The special ceremony had all the extravagance and emotion typically reserved for some type of lifetime achievement award.

Odd, since Kolan McConiughey has no plans to quit bowling any time soon.

Yet absolutely fitting, since the impetus for the gathering of friends and bowling dignitaries at Colonial Lanes was McConiughey’s once-in-a-lifetime accomplishment.

Thursday night was supposed to be just a normal league bowling night. But when McGoniughey joined his team at Lane 5, all 39 other lanes at the bowling center on South Industrial Highway fell silent.

PBA Tour star Mika Koivuniemi (right) presents Kolan McConiughey with a new bowling ball, bag and autographed shirt during a ceremony at Colonial Lanes on Thursday.

Rich Rezler | AnnArbor.com

A surprise 20-minute ceremony followed, honoring McConiughey for the 857 series he rolled in the same league on Feb. 3.

“It’s an amazing thing and it needed to be recognized,” said PBA bowler Doug Spicer, who has been involved with the Special Olympics for 25 years.

The 37-year-old McConiughey, who was born cognitively impaired, has become a local celebrity over the years after rolling multiple perfect games and excelling on the Special Olympics circuit.

He even got his 15 minutes of national fame when he called out Barack Obama in 2009 after the President made an off-handed remark on the "Tonight Show" about his bowling game resembling that of a Special Olympian.

But the 857 series put him in a truly rarified bowling stratosphere. McConiughey, who’s rolled five 800 series, capped his career-high 857 (299-258-300) with his eighth perfect 300 game.

In fact, even Thursday night’s special guest, PBA Tour star Mika Koivuniemi, has never reached it.

“It’s a great, great accomplishment,” said Koivuniemi, who has a high series of 847. “I’ve heard about him before, and finally I get to meet him. It was great.”

Koivuniemi’s surprise appearance at the alley did elicit the biggest response from the normally stoic McConiughey. He smiled broadly as Koivuniemi presented him with a new bowling ball, bowling bag and autographed shirt.

“Mika. I didn’t know he would be here,” McConiughey said when asked what the best part of his special night was. With that brief answer, he moved away from a reporter to the comfort of his lane.

For portions of the ceremony, it seemed to an outsider that McConiughey found it to be a distraction to his purpose for being there. Those who know him best disagreed. Slightly.

Kolan McConiughey (right) and friend Mitch Holdwick check out the photo of McConiughey that will be permanently displayed at Colonial Lanes.

Rich Rezler | AnnArbor.com

“He handled it with his typical kind of modesty,” McConiughey’s mother, Jan Pardy, said. “What you saw is his typical calm, even reaction to it. He doesn’t show great excitement.”

Longtime friend Mitch Holdwick said he could tell McConiughey was already tunnel-visioned when he arrived at the lanes. It’s one of his greatest bowling strengths, after all, along with the obsessive-compulsive tendencies that help him achieve the repetition that every bowler strives for.

“Even at an emotional event, it’s really tough to rattle him. But when he saw Mika, he got very overwhelmed with emotion,” Holdwick said. “I think that’s where he really started to conceptualize the magnitude of his accomplishment and also of people’s willingness to be here.”

The list of official ceremony participants was a long and impressive one.

Colonial Lanes director of operations Roger Philipi acted as emcee, first introducing a two-minute video message from Special Olympics CEO Tim Shriver.

Spicer presented McConiughey with his 300 game and 800 series rings and Arbor Valley Youth Association coach Becky Arends made an emotional speech before Koivuniemi was introduced.

Also in attendance were United States Bowling Council national director Mark Martin, Michigan Special Olympics representative Kim Purdy, Arbor Valley Bowling Association president John McMullen and others.

Holdwick presented Colonial Lanes with a framed photograph of McConiughey that Arends said will be permanently displayed, “like a jersey hanging from the rafters.”

McConiughey was also presented with a special jacket with his 857 emblazoned on it and Skyline High School bowling coach Kurt Kaiser announced that he had raised enough money from the Ann Arbor bowling community to cover the $725 cost to upgrade McConiughey’s 800 series ring to the gold variety he’s longed after.

“That’s kind of how it is with Kolan. People just like him and respect him and want to do the best for him,” Pardy said.

“People just kind of instantly like him because he’s just a likable guy. He’s not out to hurt anybody, not out to cause any problems. He just wants to live his life and have a good time.

“And bowl.”

See McConiughey in action in this video, courtesy of Michigan Special Olympics:

Rich Rezler covers sports for AnnArbor.com. Contact him at 734-623-2553 or richrezler@annarbor.com.