere close to getting any strikes or spares, but at least she gave a good effort! She had zero competition against Sean, so the few pins she got, she had it in the bag.

SEAN: I love Sean; he’s a great guy and always has fun with the challenges. However, this performance from Sean was poor and extremely painful on all levels. He was trying all of these different things, and I just wanted him to stick with ONE technique and improve upon it. If I was allowed to mentor I would have told him to spin it and keep his posture straight up. He got this on the last frame, but it was too late. He just couldn’t handle the pressure of the challenge, which is why he was on the bottom 2. Still, he’s one of the best bowlers on the show, so we wanted to give him a second chance. Let’s pray that this round was just a fluke!

HALEI: Her score, god bless her, was embarrassingly low and it was clear from the get-go that she was the worst of the group, with Sean as a close-second. She was floundering from the very first frame, and I felt bad for her: it was like watching a kitten drown, and I just wanted to save her from the misery! It’s true that she was the least experienced bowler of the group, and maybe it wasn’t in her destiny to win, but she always gave a 100 million percent effort, had a positive energy and smile on her face, and for that, we love you Halei and it was a pleasure having you on the show! Just NEVER bowl left-handed ever again….

　

GALEN OLSON'S BLOG - 'Rolloff' Season 3, Episode 2

MELINDA AND ERIK ARE OUT!

Surprise! Double elimination! See that coming?

First, congrats to Andrea and Sean, the challenge winners! Andrea had the freaking WHEELBARREL bowl! How she even managed to get pins down, I have no idea, but it was impressive to see her come out of her shell this week. It was lovely. You can call it birthday luck, but Sean really nailed the challenge: he clearly looked like he was having fun modeling Jay’s shirt, and he never once complained about any of the challenges Jay was trying to throw at them.

Honorable mentions: Nate REALLY stepped up his game - he listened to Jay, had a good attitude, and bowled fantastically. Halei’s bowling improved as well, and played the amish role very well. And Chelsea was the first one to comply with one of Jay’s challenges, and got her first strike of the season, so kudos to her as well! Jordan, while perhaps didn’t 100% listen to Jay, did manage to ask him TONS of questions about EVERYTHING, enough to confuse Jay into not putting her in the bottom 4, so for that, I salute her!

God, where the hell do I begin with the bottom 3? (technically 4, but I’ll take Jenn out of the equation, because she didn’t do as horrible). We were judging on their attitudes and compliance with the challenge, instead of the bowling. You can have all the talent in the world, but if you can’t handle the craziness bowling has to offer and have a good attitude about it, then why even play? Kailie was just bitchy and immature when it came to interacting with Jay, and when she finally did interact with him, it was more out of desperation on her part. Not impressed. Melinda, so far in the competition, has been one of the best bowlers and seemed like a front-runner to win the show. She even bowled a 300 up in Seattle not too long ago! No, her talent never came into question. Although she might have done some of the challenges, she had the balls to go behind the scenes and make fun of Jay and the whole challenge? On a challenge that was testing their attitude and behavior? In front of KATIE NEUHAUSER of all people?! Oh, no, no, no, NO! Coped with the fact she made fun of her partner last week and somehow skated by unscathed, it was clear when we saw her do the same thing to Jay behind camera that this was a serious problem. While I like Erik, he treated Jay like shit the whole time, refused the challenges, and damaged his belongings…..how the hell did he think he would survive elimination doing all of that? No, it was clear from the get-go that Erik was going to be eliminated, deservedly so, but the question was, did Melinda and Kailie perform bad enough with their attitudes that it warranted a 2^nd elimination? YES! But….this might shock you, I would have sent Kailie packing over Melinda. I don’t care how good she is: with an attitude like that, you would NEVER be considered a professional bowler. She's cool outside of the show, but ON the show, I was really turned off by that. Plus, she failed the challenge just as badly as Erik did. However, I can’t muster up a lot of pity for Melinda either, so in the end, I was okay with the decision. And I hope the other contestants took this double elimination as a warning: we are NOT putting up with their bullshit this season. If their attitudes don‘t improve, they are packing their balls and going bye bye!

GALEN OLSON'S BLOG - 'Rolloff' Season 3, Episode 1

Hey you guys!

So, third season of ‘Rolloff’ has begun….honestly, filming our ‘All-Star’ season right now, it feels like it’s been a very busy year for me. However, season 3 does not disappoint! The talent is high, and the personalities are entertaining. Definitely tons of people to root for. We took a lot into consideration for improvements to the show, which included more time spent on the bowling, tighter-editing with the judging rounds, and more interviews. We got it all! First off, I would like to welcome my brother Alex Olson to the judging panel, who was a runner-up last season on ‘Rolloff.‘ He knows the pressure the bowlers are under, and is the most articulate judge among us. Just because he doesn’t yell at these contestants does NOT mean he doesn't have a tough side - he does! The arguments among us 3 were pretty intense throughout the season during deliberations, and episode 1 was a pure example of that. As far as the challenge, the first round always shows us what skills the bowlers have, and whether or not they can function in a team…

CHASE (T-REX) IS OUT!

Chase is a contestant that I thought was going to go a lot further than he did. During the deliberations, this was the first time the judging got a little heated among us. Alex and Austin were sold on sending Nate him due to his bowling performance, which was very disappointing to say the least. ‘Shitty’ is a word that comes to my mind, personally. However, Jeff and I put in a vote for Chase to go home, simply because he didn’t seem invested in the competition and we still had Nate’s audition fresh in our heads as well (Nate completely outshined everyone during auditions - it was very inspiring!). Still, it was clear among all 4 of us that we were very passionate about these two, despite how poorly they performed, so we decided to give them both a second chance: a rolloff to determine the elimination! (aka ‘Rolling Their Balls for Their Lives!’). They were both very impressive, and showed why we chose them to compete on season 3. Nate was consistent across the board, and it was the most focused and passionate that I’ve seen him in a long time. Chase was equally as impressive, although he fell apart right at the very end when he couldn’t pick up a spare to beat Nate. 5 point difference between them both - it was INSANE! Even though Chase got eliminated, he should feel really proud of himself. He definitely redeemed himself. I’ve seen him pitch for his baseball team outside of the show, and I know how talented this kid is. Wherever he goes athletically, I know he’ll go far. Thank you for joining our show, Chase!

Here are my thoughts on the other contestants:

JORDAN & KAILIE: Definitely the two strongest female bowlers we’ve ever had on the show. I worry that Kailie’s ego is going to get in the way with some of the challenges, but there’s no denying her talent. Jordan is one of the most consistent bowlers I’ve seen in all 3 seasons, which is amazing to me because she ALMOST didn’t get cast for the show! I’m very happy to have her join at the last minute, and she proves to be a real contender.

CHELSEA & JENN: Another very consistent and talented team! Chelsea is the most outgoing and friendly of the bunch, and her bowling surprised me seeing how straight she rolls her ball down the alley. Definitely many close strikes! Jenn is our first left-handed bowler on the series, and had a few missteps with some of her frames. Still, very skilled!

MELINDA & HALEI: It’s clear that Halei is the least experienced bowler of the group. But, I have to say, she held her own! Some gutters here and there, and struggles to pick up spares. However, she gave a great effort and had more positives than negatives. I’m proud of her! Good attitude too, unlike her partner. Melinda, is an incredible bowler. Consistent, strong, competent, and reliable. What turned me off? Her attitude towards Halei whenever she couldn’t come up to her level. Very disrespectful and rude, and that sort of catty behavior is not something I would ever tolerate for someone who wants to compete on this type of show. I mean, was she worse than Katie from the 1^st episode of season 2? No way, no comparison, but at least Katie knew she would be in deep shit if she wasn’t nicer to her partner. Melinda didn’t get the hint until after the episode was filmed. In fact, she’s very lucky to have escaped the bottom 4. If she steps up the attitude, Melinda could be a real contender for the top 3 in the end.

SEAN & ERIK: Sean was one of the favorites going into the show, due to his audition. Did he perform up to standard? Yes, for the most part. He guttered once, but at least he finally found a rhythm to his technique and got a handle on where his strike zone is. Erik, despite a few decent set ups for his partner, was very inconsistent. In fact, the level of inconsistency was worrisome to Alex and Austin, as it shows that he can’t find a groove even just regularly bowling. Personally, I didn’t think he was “bottom 3” material, but I guess he needed the wake up call, so Erik, step up your game and prove Alex and Austin that you deserve to be there!

NATE & ANDREA: Nate was partnered with Chase, and frankly, his bowling was a tiny bit worse than Chase’s. This shocked me considering Nate’s audition was one of the strongest out of all the contestants, even beating me when I bowled against him that night! Perhaps that is why me and Jeff fought for him to stay in the game. I attribute his horrendous bowling simply due to a lack of confidence in himself, and boy, was I right! Why? Because during the ‘Rolloff’ match between Chase and himself, his confidence was MUCH greater, which helped his consistency and his sportsmanship. It was truly inspiring to watch. If he continues to bowl like that, we could have a front-runner. We’ll have to see! Nate, way to redeem yourself and make us proud.

Andrea wasn’t the worst of the night, but it was clear that some of the things she was doing needed to be brought up to her at this stage of the game. She missed her mark frequently, and missed the strike zone every single time in the same spot. Her confidence and shyness is what’s holding her back from being a power house bowler. If she shakes off the nerves and taps into her comfort zone, I think she could EASILY be the winner of the season. Still, it takes time, and does she have the time to grow into a new level of confidence? We’ll have to see continuing on! If anything, the "Jay Morton" challenge next week will force her into a whole new level!