Bringing Hope Back Home
Story-Book Ending Has Cedar Rapids Native Arriving
With Heavy Heart, Returning Home a Champion
It was their first time ever on a plane, and their first ever visit to Sin City. Mike Cornwell and his virtual bowling buddy Dan Bailey were thrilled to be involved in the championship weekend, but the Cedar Rapids natives' first-ever trip to Las Vegas were subdued with thoughts of those dealing with the tragedy of the flooding back home.
The Double Inn Bar and Grill is the Cornwell's family-owned bar in Cedar Rapids Iowa, and it had succumbed to the wrath of the raging Midwest floodwaters. Much of the bar is destroyed, including the Silver Strike Bowling machine that both Mike and Dan spent countless hours on qualifying for the Championship. Mike felt an obligation to stay with his family, and didn't want the rebuilding process beginning without him.
It took forceful reassurance from Mike's father that everything at home could wait a weekend, but even then it was difficult to convince his son to make the trip. And in an ending that would make Hollywood proud, Mike came home three days later the first-ever Silver Strike Bowling National Champion, and $10,000 richer.
Mike and Dan made it to Vegas, and immediately felt the support from those who knew of their troubling times. In a surprise announcement before play got underway, IT marketing director and tournament emcee, Gary Colabuono, announced that Incredible Technologies would donate a brand new 2009 Silver Strike Bowling game to Camden Amusements - specifically for The Double Inn Bar and Grill - when it reopens. While this gesture alone was enough to make the trip unforgettable, Mike was far from done.
Mike, who uses the unmistakable SSB nickname, Schmagwag, was the tournament’s main attraction from start to finish. His 300 in practice was the lone perfecto shot all weekend, and he dominated the qualifying as well as his finals matches. The other players had a soft spot for the Cedar Rapids resident, and as the night wore on, the sentimental favorite could feel the other player's support.
"People were coming up to me in the middle of their games and after they were done." Mike said. "It seemed like everyone who wasn't playing, was behind me. It was a really unbelievable feeling."
His biggest supporter however was his close buddy Dan "Biddy" Bailey. Dan is regarded as possibly the best virtual bowler in the country, and is one of two Silver Strikers to ever roll a 900 series. As luck would have it, Dan's qualifying games earned him the 8th and final spot in the finals and a first-round match against the top qualifier and his hometown companion. While Mike prevailed in the head-to-head match, you would have never known it as the two celebrated and congratulated one another during the match. Neither was excited about the matchup to say the least, yet it assured one of them a pot in the next round.
Bailey immediately switched from competitor to number one fan, a role he relished. For the remainder of Cornwell's matches, he was watching over his shoulder, willing every virtual pin to fall. When Mike took an insurmountable lead in the tenth frame of the deciding game, Biddy grabbed him and gave him a hug that seemed to rattle the Palm’s foundations.
Not to be outdone was Mike's father, the older Michael R. Cornwell. Michael sat camped out in Cedar Rapids, at his bar, but not in the Double Inn’s normal location.
Checkers, a local Cedar Rapids bar in the southeast part of town, was fortunate enough to survive the horrific flooding. The owner of the bar let Michael and many of his fellow bar mates take over an outdoor deck. They even put up a sign that read, "The Double Inn Bar and Grill, Southeast Location." The elder Cornwell and his buddies stayed up nearly the entire night, waiting to hear from their hometown boys.
As the Iowa sun was almost rising the call came in. Cedar Rapids celebrated for the first time in weeks!
With the tournament and the celebrations over, Mike Cornwell is back in Cedar Rapids working long hours. The Double Inn is being gutted and rebuilt, and Mike and his family are hard at work now that the water has subsided.
Mike believes it will be at least a couple of months before the bar is back up and running, but the rebuilding process has taken a whole new face since his championship win.
"There's a sense of hope around here, and everyone's spirit is lifted. The money will help of course, but it's more than that. This Championship will change my life forever."
Aside from putting most of the money back into the bar, Mike also has plans to pay off his car, and hopefully help out family members like his sister, whose home was also damaged by the flood.
As for Silver Strike, the inaugural champ says he won't play another game until the Double Inn is back in business. "The first game I’m going to play will be in our bar, on our new machine, and with Dan. It's how we got to the Championship, and it's only fitting after everything we've been through."
It's been a bumpy ride for the Cornwell family, but there certainly is hope. Soon the legendary Silver Strike stomping ground will be back up again, better than ever, and the champion will be rolling the nicest trackball in town.
How about a brand new sign, to go with the magnificent new bar?
The Double Inn Bar and Grill, Home of Silver Strike National Champion Mike Cornwell
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