threw on his next ball—or on any of the seven consecutive strikes he threw to close out the match—Angelo spelled it out for him. “That wasn’t a Brooklyn either,” he said,
pointing to Barnes and staring him down. Angelo won the match and, it seemed,
the war, remarking later in the show about the vowel at the end of his name and the amount of trash talk a proud Ital- ian takes before dishing out some trash of his own.
family man with three kids and the new owner of a local bowling center, Brad Angelo Lanes, which he runs with his wife, Michelle. And if those folks back home do not
always recognize the Brad Angelo they see on TV, Angelo himself will be the fi rst to tell them they are not alone. “When I get my bowling shoes on it’s like a whole other part of my personality comes out,” Angelo says. “That’s just me. But off the lanes, I’m not like that.
“WHEN PEOPLE STOP TALKING ABOUT YOU, THAT’S WHEN YOU NEED TO WORRY,” ANGELO SAYS.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Vengeance almost found him again in
Indianapolis in 2011, where the opening round of “Bottlegate” saw Angelo call out Jason Belmonte for “crinkling the stupid bottle” just as Angelo stepped into a shot. Angelo lost that day, but, for better or worse, that did not stop people from talking about him in the weeks surrounding the show. And that is perfectly fi ne with Angelo. “When people stop talking about
you, that’s when you need to worry,” he says.
But the Brad Angelo folks know back home in his native Lockport, N.Y., resembles nothing of that brash, tough- talking straight shooter with vengeance on his mind. The Brad Angelo they know is a married and devoutly religious
I’m more of a laid-back kind of guy that doesn’t want to be involved in confrontation.” With three kids at home and a new calling as a bowling proprietor, people may not be talking about Angelo as much in the years ahead. And, for perhaps the fi rst time in his life, that is OK with him. “I’m not the young-gun 20-year-old
anymore that’s looking to claw his way to the top,” Angelo says. “I’m just not willing to take two or three weeks away from Michelle and my kids to try and go out there and chase that when it feels like too many things have to match up for me to excel. There are other priorities in my life. I’m just not willing to miss that much of my kids growing up.”
BONUS INTERVIEW
To listen to more from Brad Angelo’s interview, touch the play button below.
ANGELO AT A CROSSROADS
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