
DATE: Sunday, November 2, 1997              TAG: 9711020291

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:  141 lines

WEBER: PBA'S REBEL WITH A CAUSE HE FIGHTS OFF HIS IMAGE, BUT NOT FANS

Pete Weber volunteers the information. Just to clear up any confusion. Just to dispel your preconceived notion, because he knows you probably have one, that he is his sport's bellwether of dubious behavior, a hair-trigger dude with a bad attitude.

Or, as Weber puts it, fingering quote marks in the air, ``the McEnroe of bowling,''

``I'm not a bad guy,'' Weber says, smiling, his eyes soft on a late afternoon at the Pinboy's of Western Branch bowling center.

``I show my emotions a little more than anybody else. But some people don't understand. When I'm bowling, I'm out there doing my job, trying to feed my kids. If I don't do my job, my kids don't get fed.

``People come up to me to talk, and 99 percent of the time I'll talk back. I won't bite. I won't scare them. I think people are intimidated sometimes, adults more than the kids. The kids don't care.''

Intimidated? Just because Weber, slightly built at 5-foot-7 and 140 pounds, burns when he bowls, glaring at pins that wobble but won't fall, threatening them - ``I'm not going to let you do this to me?''

Because he pumps his fists and punches the air and hits the deck ... because he reacts to his performance, for better or worse?

Intimidated because Weber, 35, chain smokes, dropped out of high school to turn pro at 17, has been through alcohol and drug rehab, been married three times and suspended twice, in a sport where suspensions are unheard of?

Intimidated because he is cocky, flamboyant, angry, intense, entertaining, straight talking, unpolitical, uncompromising - and possibly the most talented bowler who's ever lived, more so than even his legendary father Dick Weber?

``Mr. Calm and Collected on the lanes, that's my dad,'' says Weber. ``I wish I was more like that. But then I wouldn't be Pete Weber.''

It hasn't been especially easy being Pete. Oh, it's been plenty good, don't misunderstand. Entering this week's Ebonite Challenge at Pinboy's, Weber's won 23 titles in 18 years, seventh all time.

By age 26 he'd won $1 million, the youngest to do that in PBA history, and last month he became the second man to surpass the $2 million mark.

``Pete is one of the greatest talents in the history of the game,'' says Mike Durbin, 56, a 30-year pro and ESPN bowling analyst who calls Weber's potential unlimited, yet strangely unrealized.

``It's hard to say that when he's won 23 titles and $2 million,'' Durbin says. ``But you get the feeling that he's basically just tapped the surface.''

On a personal level, there are all the struggles. The divorces. The drugs. The external pressure that comes with a famous surname.

And as a pro, there is a gaping hole on his resume - never being voted Player of the Year by the 3,000-plus members of the Professional Bowlers Association.

Maybe his comportment has kept him from the honor he covets. If only the 120 or so touring pros voted, Weber thinks he'd have won by now. But so many of the PBA members don't see the inner workings of the week-to-week grind or really know the bowlers.

They watch the emotional TV appearances. They read the black-and-white numbers. What they don't see is the more conservative man Weber says he has become over the last few years, even as he's conquered a slump and reached the greatest heights of his 18-year career.

That is, Weber is a certain PBA Hall of Famer in the next round of voting - 35 is the minimum age for inductees - whether or not he misses out on Player of the Year again in '97.

Granted, he is facing a three-week suspension for mouthing off to the press about lane conditions at a recent event, allegedly impugning the integrity of the PBA. Weber says he regrets being suspended, but not his comments. He has appealed and believes he'll be vindicated.

``I answered a question the way I feel,'' Weber says. ``No way I want to (damage) the PBA. I stand for the PBA. ''

``We hated that this happened,'' says Mike Sands, the PBA's director of tour operations. ``Pete's without a doubt one of the biggest stars and biggest draws we have out here. We were shocked, because Pete never complains about anything.''

Especially lately, now that life has become so good. So sweet. So under control.

The father of two daughters, Weber says he's happily married at last to women's pro bowler Tracy Goettel, whom he wed in March of '96.

He snapped an agonizing three-year winless streak last February, won again in April, and is second this year in the PBA computer rankings, second in average and third in winnings.

He'll still relax with a drink, only after tournaments he says, and he deems his drug woes so distant - he went through rehab in 1984 - that they're immaterial.

On top of that, after a few sponsorless years that he owes to his reputation, Weber has financial backing again, primarily from the Storm bowling equipment company.

Weber says that has taken a huge load off, allowing him to refocus from the drudgery of paying bills to the pure joy of smashing pins.

``When you don't have to worry about anything,'' Weber says, in all seriousness, ``it's amazing how it loosens up your arm swing. It's made bowling a lot easier for me.''

That's right. The modest truth of the matter is even the world's greatest bowlers don't exactly wallow in long green.

Golf and tennis superstars wouldn't chase a bowling purse if it fell between the cushions - Weber's largest payday is $54,000, and this year's earnings of $246,184 are nearly $70,000 more than his previous best.

That helps explain why Weber was so delighted to get a first-class upgrade, because of airline problem, on his flight in from his St. Louis home. And why he was so pleased to divulge one of the coups of his year - bagging a Florida motel room for $210. For a week.

His is an identifiable life, in other words, and seems part of why Weber, when he isn't intimidating people, of course, connects well with the bowling audience.

He openly wrestles with emotions and temptations. He watches his budget. He signs autographs on end, always for free. Says he feels honored to do it. He schmoozes with fans, appreciates their attention, hopes to make a good impression.

For the simple reason that Pete Weber, foibles and all, wants your approval.

``I've never had a problem being me,'' he says. ``You can like me or not like me. But I'd prefer that you like me.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

HUY NGUYEN/The Virginian-Pilot

``I've never had a problem being me,'' Pete Weber says. ``You can

like me or not like me. But I'd prefer that you like me.''

Graphic

AT A GLANCE

What: Ebonite Challenge

When: Today through Wednesday

Where: Pinboy's of Western Branch, today through Tuesday.

Virginia Beach Pavilion for Wednesday's finals.

TV: Finals live on ESPN