Singin' in the Lane

Singin' In The Lane is the seventh episode of Season 29.

Synopsis
Homer and the boys reunite their old bowling team to cheer Moe up, only to land themselves in fierce competition with a rival team of arrogant millionaires. Meanwhile, Lisa and Marge try to teach Bart that money isn't everything.

Full Story
The family is enjoying their dinner when Mr. Burns calls Homer Simpson to invite him to the basketball joust, after running through an insanely long list of people (both Springfield residents and celebrities) who declined to spend time with him. Homer accepts, wanting to bring his friends. At Moe's Tavern, Homer summons Lenny, Carl, and Barney Gumble, but excludes Moe Szyslak, as Homer has only four tickets, leaving Moe crestfallen and teary-eyed.

Back at the Tavern after the game, the regretful Homer and his buddies plan to reform the Pin Pals bowling team with Moe as their captain. They become successful immediately and win a tournament that sends them to the state finals in Capital City, which takes place a fancy bowling building.

Their foes, the Fund Bunch, although having lost the first round, bullies people, including Moe. To stop them from bullying, they make a wager:


 * If the Fund Bunch wins, they win the bar and Moe has to change his name.


 * If the Pin Pals win, Moe will get something only a rich guy can have, even though they find out how really good the rich guys are at bowling.

For revenge on the geeky guys, Lisa Simpson incites them to find the Fund Bunch's weak spots while Bart Simpson is trying the rich life. Marge tries to teach him that money isn't everything, without any success.

The final round is near, but Moe slips talking about Barney being bad when he is drunk and the Fund Bunch uses that trick to make him blitzed so he will lose the game. Lisa and the other nerds succeed in making them feel terrible, and Bart and Lisa reconcile.

Barney is plastered, and Homer needs to make three strikes, while Moe imagines his life starting over in France if he loses. Moe tries to prevent Homer from striking, but fails, and he has to return to his old life, rejected by his friends for being a bad coach, but back at the tavern they surprise him, saying they are still a team. Since they won, the Fund Bunch get the Pin Pals something only a rich guy would have.

In the final scene, the Fund Bunch are revealed to have given the Pin Pals a zero-gravity plane experience as their prize where Moe, Lenny, Carl, and Barney float while Homer doesn't.