Author: jeffbarnes

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Quality or Quantity?

Don’t get me wrong. I love the idea of playing beer pong for big money. With prize pools of $65,000 and $100,000 for the World Series of Beer Pong and the Masters of Beer Pong, respectively, there are some amazing opportunities to win some big money playing pong.

I may be in the minority, but I think that these big beer pong tournaments should be the exception, not the norm. Somewhere along the line, tournament organizers throughout the country decided that we needed big money tournaments and big money tournaments only. It’s as if someone decided that if we weren’t playing for at least $1,000, there’s no point.

I can understand why the top players want big money tournaments. They’ve got a chance to win. For someone like a Pop or a Kessler or a Ross Hampton, flying across the country for a weekend of pong is a sound investment. They’ve likely already won a bid, and whether they win or lose the big tournament, they’ll probably at least make enough to recoup their investment. But for others like myself, what’s the point?

When I first started playing beer pong, it wasn’t the money that attracted me to the game. I’m sure I’m not alone, because a lot of the players that started around the time that I did are still playing, too, and there wasn’t any money to be made back then. It was the community and the aspect of competition that drew us in and kept us engaged. Sure, we all get older and priorities and responsibilities change, but none of us picked up a pong ball for the first time with the hopes of cashing in for big money. We wanted to drink and have fun with our friends.

It seems that throughout the country, beer pong tournaments need to be a “Best Of” or take place in a ballroom to be worth our while. I’m tired of playing beer pong in the same ballrooms with the same overpriced drinks, stuck in the middle of nowhere with nothing else to do.

I’ve been saying for years that tournament and league organizers need to cater to the new players, not the “elite” players to survive. Sure, $5,000 prize pools are awesome, but you’re also charging quadruple the entry fee plus travel expenses for multiple-day tournaments. The new, casual player isn’t going to make that investment, and if he does he will likely get throttled so badly in competition he won’t be coming back.

I can only speak for my local area, but at least in Maryland, it seemed that as the prize money increased over the last few years, the tournaments became fewer and fewer in between and the loyal players stopped coming. A big prize isn’t worth it to someone who knows they have no chance of winning. It’s no fun to come to a tournament and go 0-2.

Having more tournaments with less prize money is a win-win. More people get to play, and even if those top players decide that a $100 isn’t worth their time, the five casual teams that sign up knowing they have a better chance to have fun and win something will more than cover the cost of losing those top teams. Parity is rampant in professional sports because it works, beer pong is no different.

If you look at the beer pong communities that are thriving, it’s no surprise. Places like Lehigh Valley are attracting over 100 teams a week by having several small tournaments. They aren’t holding them in small hotel ballrooms, but in local bars, with local players, for modest cash prizes and drink specials. These are the players that are going to keep playing and become the next great players.

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Cup Check

Four drinking straws together weigh .28 ounces. One and a half wooden pencils weigh .28 ounces. A plastic spoon and a plastic fork together weigh .28 ounces.

If you were playing an intense game of beer pong, would you be distracted by someone throwing drinking straws at themselves? Would you be distracted by someone hitting themselves in the head with a plastic spoon and fork? Probably not.

So, what’s your point, you ask? Well, a regulation BPONG plastic cup weighs .28 ounces. And for some strange reason, countless beer pong players have convinced themselves that taking a BPONG beer pong cup, smashing it against their own head and throwing the cup onto the ground is an amazing distraction technique. This folks, is why the media portrays beer pong players to be a community of alcoholic douchebags.

We are all adults. We may not act like it from time to time, but by definition we are adults. I would hope that we could get past certain childish thingslike smashing beer pong cups over our heads, but I’m not so confident that we can. Newsflash: We are not impressed.

Have you ever walked into the practice area at the World Series of Beer Pong, hoping to get a few shots in before your next round? You finally find an open table to play on, except all that’s left is a an empty rack and a few overturned cups on the table. You try and gather the cups that you can off the ground, finally find ten and then fill them up with water. Except most of the cups start leaking out because some tough guy thought they would impress someone by smashing the cups.

This is why we can’t have nice things, guys.

Do you ever wonder why some tournaments drag on and on and you can’t figure out why? Because half the tables don’t have enough cups or water left to play a game. You shouldn’t have to hunt and gather enough cups and water to play a game of beer pong in a tournament.

And let’s be honest. BPONG cups aren’t exactly expensive, but they aren’t cheap either. When you play at home do you smash cups and throw water around like a gorilla? No, you don’t. You probably use the same cups you have been using for the last couple of years. We’ve all been there. You wash a few dozen of your BPONG cups and then stack them up like a pyramid on the kitchen counter to dry out. Just because you are in Vegas or in some ballroom of whatever hotel agreed to hold a beer pong tournament, you should have a certain amount of respect.

I know it’s easy to get into the emotion of the moment after hitting or missing a big shot (I have more experience with the latter, personally) but enough is enough. People need to stop smashing cups, literally.

In football, if a player kicks or throws the ball away like a dickhead it’s a penalty. The same in basketball. In baseball, if a player throws his helmet like an asshole onto the field of play he’s likely going to get tossed. If you guys ever want beer pong to be taken seriously, smashing cups isn’t helping.

Save our cups!

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So, Who’s Winning the Masters?

Time sure flies when you’re having fun. It seems like only yesterday we were crowning a new World Series of Beer Pong champion and handing out a giant check for $50,000. Now, we’re less than two months away from handing out an even larger check for the first ever Masters of Beer Pong champion. And there’s one question everyone keeps asking.

Who’s going to win it?whos-winning-masters

In beer pong time, two months is an eternity. There’s still way too much time for players to find partners, change plans, flake out at the last moment or backstab a good friend. We’ve come to expect these things from our close-knit beer pong community. I wouldn’t expect anything less. But, like the NFL “experts” who have spent the last few months posting mock drafts that made them look like idiots this past week, it’s still fun to guess how things will pan out.

Right now, is there a better player in the world than Ross Hampton?

The name should sound familiar if you have spent any time in the competitive beer pong circuits the past two years. Hampton won the prestigious World Series of Beer Pong VII singles title last year, and followed it up with an even more impressive victory, winning the World Series of Beer Pong VII doubles title. In the World Series of Beer Pong VIII, he was a part of the winning East vs. West tournament team, and then followed it up by winning the 2nd Annual Pongstars.net Spring Classic a few weeks ago. In between, he’s won dozens of other tournaments. Not a bad resume, and I’m sure I’m leaving some stuff out.

People love to debate who the best players are, and several can make a case as the world’s best. Players like Michael “Pop” Popielarski and Ron Hamilton are no stranger to taking home the big checks, and guys like Kevin Kessler, Brandon Marx and Nick Syrigos are also considered some of the world’s best. But in the “what have you won lately” world of competitive beer pong, it’s hard to top what Ross Hampton is doing.

It’s still early, but who’s your pick to win the first ever Masters of Beer Pong tournament. Be sure you register soon before entry fees go up. You won’t want to miss this one.






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Drunk or Sober?

Contrary to popular belief, the majority of “organized” beer pong tournaments are now played with water in the cups, not beer. In the case of the World Series of Beer Pong, there’s a mixture of both water and beer cups on the table, although no player is required to drink beer. There’s a variety of reasons why organizers have adapted this practice, but mostly it’s because local laws and regulations restrict bars from playing with beer in cups.

Outsiders like to dismiss competitive beer pong because they see us playing with water cups and assume we aren’t drinking. While it’s few and far between when I actually have beer in my cups when I am playing, unless I am driving or it’s a work night I’m usually drinking while I play. And if I have a ride, I’m drinking a lot more. I know it’s childish to compare drinking abilities, but I’d take a Masters of Beer Pong participant over some YouTube troll any day of the week when it comes to drinking.

That said, do you play better buzzed, or sober?

The popular opinion is that the player who can manage to stay sober longer wins, but I disagree. I think it’s much harder to play sober or with minimal drinking. While I have played well and won tournaments without taking even a sip of beer, it’s no coincidence that normally, the deeper I go into a tournament the bigger my hangover will be the next day.

Playing beer pong well, for me, is finding a perfect balance between being too drunk and being sober. It’s the mental aspect of the game that separates the winners from the losers, not shooting percentages. A headcase who can go 10/10 in practice is usually going to miss a rebuttal shot if his mind isn’t right. Maybe it’s a sign of weakness, but I feel like having a few beers in my system allows me to calm down, keep the butterflies away, and shoot well regardless of the situation.

Some people like to get completely trashed before a tournament, and some people drink too much that they can’t hit the table by the end of the day. For me, the days are too long to get completely hammered first thing in the morning and try to make it through the night. But it works for some people, just not me.

For those who don’t drink, I’ve seen several times when players get called out deep into Day 3 for not drinking. It’s easy to talk shit from the railing. I think those guys deserve extra props. I couldn’t imagine playing a best-of-three series for $50,000 dead sober. My arms would be shaking worse than Michael J. Fox. If they can do it, good for them.

What works best for you?






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Pabst Blue Ribbon: Official Beer of the Masters of Beer Pong

The biggest beer pong event in the history of the world just got a little bit better.

BPONG is proud to announce that Pabst Blue Ribbon will be the official beer sponsor of the first-ever Masters of Beer Pong tournament. As if a few days of summer sun in Las Vegas at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, a $100,000 minimum prize pool and pool parties weren’t enough, there will be plenty of ice-cold Pabst Blue Ribbon to keep us hydrated. What else could one ask for?

Pabst Blue Ribbon is no stranger to the biggest beer pong tournaments in the world. You may recall the tasty lager at previous BPONG events, including the World Series of Beer Pong III, WSOBP IV, and this past WSOBP VIII. The only complaint the world’s best beer pong players have about PBR is when there isn’t enough.

The World Series of Beer Pong has come a long way since its first days in Mesquite. Although I did not attend my first WSOBP until WSOBP III, the horror stories about the Sin City beer live on to this day. Ask anyone who attended one of those first tournaments and you’re guaranteed to get a less-than-fond memory about the choice of beer.

It’s only fitting that that the biggest beer pong tournament known to man will serve an award-winning beer. PBR, after all, was selected as “America’s Best” beer at the World’s Columbian Exposition back in 1893, some 120 years ago. While a lot of things have changed in the world since then, America’s thirst for delicious beer has not. Pabst Blue Ribbon still stands tall among its peers.

I’m sure the announcement of PBR is just one of the many surprises Billy, Reed and company have in store for us in July. If this doesn’t convince you to sign up for the MOBP, I don’t know what will. It’s not going to get any cheaper, so what are you waiting for?









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This Post is Sponsored By…

With its unique characters, soap opera storylines, and high stakes competition, it seems only a matter of time before beer pong becomes a popular televised event. Even the lamest weekly tourney has better storylines than some of the crap that runs on cable television.

So what’s the hold up?

Many players feel that with the focus on beer, it’s a tough sell to advertisers. I can kind of buy that. I know that several major beer companies have steered clear of local beer pong events due to the association with binge drinking. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, considering that most television shows use sex and violence to earn better ratings.

An argument can also be made that the heated trash talk may scare potential advertisers or networks. Since trash talk is such a big part of beer pong, it would be a shame to deny that to the viewer. Some of our most beloved players are just that because of their trash talk. Sure, you can bleep out the F word a dozen times, but where’s the fun in that?

In my opinion, beer pong will only become as big as its sponsors. Bottom line, we need more companies involved to help grow the sport and get it on television. Most TV networks would air footage of sleeping cows if it made money. For some reason or another, beer pong organizers around the country have had a difficult time locking in event sponsors.

The real question is, what kind of sponsors make sense for beer pong? You won’t find a more hardcore group of (mostly) 21-34 males that spend money than a major beer pong event. Most players spend upwards of $1,000 just to travel and play in the World Series of Beer Pong, not including the food, beer and money they gamble away. Seems like a pretty solid market if I’m an advertiser looking at that demographic. And buying into an event sponsorship such as the World Series of Beer Pong is far cheaper than a traditional advertising campaign.

I’m also surprised that no major companies have stepped up to sponsor individual players. There are certainly a few that are “household” names in the beer pong world that would be great for a cutting-edge advertiser. I recently watched “Lords of Dogtown” (great flick, by the way) and it reminded me a little of the beer pong scene. In that movie, you could see how several skateboard companies fought over signing the hippest young skaters.

We’ve seen some small-scale sponsorships before, but nothing from a big company. Who will be the first? In the grand scheme of things, giving a top player $10,000 a year for pushing its name/product is a great deal. The player could enter and travel to every major during the year, proudly pimping the product or its name, or both. In return, that sponsor gets all the name recognition that goes along with associating itself with a top player. Tons of social media exposure, interviews, photos, etc. It makes so much sense to me, but maybe I’m just taking crazy pills.

What kind of companies do you think would be great beer pong sponsors? What would you be willing to do as a player to be sponsored?






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Beer Pong’s Bro Factor

I think we can all agree that beer pong has a perception problem.

Whenever some high school or college kid has one too many drinks and makes a bad decision, the first culprit is always the game of beer pong. It’s never the parents who allowed the party to happen, the liquor store which sold the alcohol, or the person who should have been more responsible and know his or her limits. Nope, it’s all beer pong’s fault when someone drinks in excess and makes bad decisions.

If it’s not the excessive drinking that’s giving beer pong a bad reputation, it’s the “bro factor.” For some reason, millions of people think beer pong is the official sport of fraternities in colleges across the United States. To them, we are all just a bunch of guys in pastel-colored Polo shirts with popped collars and too much hair gel. In between games of beer pong, we go to the gym, hold keggers, and all the other stuff frat guys do. We refer to each other as “bro” and only “bro.”

In the interest of full disclosure, I was not a member of any fraternity in college. And while it has been over a decade since I enjoyed the lifestyle of a young college student, I can’t say that any of the fraternity parties I went to were centered around beer pong. Obviously, the sport has grown quite a bit in recent years, and I have no doubt that frat guys love to play them some beer pong (who doesn’t). But the stereotype isn’t exactly fair.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not dissing fraternities at all. I chose to spend my time at the student newspaper in college instead, but that’s just me. I have plenty of great friends who belong to fraternities and only speak of them highly. Very few people fit the negative stereotype of a frat guy, and most people fail to acknowledge that fraternity members tend to earn better grades and a more well-rounded college experience.

I just don’t like the idea people have that we are all just a bunch of guys playing beer pong in someone’s basement or frat house waiting in line for the next kegstand. The truth is, and this has been mentioned time and time again, the majority of us who play competitively live in the professional world, we have real careers, families, interests and hobbies. Beer pong is an outlet for us, not something we center our life around.

While I’m sure there are plenty of members of our beer pong community who belong to fraternities, I can probably only name two or three that I know for sure. Which shows me that beer pong isn’t just a game for fraternity guys, because let’s face it, none of them are winning our tournaments.






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Budweiser Unveils “Buddy Cup,” Stalkers Rejoice

Technology has changed the way we play beer pong. From new equipment to high-stakes games via Skype, beer pong is alive and well in the virtual world.

Budweiser is now taking beer drinking a step further.

The self-proclaimed King of Beers recently announced “The Buddy Cup,” a state-of-the-art drinking glass which can connect fellow drinkers to each other on Facebook, with a simple clink of a glass.

Feel like creeping on that cute girl at the beer pong tournament? Clink her glass. You want to remind that guy you just met he owes you $20 for a cash game? Clink his glass. Forget your iPhone to add someone on Facebook? Clink their glass. The Buddy Cup will revolutionize the way we interact, and stalk, our fellow beer pong players. The possibilities are endless.

The cups are currently being unveiled in Brazil, and there is no word on if and when these new Buddy Cups will appear in the U.S. I, for one, will be patiently waiting.

Guys, what do you think about this? Girls, how about you?

Check out the article here or watch the video below.






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Is Beer Pong Becoming Too Easy?

Is beer pong becoming too easy?

I know it’s a silly question, coming from someone as terrible as me. But as the sport continues to evolve, at some point do we need to go back to the drawing board and re-examine things?

I’m not going to make this into an elbow rule debate. That topic alone is enough for its own blog post and then some. We can look at that at a later time.

For anyone who has played in a major tournament like the World Series of Beer Pong over the course of several years, it’s pretty clear how much the average player has improved, and how much the better even the elite players have become. We’ve reached the point where you go into a game against a Kessler or a Ross Hampton expecting them to shoot 100%. And I’m not so sure that’s a good thing.

I’ve been playing using WSOBP rules for the greater part of the last decade. In Maryland, before adapting to the current WSOBP rules, we used to play unlimited bring-backs and each player shoot-until-you-miss rebuttal shots. Even then, a few of the better players were already taking the “next step.” It wasn’t uncommon starting a game down 6 cups before you even shot against a great team.

If we want to take beer pong seriously, as a sport, then it is only fair to compare beer pong to other sports. And you’d be hard-pressed to find another sport that demands near-perfection to win games.

In baseball, you are considered an above-average to great hitter if you hit above .300. In 1941, Ted Williams posted a .406 batting average, considered by most to be the greatest statistical batting season of all time. Yet in that magical season, Williams got out nearly 60% of the time.

In football, the career leader in quarterback completion percentage is Chad Pennington with a 66% over the course of 10 seasons. Ignoring the fact that Pennington is a terrible QB (sorry Jets fans) even his record-breaking noodle arm threw incompletions almost 35% of the time.

Finally, in the NBA, Carmelo Anthony won the scoring title this year averaging 28.7 points per game, notching a .449 field goal percentage. The league leader in field goal percentage, center DeAndre Jordan, had a .643%.

Enough with the Moneyball stats, you say. What’s the point? The point is that in any given major tournament, if you shoot about 60% you’re not guaranteed to win, not even close to it. I’d say the top players average out closer to an 80%, give or take. That may be generous, but I think we can all agree that maybe beer pong has become a little too easy at its current state.

So what’s the answer? Elbow rule? Longer tables? No bring-backs? No rebuttals? Or are things fine the way they are? Every major sport has gone through numerous rule changes to balance things out.

How about beer pong?

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Let’s Bounce?

We’ve all been there. It’s the World Series of Beer Pong and months of practice and preparation have culminated into a chance to play for the $50,000 grand prize. You know you’re likely to get every team’s best shot (no pun intended) and you will need to bring your “A” game. You shake hands with the opposition and start your game. And then it happens.

The other team bounces a ball into your cup. Then, they bounce two more. You think to yourself, “Are you shitting me?”

I mean, it’s not illegal to bounce. According to the Item 3 in the “Grabbing” section of the official WSOBP rules, “Bounce Shots: Players ARE allowed to let their shots bounce off of the table before making it to the cup. In accordance with B(2) above, bounce-shots may not be interfered with until they have made contact with a cup. It should be noted that bounce-shots do NOT count for two cups.”

I just don’t understand why people bounce. Back in my house party days, bouncing was a great way to catch the opposing team while they were napping and knock off two cups at once. But when the shot only counts for one cup, why would you want to do it? I can understand the argument that bouncing into a 10-rack is a high-percentage shot, but at the same time, if you can’t make a 10-rack shooting the traditional way, why are you playing in the World Series of Beer Pong?

I’ll admit, sometimes when I am trying to be a dick I will repeatedly bounce my shots. Sometimes, I’ll only bounce at last cup. But while I consider myself a decent bouncer, I also believe that someone has much more control over their shot by shooting in the traditional way rather than bouncing. As tournaments progress, there are a variety of factors that can affect one’s bounce shot. Do you really want to bounce a ball onto a wet table when one game can separate you from making Day 3? I know I wouldn’t.

In BPONG’s storied history, I can’t remember a team that made a deep run by bounce shooting. What do you guys think about bouncing? Is it time to retire the bounce shot?






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Is Beer Pong a Dirty Sport?

This just in: According to a recent article by the Associated Press, dirty beer pong balls may transfer harmful bacteria.

Duh. In other news, the sky is blue and water is wet.

The article is based on a study by a group of ClemsonUniversity students, majoring in Pointless Studies, who found bacteria such as salmonella, listeria, e. Coli and staph on balls being used in beer pong games around campus. According to the report, the students found more than 3 million tiny bacteria on balls being used outdoors, compared to 200 indoors. Unbelievably, when these balls were transferred to the cups of beers, the bacteria was transmitted as well.

You don’t say.

Obviously, ClemsonUniversity students need to do a better job of washing their hands. And really, folks, that goes for everyone reading this. When did washing our hands become such a task? You go to the bathroom, you do your business, and you wash your hands. It takes 10 seconds. I can’t even count how many times people go to the bathroom during the World Series of Beer Pong and don’t wash their hands, and then go right out and play a game. Do you want someone’s pissy hands in the precious few cups of beer you get to drink each game? I don’t. Occasionally, you may see someone do a “guilt rinse” under the sink, just because he sees you standing there, but those times are few and far between.

The Pong Flu is not a myth, guys. It is a cruel, incurable disease which afflicts hundreds of us each January. We must do more to protect ourselves, and that includes washing our hands.

Excluding the World Series of Beer Pong, though, I can’t remember the last time I regularly played with beer in my cups. Taking that into consideration, this study doesn’t really mean anything to me.

Even our own Billy Gaines, the Godfather of Beer Pong himself, was quoted in the article.

“‘Maybe there is something there [regarding the Pong Flu],’ Gains [sic] said. ‘But I think it is nothing to do with being sick. I think they are partying all night and get worn down.’”

Amen, brother. But at the same time, everyone should do each other a solid and wash their hands.

If washing your hands is too much to ask, you can always just head over to the BPONG store and buy some new balls.

If you want to check out the original article, click here: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/beer-pong-games-carry-risk-salmonella-e-coli-germs-article-1.1317048#ixzz2QjBRe1Ku






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Beer Pong Hits the Arcade

When I was a kid, my arcade days were spent playing Street Fighter II, NBA Jam and Cruis’n USA. I was also pretty good at Hoop Shot, despite my non-existent basketball skills. I grew up playing old school and Super Nintendo. By the time Nintendo 64 came out, I was pretty much past the video game stage of my life.

My old roommate had a Nintendo Wii, so when “Game Party” came out a few years ago, I had to buy it. Why would I buy a video game for a system I didn’t even own? Beer pong, of course. There was a part of this game that allowed you to play a version of video game beer pong. It was terribly done and not very fun at all, much to my disappointment.

Despite this, I could barely contain my excitement the other day when I learned about a new beer pong video game, “Beer Pong Master,” maybe one of the most revolutionary games ever created.

The game seems to work like any standard arcade game. You insert your money and try to get the highest score. Games feature 1-4 players, and you’ve got 60 seconds to hit all 10 cups. Cups on the screen will dim as they are hit, and with no re-racks, it will take some skill to hit all 10 in under a minute. There also appears to be some kind of tape line. Obviously, there isn’t any beer in the cups, but it still sounds pretty awesome.

A few of these have been spotted in Las Vegas already. Have you seen any in your area? Is this something you’d like to play?

Check out the full article here:

http://foodbeast.com/content/2013/03/27/beer-pong-arcade-machine/






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BASEketball and the Lost Art of the Distraction

A lot has been written about beer pong distractions and trash talk. Trash talk is as big a part of beer pong as the cups and balls we use. Watch any finals match of a major beer pong tournament and you’ll likely have to turn down the volume if you are watching at work.

But what about distractions?

If beer pong distractions were an animal, they’d be an endangered species. The distraction techniques used by most of today’s players are lame and stale. Sure, you’ll see guys playing with cups behind the tables or pouring water on themselves or jumping up and down, but that’s kid stuff, guys. Most of you are better than that and we should hold each other to a higher standard.

Have you ever seen the movie “BASEketball?” I was 16 when that came out in 1998 and never thought something like that movie could ever happen in real life. Who would pay money to see people do shit like that? A decade and a half later, I’m thinking we need more of the BASEketball-type antics on the beer pong table. There are so many parallels to that movie and organized beer pong, it’s crazy. We need more “psych-outs.”

Most of us started playing at house parties and we’d do anything we could to distract the opposition. If you were lucky enough and had a girl to play with the distractions certainly became a lot more interesting. Somewhere along the line, the art of the distraction was lost. There isn’t any creativity or originality anymore. We need to bring it back. Giving yourself a stupid haircut and jumping around the table like a goofball isn’t enough anymore. And guys, pulling your junk out during a game is not a distraction. Nobody wants to see that, trust me 😉

One ill-advised summer when I was younger, I was playing a game of beer pong and became extremely drunk. I wanted to do something crazy during the game but I couldn’t figure out what to do. I saw a pint glass on the table, threw it against the ground, picked it up and started chewing the broken glass up in my mouth. It was maybe the dumbest thing I’ve ever done in my life, but it was pretty funny to watch. I mean, don’t try stuff like that at home, but as a community, we can do better. We are creative and gross enough to really push the envelope on distracting people.

What are some of the craziest distractions you’ve done to win a game of beer pong?






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Starting From the Bottom

I love most people in the beer pong community. Pretty much everyone except Mike Jones, actually. We all have our good qualities and more than a few of us have our bad qualities as well. But we accept each other for who we are. The beer pong community is a family. A huge, giant, dysfunctional family, but a family nonetheless.

But there is one thing that has always irked me about the beer pong community, and it’s how judgmental and dismissive we can be about each other when it comes to skill level. Pong players are stubborn and judgmental, and while we hate listening to people like NFL experts for the same exact reason, everyone is apparently an expert at judging who is “good” at beer pong and who “sucks.” Just like we hate listening to dipshits like Skip Bayless tell us why our teams stink and don’t have a chance to win, we do the same thing to each other when it comes to beer pong.

First impressions can mean a lot in beer pong. We are often judged based on a single game we play against someone, or a terrible shot we happen to see a person take. Likewise, if we see a player shoot well the first time we watch, we likely will quickly determine if that player is good or not. While it isn’t totally fair, it’s understandable. We can only judge fairly by what we see, and if you see someone playing poorly or fantastic, it will go a long way to helping us form our opinion.

The problem with beer pong players, though, is that most of us never change our opinions. Once you’re good, you’re always good.  If you are a good player and play poorly, there’s a reason for it. “He’s rusty,” is one excuse. “They shot lights out,” is another excuse. But a guy like Kessler is always going to be considered a top player, even if he doesn’t play for a couple of years, when he comes back he will still have that respect.

Now, that’s great for the good players, but what about us “terrible” players? While the majority of us started from the bottom (and in my case, stayed at the bottom) there are a lot of players who have gotten quite good, but still don’t command any respect. Chances are if you are one of the other 95% of players, you probably fall under this category. You play with a huge chip on your shoulder, eager to prove to anyone why you should be considered one of the best. Pro sports teams use this kind of mentality all the time during championship runs, and pong players are no different.

That’s why all of these Top 25 rankings you see are bullshit. East Coast guys don’t know the underrated West Coast players, and vice versa. Shit, even people in the same states use rankings as more of a popularity contest than a true measure of someone’s ability.

For every “elite” player out there, there are 5 players that nobody will give the slightest bit of respect to that could give them a run for their money. Who are some of the best players you know that don’t get much respect nationally?






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The Biggest Fourth of July Party of All Time

There’s nothing quite like the Fourth of July. Sure, you Canadians may disagree, but in the United States, July 4th means warm sunshine, cold beer, cookouts, and all that other stuff you hear in country music songs. But why not celebrate our nation’s independence with our favorite pastime in America’s playground: Las Vegas.

In a little more than two months, hundreds of beer pong players will make the trek back out to Las Vegas for another beer pong tournament. Except this time, it’s not the World Series of Beer Pong. This time it won’t be January and cold. This time it’s the Masters of Beer Pong tournament for $100,000. In case your math isn’t the best, that’s twice what the winners of the last two World Series of Beer Pong champions received. And it may get even higher.

I have no idea what to expect this time around, except maybe the best Fourth of July party of all time. Strictly in terms of beer pong, none of us have ever entered a beer pong tournament for $100,000. The stakes are the highest they’ve ever been, and they could get even higher. I mean, have you seen the pictures of where we’ll be playing? This isn’t your typical ballroom. The pictures of the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino look insane. With the setup and lights, the room looks like it could double as a Kanye West and Jay-Z concert venue. I can’t fucking wait.

And besides the beer pong, how about the pool parties? Most of us are used to coming home from Vegas with the Pong Flu. This time, we’re coming back with tans. Not sure if I’ll be going to the pool party on the Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, or all five of them.

It’s not going to get any cheaper, so the sooner you sign up for the biggest beer pong event of all time the better. As of right now, $250 is all it takes for the biggest party you’ll attend this year.

We’ll see you there.






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Beer Pong Organizers: The Unsung Heroes

If you’ve hung out at this website enough, attended a World Series of Beer Pong or two, or spent any time in some of the more popular beer pong groups on Facebook, you probably have a pretty good idea who some of the better players are around the country. These are the guys winning multiple satellite tournaments, winning the weekly tournaments, and generally winning most of the cash. Some of the better players in the country can make a decent amount of money solely from beer pong, if they live near the right organizers.

Beer pong tournament organizers are the unsung heroes of our community. They are the ones who keep the movement moving. A great beer pong organizer can singlehandedly make a region thrive in national competition, and a poor organizer can just as easily make one fail.

Most of us take for granted what dedicated beer pong organizers do for us. They put in countless hours scouting and meeting with venues, ordering shirts, organizing leagues and tournaments, and working both outside and inside the community to put the best product on the table. We don’t always see the work being done because we only see tournaments as they happen, never the amount of work that goes into each one.

Beer pong players are mostly a selfish bunch. We complain there aren’t enough tournaments, that the prizes aren’t large enough, that the tournaments run too long, etc. But then we complain about the opposite. The majority of players take and take, complain and complain, but it’s the organizers who put up with everything and keep hosting events.

I’ve ran one beer pong tournament. While it pretty much ran smoothly, it’s not something I ever want to experience again. I can’t handle the constant complaining from players complaining about anything and everything, usually just to complain. I’m the kind of guy who likes to leave right when I am finished playing. We complain about getting home late after we play, but the organizers are the ones who have to stay to the very end. They have to put the tables away, maybe carry them out to their truck, and make sure we didn’t destroy the venue too much. They’re the ones who answer for the bent tables, the holes in the walls, and the urinals that were ripped off the wall.

I don’t mind when organizers take a cut of the profits for running tournaments. They put in all the work and deserve something for their time. But either an organizer doesn’t take enough and gets taken advantage of, or takes too much and gets accused of stealing from players. It’s a fine line and impossible to please everyone.

It’s a tough gig, being a tournament organizer. They probably contribute the most to the beer pong community and get the least in return.

Who are some of the best beer pong organizers in your area? Let’s recognize those guys who are putting in the work behind the scenes to grow our sport.

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Beer Pong Terminology

Most of us have played beer pong long enough that we take a lot of things about the game for granted. We speak a different language to each other. We can debate and come to an agreement on a rules discussion in only a few short moments without explaining a whole lot. We have our own little names and expressions for things.

In beer pong, there are different names for the same things, depending on which region you come from. Just like people who refer to soda as “pop,” players from different areas may refer to things differently. But there are also some standard beer pong terms that almost everyone understands.

Here’s a quick “cheat sheet” for some of the most commonly used beer pong terms:

beer, cups, balls
Durrrrrrrrr

40mm
The size of a regulation World Series of Beer Pong ball

World Series rules
Playing a game while adhering to the World Series of Beer Pong official rules

roll-back/bring-back
After you make two shots in WSOBP play, you get one ball back to shoot

troll
A player who doesn’t make a single cup in a game of beer pong and has to sit under the table

hundo
A player who shoots a perfect game

“Reap” hundo
When a player boasts of shooting a hundo but actually misses up to 3 shots. Made popular by Thomas Reap

honeycomb
Hitting all corner cups and the middle cup in succession. Considered one of the more disrespectful things to do to someone on the beer pong table, the cups remaining form a “honeycomb” shape

satty/satellite
A tournament offering free entry/hotel into a major tournament as a prize for the winners instead of cash

diamond formation
Four cups remaining in a diamond shape

power i/stoplight
Three cups in a straight line

triangle
Three cups in a triangle shape

stud
An elite beer pong player

cash games
Beer pong games played with cash on the line

nasty/lights out/sick/dirty
Someone who is describing superior play of someone else or falsely describing himself

rebuttal
Shots taken after the final cup is hit in hopes of sending to overtime

Those are some of the more common beer pong terms you will find in competitive play. What are some of the beer pong terms used in your area?

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Beer Pong Superstitions

Did you know Michael Jordan wore his blue University of North Carolina shorts underneath his Chicago Bulls uniform for good luck? Tiger Woods always wears red on Sundays. Almost every athlete in every sport and level of competition has some kind of superstition. Beer pong players are no different.

If anything, beer pong players are more superstitious than average athletes. There are very few moving parts in a game of beer pong: Two players, ten cups and two balls to a side. There is little margin for error, so beer pong players are always looking for something to give them a leg up in competition.

Some players are superstitious as to what side of the beer pong table they shoot from. If they are used to standing on the right side of the table and you make them stand on the left, don’t expect a great game from them.

Some players have lucky shirts, shorts, shoes or hats (or whatever accessory you can think of). Sometimes, when you look at pictures of the same people from different beer pong tournaments, it’s hard to tell the difference because they are wearing the exact same thing. Of course, there are some of us who wear the same stuff because we don’t wash our clothes, but that’s a different story.

Some players need to bounce the ball a certain number of times before they shoot. Maybe they need to dip it in the water cup and shake it a few times before getting ready to shoot. Not to mention, there’s also those annoying players that need to take a few practice shooting motions before throwing the ball, like they’re lining up a tournament-winning birdie putt on the 18th green at the U.S. Open.

Some players have racks they always shoot at and ones they just can’t hit. They may be able to hit the 10 and 6 racks without hesitation, but give them an “ugly” rack with cups hit all over the place, and they may not want to shoot.

Some players need to have the hit cups placed on a certain side of the table before they shoot. Even if they are completely out of the way, they just can’t shoot with them being on the “wrong” side.

Some of us are superstitious about what we drink the day of a major beer pong tournament. Whether it’s a 40 oz. bottle of King Cobra Malt Liquor or an entire bottle of Jack Daniels, we can’t function without it.

What are some of your beer pong superstitions?






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Beer Pong Strategery

You wouldn’t guess there would be much strategy involved in a game of beer pong. It’s just the first team to hit ten cups first, right? How much strategy could you possibly need except to hit more cups?

To answer the question: There is a lot of strategy that goes on into a typical game of beer pong. And there are some big decisions to make even before the first ball is thrown.

When we arrive at a beer pong tournament, we usually find an empty table and start shooting around. Depending on how the venue is set up, you may develop a “comfort level” with a certain side of the table. Maybe there is more space to move around, maybe it’s less congested and there is less of a chance of being bumped into while you shoot, but some sides of the table offer a distinct advantage to a team. A lot of teams will get so used to playing on one side of the table, that when they are put into the position of playing on the other side, it throws them off a bit.

Usually, we use rock, paper, scissors or a coin flip to determine who shoots one ball first or two balls second. A forgotten option is to also choose sides instead of choosing shots. It’s kind of like deferring a kickoff in the NFL. I will almost always choose balls if I win, sometimes when I lose I will ask the team if they want balls or sides. A team that you know doesn’t want to switch sides will sometimes give you the balls and keep the side they are on, which allows you to have balls first even though you lost the toss. Sometimes, getting to the table first and taking the preferred side will help increase your chances of earning balls first.

Another element of strategy is choosing one ball first or two balls second. To me, it’s a no brainer to choose two balls second. You can start the game off 3-1 and can immediately back your opponent into a corner. But especially this past year at the World Series of Beer Pong, I noticed more and more teams choosing the one ball first. I don’t know why someone would choose this except if they know they will be shooting 100% and ending the game first, but to each their own. For those of you who choose to shoot one ball first, why do you prefer that?

Another big decision to think about is who shoots third shots? Some teams like to give these shots to the “hot” player or the one who just shot, but others like to play the percentages and give it to the better player. When I play with a player better than me (almost all the time since I’m terrible) I always let them take the third shot. Even if I am having a better game, the odds still favor him making the cup more than me.

Lastly, a decision needs to be made when shooting rebuttals. Do you organize rebuttals so a certain player will be shooting at final cup? Do you let a specific player shoot at a specific rack? There’s a lot to think about.

What are some of the strategic moves you make on the beer pong table?






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Can’t We All Just Get Along?

One of the best parts of playing beer pong is the trash talk. It’s something that draws us to the game time and time again, keeps it interesting and fun, and provides an extra element of intensity that most of us don’t experience in our daily lives.

When I first started playing, I loved talking trash to people. I think I enjoyed the trash talk more than the beer pong itself. I tried to be as funny and clever as I could, with my main goal trying to get the other team to miss. Sure, I got branded as an asshole by most people, but those who knew me off the table knew it was all in good fun and didn’t take it seriously.

Somewhere along the line, however, the line between acceptable trash talk and getting too personal became blurred. Now, it seems like there is nothing sacred on the beer pong table. You can talk about someone’s wife, child, girlfriend, etc. all in hopes of them getting to miss one shot in a game of beer pong.

I realize that, as a society, we have become desensitized to what is considered right and what is considered wrong. It’s easy to spew a bunch of foul shit off on Twitter and Facebook and act like a complete asshole and troll everyone because there are no repercussions. It’s the reason why horror movies have become more graphic, and movies like “The Hangover II” were terrible, because everyone is trying to “one up” everyone else. So your opponent didn’t miss his shot when you made fun of his haircut, so why not make fun of his girlfriend and see if you can get a reaction?

At what point do we say, “Enough is enough?” I mean, we are mostly all grown men and women. Most of us have careers, families, and lives outside of major beer pong tournaments to think about. Aren’t we all past the point where we have to prove our toughness to each other? I mean, people still do that? I’ve been punched, slapped and spit on, and I have just stood there and laughed because I am not going to jeopardize getting arrested or going to jail over a, in the long run, meaningless game of beer pong. Not to mention, I would probably get my ass kicked.

Someone made a Facebook post this weekend about how the crazy beer pong drama and trash talk doesn’t occur as much on the West Coast. I don’t know for certain, but it makes sense. You see those guys at the World Series of Beer Pong and it really looks like everyone is just having fun and getting along. Sure, there are always exceptions, but why is everyone else so damn mad?

I’ll be the first to admit that I am certainly being a hypocrite. I have crossed the line more times than I’d like to admit. I’ve said some things in the heat of competition I certainly regret and am embarrassed of to this day. I’m sure I’ve lost some friendships and people look at me differently as a result, and I understand those are the consequences of my actions.

At the end of the day, though, it’s just beer pong guys. One of the reasons we are all here is because we like competition, we like drinking, and we enjoy the community we’ve all helped build. Can’t we all just get along?






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Massachusetts State Rep. Daniel Winslow: Beer Pong Man of the Year?

(photo courtesy of the Medfield Press)

Vote Republican!

Before you get too defensive, hear me out. No, I’m not one of those idiot Facebook politicians who are bashing Obama, chiming in on gun reform or healthcare, or pushing some other stupid agenda. Yes, this goes for the Liberals too. But I came across an excellent story recently that makes me wish I lived in Massachusetts.

We always hear about how terrible beer pong is for today’s youth. It leads to binge drinking from underage college students, drunk driving, violence, gambling, etc. In fact, in most bars across the country laws regulate that cups be filled with water, not beer. Such a terrible game, that beer pong, right?

Wrong. Enter Massachusetts State Rep. Daniel Winslow. Not sure how this news escaped me, but less than two years ago Winslow held a beer pong(!!!!!!) political (!!!) networking (!!!!) fundraiser (!!!!!!)! Check out the link to the Facebook event here: http://www.facebook.com/events/159330014148290/

Daniel Winslow, not that any of you degenerates in Massachusetts are registered to vote, is one of three Republicans running in the 2013 Massachusetts special election for U.S. Senate. What does that mean? I’m not totally sure, but I mean, the guy did hold a beer pong fundraiser. I’m amazed. If you live in Massachusetts and don’t vote for the guy, you’re doing the beer pong community a great disservice.

No word as to who won the event, but check this article out for a brief recap: http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/02/dan-winslow-massachusetts-senate-beer-pong

The best thing about Daniel Winslow? He doesn’t give a shit about the elbow rule.

abepong






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The Future of Beer Pong

Technology has changed our way of life. We live our lives on the go with laptop computers, mobile phones and tablets. If you’re one of the 1% that doesn’t own such items, you probably aren’t reading this anyway. We can watch live sporting events on our phones, play video games that look realistic, make a cup of coffee in a few seconds, you name it. Pretty much everything from Back to the Future Part II (except the hoverboards) is now available with three years to spare before 2015.

We don’t think of it often, but technology has had a big impact on the sport of beer pong as well. The game has come a long way from playing on a ping pong table with red party cups and scribbling next games on the inside of an empty beer box. You don’t think so? Take it from an old timer like me.

1. Foldable Beer Pong Tables
It was once a rite of passage to go to Home Depot, buy a big piece of plywood and hide it behind a sofa or underneath a bed until it was time to play beer pong. They were awkward and heavy and difficult to transport, not to mention tough to sneak in to a dorm room or on-campus apartment. I was amazed the first time I saw something that resembled a metal suitcase unfold into a glorious, eight foot beer pong table. You guys don’t realize how lucky you are.

2. Beer Pong Racks
When BPONG first introduced the beer pong racks, I kind of rolled my eyes and didn’t appreciate them at first. Seemed like more of a hassle than it was worth. But now, playing with racks is like second nature. Remember how the table used to get wet after a few games, and that last cup just wouldn’t stay still and would keep sliding as you shot? Not anymore. Games run much more quickly and smoothly now. Plus all you leaning assholes don’t have to fix the rack after every shot.

3. Bracket Software
If you’re reading this, chances are you have attended a beer pong tournament where the host or organizer had an awesome bracket set up on a piece of poster board, only to ruin it by filling in the teams straight down. Why don’t you do this? Because you end up playing a team in the winner’s bracket finals that only played one game to get there. Now, with a click of a button organizers can fill out a bracket quickly and properly, with the more advanced organizers using spreadsheets to make tournaments even more efficient. When was the last time you saw a big tournament run without a laptop, and how badly did it suck?

4. Inflatable Beer Pong Tables
Summertime, bikinis, beer pong, and no need for a water cup. Do I need to spell this out?

Yes, beer pong has come a long way in the last decade or so. It’s crazy how such seemingly small changes can revolutionize the sport. Let’s face is, Billy is like the Willy Wonka of the beer pong world, and I personally can’t wait to see what he will come up with next…






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What 3 people would you play beer pong with, alive or dead?

At some point, I’m sure someone has asked you, “If you could have dinner with any three people, alive or dead, whom would you choose?”

I hate that question. Usually it elicits the same canned responses from people. Maybe you’d choose Jesus, Susan B. Anthony, or Martin Luther King Jr. It’s a slick way for people to find out more about the things you value without asking questions that would be illegal to ask in job interviews.

Well, I’ve got a better question. If you could play the upcoming Masters of Beer Pong with any three people, alive or dead, whom would you choose and why? With at least $100,000 on the line, it’s a tough choice. You may want someone that you can get along with for a couple of days, someone talented, and someone able to perform under pressure. Or, you may just want to choose someone down to party nonstop for a couple of days in Vegas. Decisions, decisions.

Here are my three choices:

1. Robert Horry
Robert Horry played 16 seasons in the NBA and stands 6 feet, 10 inches. At 6’10” and no elbow rule, dropping a ping pong ball into a cup 8 feet away is hardly a difficult task. But why him? There are countless NBA players taller than him and more talented than him. I could have picked Michael Jordan or Lebron James or someone like that, but Robert Horry has something they don’t: Seven NBA rings, the most of any player in modern time. I admittedly don’t watch a lot of professional basketball, I root for Lebron and troll for him on Facebook, but that’s about it. But it seems like anytime I’ve watched the NBA finals, there was “Big Shot Rob” hitting a big shot when it mattered most. I can’t think of anyone else I’d want shooting a rebuttal shot in the finals.

2. Ray Lewis
My personal love of Baltimore sports aside, would there be anyone more intimidating to play against than Ray Lewis? He would make Ron Hamilton look like Ron Paul. He scared the shit out of NFL players for the better part of two decades so I’m confident he could get in the heads of some punk college kid beer pong players. I also couldn’t imagine a more supportive teammate. My play would be described by most as “inconsistent” so I’m confident RayRay would be able to pull me aside, whisper a prayer into my ear, do the squirrel dance and get me fired up. I mean, he won a Super Bowl with Trent Dilfer at quarterback. Oh yeah, he may have also killed a guy(s) once, so I may escape Vegas without getting slapped or spit on for once.

3. Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods is one of my favorite athletes of all time. I absolutely hate how the media built him up, only to tear him down, only to build him up again. He’s a tremendous competitor in every way imaginable. If the guy can sink 40 foot birdie putts with millions of dollars on the line, I’m certain he can shoot a ball from 8 feet away. But it’s not even about that, I just want to party with him in Vegas. Can you imagine a couple of days at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas? From that Swedish supermodel to the lovely Lindsey Vonn, Tiger Woods has the sexy blonde thing down pat. And he’s got about a billion dollars or so, so chances are good he’d buy a round or two.

So, if you could play the upcoming Masters of Beer Pong with any three people, alive or dead, whom would you choose and why?






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Never too old to pong

We’ve all been there before. You’re at someone’s family party, barbecue, wedding, etc. and the beer pong table is out. The younger people are playing beer pong or flip cup on the tables and the older partygoers are sitting in lawn chairs just hanging out watching you play. Maybe there is an inflatable table floating around in the pool. Everyone is having a great time.

And then it happens. One or two of them walk over and start asking about the rules. You can tell by that twinkle in their eye that they really want to play, but feel weird asking. After a little prodding you convince them to take a shot or two. Next thing you know, they are calling next game and the older folks are leaving their lawn chairs to come over and play. You’ve lost the table for the rest of the party.

It’s always hilarious when older people play beer pong. I don’t know exactly why, but it is. Most of them seem to shoot a little goofy, and they can’t seem to remember the rules no matter how many times you explain them. The mothers and grandmothers look truly embarrassed to be playing, like their parents just walked in on them making out as teenagers.

Most of us have different personas on the beer pong table. The way we speak and yell in the heat of competition are completely opposite from the way we act around our parents, coworkers, and non-ponging friends. It’s funny; when an older person gets on the table it’s almost as if we have an inner conflict… We don’t want to yell and cuss or talk too much trash, but we also want to tease them a little and have some fun. It’s a fine line to walk between just having fun and making sure not to make ourselves look like complete assholes. No matter how much older we get, most of us still feel like we’re going to get in trouble when we pong around older people.

It’s great when the older players start dishing out the trash talk and hitting cups. You never expect to lose a game of beer pong to someone who doesn’t play competitively, but every once in a while you will play a newbie and find yourself on the ropes. Suddenly everyone is cheering against you and hoping the old guys pull out the win.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s awesome to play in big tournaments like the Masters of Beer Pong with a minimum of $100,000 on the line. I can’t even imagine what it would feel like to win that amount of money in a game of beer pong. But sometimes it’s great to see someone new and completely unexpected experience the fun of playing beer pong for the first time. It’s good to think back every once in a while and remembered why we started playing the game: We wanted to have fun.






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Getting Better at Beer Pong

Once upon a time in the competitive beer pong community, you could count the elite players in the country on two hands. Whether you’re located on the West Coast or the East Coast, the same names would come up in every conversation. As the community grew and more and more players were exposed to the competitive levels of the game, something happened: Everyone got good.

The first World Series of Beer Pong I played in was WSOBP III. My partner at the time had made his debut the year prior and he told me we would be a cinch to make Day Three. He told me that players in our region played the best competition throughout the year and we would be so much better than everyone else. Our first opponent on the first day was a guy he had won a lot of money from off of cash games the year before. Those guys that apparently “sucked” beat us by 4 or 5 cups. It was more of the same for the rest of the tournament and we ended up NOT making Day Three, the first and last time I would miss Day Three.

It used to be that you could look at your preliminary schedule and figure out who the “easy wins” would be and what the “touch matchups” would be. You’d ask your friends if they knew any of the teams or players. Not anymore. You can’t underestimate anyone these days. Just because a player isn’t well-known or just because they don’t make a million posts a day in the National Beer Pong Facebook group doesn’t mean anything. Almost everyone who is signing up to play competitively at the WSOBP or Masters of Beer Pong can play and hang with the best.

So how do players become great players? I think there are three ways:

1. Natural Ability

As shitty as it is for the rest of us, some guys are just naturally good. The first organized tournament I ever played in also happened to be the first organized tournament that Sean Foster played in. My friend and I looked at the team Sean ^2 and, given our background in partying, figured it to be an easy win. Well, they smoked us. They finished 2-2 but went on to take second place in their very next tournament a couple of weeks later. Granted, Foster has become a much better player since then, but even from the beginning he was hanging with the best.

2. Practice

Practice anything and you’ll get better at it, right? In the case of Sean Foster, he took beer pong practice to the next level. He invented the “Pong Shot” ball return device. Basically, he’d shoot a ball at cups and it would roll back to him. Rumor has it he would take hundreds of shots a night. We know this because his ex-girlfriend would tell everyone how much he would play with his Pong Shot. While not everyone has a pong shot, we’ve all shot cups by ourselves from one side of the table, retrieve the balls, and shoot from the other side. Some practice with their partners, etc. While practice can’t replace real game experience, it can certainly take a player to the next level.

3. Experience

Neither the highest amounts of natural ability or practice can substitute for true game experience. There’s no preparation for how you’ll feel the first time you make the finals of a tournament. Almost all of us go through the “happy to be here” phase of a beer pong career. You’re in the finals, you’re guaranteed a prize of some kind, and you are just happy to be there. Once you get a taste of victory or defeat you’re left wanting more, but those first couple of times, it’s all good win or lose. But for most of us, it takes a while to get rid of the nerves you’ll experience shooting a big rebuttal shot, or coming back from a deficit with our backs against the wall. It takes a while to learn how to deal with distractions, and on the opposite end, how to get in your opponent’s head as well. In the end, you need to learn from experience how to get better.

There are no easy wins in competitive beer pong anymore. One day soon, if not already, a miss or two will cost you the win. Everyone will keep getting better.

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Dear Beer Pong Girlfriends

You are appreciated.

No, I’m not reciting the lyrics to 2Pac’s “Dear Mama.” But I wanted to give a shoutout to all the beer pong girlfriends out there. We appreciate you.

Let’s face it: Most of the time, the payoff for winning a beer pong tournament isn’t much. Maybe we’ll get a trophy, maybe we’ll get some cash, maybe we’ll get a bartab. Chances are, the entry fee and time we spend trying to win come close to balancing out our investment. We may barely break even. Still, we play. And you support us.

Beer pong tends to bring out the worst in a lot of us. We drink too much. We say things in the heat of the competition we would have never guessed we’d say around you when we first met. We act like babies when we lose a tough game. We blame everyone and everything except our own play when we come up short. We lie to you when we tell you it’s our last tournament, that this is it, we’re retiring. Still, we play. And you support us.

When we first started dating, we loved that you came out to almost every tournament. You even DD’ed for us a few times. We appreciated it. We knew there weren’t many girls there, and that you had no interest in making friends with the ones who were there. But still, you came out to watch. Beer pong isn’t the most exciting spectator sport, but you stuck around until the finals. You even sat around when we stayed a little bit longer to play some cash games. It meant a lot to us when you tried to join in on the fun. You called your girlfriend up and you guys entered a tournament. You went 0-2, but you seemed to have fun or at least acted like you did. You haven’t played since. Still, we play. And you support us.

Remember that time we told you we couldn’t take off work to go on that vacation or do that thing with you? You understood and didn’t make a big deal of it. And then January 1st came around, and by some miracle we were able to get off work and fly to Vegas. You understood and didn’t hold a grudge. You may have even fell for it when we convinced you we were going to come home $50,000 richer. You believed us when we told you we had a real chance of winning. When we came home sick with empty pockets and pong flu, you said nothing. Still, we play. And you support us.

Remember that scene in ” The Shawshank Redemption” when Andy Dufresne first comes to prison? The inmates all tease him, call him a “fresh fish” and other names. They express sexual desires to him. Well, this is how most of the guys at the beer pong tournament look at you. You are like a piece of red meat thrown off the boat while the sharks circle. You’re a trooper though. We know it’s going to happen, but we still get mad when those guys mess with you. We end up getting in an argument over you. You break it up and get mad at us for causing a scene. Still, we play. And you support us.

It’s not easy dating a beer pong player, but thank you. You are appreciated.









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What’s on your beer pong playlist?

It’s Day Three of the World Series of Beer Pong. The field is narrowing down, every shot is becoming more and more important. The DJ is spinning onstage and the music is shaking the entire ballroom. You’re watching the teams left in it play under the lights in the center of the room. Some of the guys are feeding off the energy, talking shit to the crowd and the other team. But there’s always that one guy, seemingly as calm as can be, standing at the table with his ear buds in.

I still don’t understand it, to be honest. For me, the greatest part about making Day 3 is feeding off the energy of the players or crowd as the field dwindles. Trash talk doesn’t really affect me, so it’s not like I need something to tune it out. I tend to like the music being played, and even if I don’t, anything sounds great with the alcohol in my system and the adrenaline flowing. I’ve never even tried to shoot with headphones on. I would guess that the wires would bother me too much.

So for the guys who are listening to the ear buds, I’m just curious why? Does it help your focus? Does it drown out the trash talk from your opponent or crowd? Is the music calming your nerves or getting you more amped up? Do you feel like you’re missing out on anything?

I’ve always wondered what you guys are listening to. Hip-hop? Rock? Country? At a World Series of Beer Pong a few years ago, I was curious what someone was listening to so I grabbed his iPod. I looked at the screen and Tool’s “Hooker With A Penis” was playing. Yes, apparently that is a real song and apparently that is what this particular player was listening to. This player may have also dressed up for the WSOBP as a female on several occasions. Not naming names. I’m sure there’s a joke in there somewhere.

So what makes a great beer pong playlist? At most of our major events, hip-hop tends to be the music of choice. Every now and again something like Carly Rae Jebsen’s undeniable “Call Me Maybe” will sweep in and captivate the beer pong community. For me, whenever Bubba Sparxx’s “Deliverance” comes on, I feel like I can’t miss. I’ve thought of playing with an iPod just so I can listen to that song on repeat all day.

What are some of your favorite songs to shoot to? Let’s build the greatest beer pong playlist ever.






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Who are the best players in your region?

The first day of spring is only days away. Soon enough, birds will be chirping, the sun will come out, the flowers will bloom, but most importantly, beer pong season will go into full swing. With the year-long wait to the World Series of Beer Pong cut in half by this year’s $100,000 Masters of Beer Pong tournament, things are kicking into high gear even sooner this year.

Springtime beer pong wouldn’t be complete without the annual dramafest on the East Coast, otherwise known as the Beast of the East tournament. Nothing will change your opinion of a beer pong player quicker than seeing how petty, childish, ridiculous and egotistical some of us can be during the Beast of the East team selection process.

For those of you who don’t know, the Beast of the East was the first of the “Best of” tournaments, pitting the best players from each state or region against one another in the battle of world supremacy. While other parts of the United   States have adopted the format, the Beast of the East is the granddaddy of them all.

In a perfect world, each region picks its 10 best players and thus forms its “A” squad. A deep state or region likely has enough players for multiple teams, in a perfect world forming “B,” “C,” and “D” teams, etc. But in the simple game of beer pong, nothing is that easy.

So what’s the problem? I think, in a nutshell, everyone has gotten too good. In most places, there are probably a clear five or six guys that are head and shoulders above everyone else. Take my state, Maryland, for example. Austin, Jordan, Foster, Deryck, Moose and Mantis are, in my opinion, the top six players if we are referring to shooting ability and nothing else. The five or ten guys behind them are close, but not quite on their level. But on any given day, they can beat one of those top players.

So when the “selection committee” convenes and chooses the ten best players, what criteria do they use? Do they base their decision purely on 1-on-1 skill? Do they take into account performances in major tournaments and the final days of those tournaments? Do they base their decisions on who has the hot hand at the time of the tournament? There’s a lot to consider when choosing the 10 best players from a region and I’m not sure what the correct way is, if there is one.

The common sense thing to do would be for all players to “play in” to their respective teams. The problem with that, though, is if one of the “elite” players from your region has a rare off day and a Cinderella story knocks him out. Who do you want shooting the rebuttal shot of the big tournament? The guy who pulled the upset, or the guy who has made that big shot hundreds of times?

Not to mention, several of the “elite” players from around the country have yet to win a major, even when teaming up and forming “dream” teams.

Outside the sport of beer pong, the New York Yankees have only won one World Series since 2000. The Boston Red Sox haven’t won a World Series since 2007. In the NFL, between the two perennial offseason champion Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins, there have been zero Super Bowl titles since 1995. There are exceptions, but in most cases, the sports teams with the best players usually don’t win championships.

The most decorated beer pong of all team, Smashing Time, has two World Series of Beer Pong titles and the final table of another. Right or wrong, most players consider Michael “Pop” Popielarski the “better” player of the two, yet his teammate, Ron Hamilton, has more final table appearances than Pop, while arguably playing with “lesser” players. This doesn’t make any sense.

Does your head hurt yet? Mine does. Clearly, no one is discounting the fact that Ron can make shots. For the sake of argument, let’s say Pop is the better 1-on-1 player. But Ron is clearly bringing something else to the table in those tournaments, making him more successful. So who is the better player, the guy who everyone thinks is better or the guy who has the better resume?

So in picking 10 players, do you want to pick the 10 guys who will form the best teams, or strictly the 10 best players? And what do you use for your criteria as best?

How would you select a “10 best” from your region, or if you already have, how did you do it?






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Who’s on your “Kill Bill” list?

Most serious beer pong players have, or have had, a “Kill Bill” list.

In the beginning of the “Kill Bill” movie trilogy, the lead character (played by Uma Thurman, so hot) wakes up from a coma to find the baby she was carrying gone. She creates a “death list” and crosses off each name as she gets revenge on those who betrayed here.

In beer pong, we have our own “Kill Bill” lists. There are always those players or teams you just can’t seem to beat. If you’re an emerging player and you have started to play your way deep into tournaments on a consistent basis, you’re likely to run into those guys you just can’t seem to beat. Maybe they are just very talented players, maybe they know how to get inside your head, or maybe they are already in your head. Maybe you just can’t stand that person so much that you psyche yourself out and prevent yourself from playing well. We’ve all been there.

I believe that confidence plays a huge role in the success of a beer pong player. But a lack of confidence can play an equal role in the failure of a player, too. It’s all part in paying your dues as a player. Most of us don’t have the natural ability to become elite players right off the bat. For most of us, it’s a lot of practice, a lot of tournament entries, and a lot of beer before we can compete with the big boys.

It’s frustrating to keep advancing deep into tournaments only to have the same old teams shoot you right back into the loser’s bracket. It’s deflating to lose to the same people time and time again. It’s the reason why a lot of people stop playing seriously after a few tournaments and, at the same time, the reason why a lot of people get so hooked on the game because they love the competition of it. When you face off against a team you don’t think you can beat, the other team knows they already won.

And when the day finally comes that you manage to cross that team off of your list, everything changes. You have the confidence that you can beat that opponent. The opponent, so used to normally beating you, will usually take you too lightly or have that element of doubt in their heads that wasn’t there before. After that, it’s on to the next one.

So who are some of the players or teams you just can’t seem to beat? Who would be on your list?






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What’s in a beer pong team name?

“Hey, do you have a partner for the tournament on the 16th?”

“Not yet.”

“Wanna play?”

“Sure.”

“What should our team name be?”

We’ve all been a part of that conversation. One of the most fun things about beer pong doesn’t involve playing beer pong at all. It’s figuring out a team name. I’m not sure why it’s so important to us, but we all love coming up with team names for beer pong.

There’s an evolutionary period for beer pong players and team names. When we start playing, we think we are being so creative. We give ourselves names like “Wet Balls,” “Getting Our Balls Wet,” “We Sink U Drink,” “Two Balls One Cup,” “Nice Rack,” “Balls Deep,” etc. Or, we try and capitalize on whatever movie quote or pop culture meme is popular at the time. Then we show up to the tournament and find there are four teams with the same name as ours, and we find out we need to get more creative. Some players don’t put any emphasis on team names at all. There’s no worse feeling than losing to “Jesse + Bill” in a tournament.

There are several avenues to pursue when deciding on a team name. Sexual team names are always fun, but you need to be really creative to come up with something that hasn’t been done already.

Inside jokes always make for great team names. The only drawback, though, is that while you may think it’s the most hilarious thing ever, that puzzled reaction you receive when you tell someone you team name might make you reconsider.

If your partner has an interesting name or nickname, team names that play off that work as well. But some people don’t like letting the partner have all the credit in a team name. Then it’s back to the drawing board.

If all else fails, you can be one of those assholes that name their teams things like, “Table Four.” So when they call “Wet Balls vs. Table Four at Table Eight” you can confuse everyone. Dicks.

The best part of any beer pong tournament (besides winning, of course) is that first time your table is called and everyone hears your team name and laughs. At that point, you know all the hard work and brainstorming has paid off.

Of course, we all know that player who takes the team name a little too seriously. You may not care about the team name at all, but he or she keeps pestering you about it. Every day, it’s “We need to come up with a team name,” or “What should our team name be?” It’s almost like they care more about the team name than actually playing in the tournament. And when they come up with some awkward, terrible team name that you hate, you have to start brainstorming because you know that idiot can’t come up with anything.

So what makes a great team name? What are some of the best team names you’ve heard? And why do we care so much?

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North Korea threatens nuclear attack over the elbow rule

Tensions between North Korea and the United States reached an all-time high last week, with reports that North Korea had threatened the United States with a nuclear attack on U.S. soil.

“Intercontinental ballistic missiles and various other missiles, which have already set their striking targets, are now armed with lighter, smaller and diversified nuclear warheads and are placed on a standby status,” said North Korean Army General Kang Pyo Yong at a rally in Pyongyang. “When we shell Washington, which is the stronghold of evils, they will be engulfed in a sea of fire.”

Although White House Spokesman Jay Carney dismissed the credibility of the threat, sources in the White House indicate that the Obama administration is well aware of the reasoning behind the threat: President Obama’s reported efforts to create a worldwide treaty barring the elbow rule in all levels of beer pong competition.

As one source close to the President, a self-proclaimed professional beer pong player, explained, “How can North Korea enforce an elbow rule, when they can’t even provide their citizens with electricity or running water? There’s no merit to this threat.”

The threat of nuclear holocaust comes on the heels of former NBA great and admitted cross-dresser Dennis Rodman’s recent trip to North Korea.

“Kim Jong Un is my boy, no doubt,” Rodman said. “I know he wants to work something out with Barack, but that fool is tripping if he thinks Barack gonna back off the elbow rule.”

President Barack Obama, who during his 2008 presidential campaign was very adamant against the establishment of a national elbow rule in the United States, was attending a jobs rally in Boulder, Colorado and could not be reached for comment. He did, however, release the following statement through his press secretary:

“As I stated in 2009, the elbow rule was, and still is, for pussies,” according to the written statement. “The only thing worse than being a communist is being a communist that plays with the elbow rule. Fuck all that.”

Even former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney came to the defense of President Obama and the worldwide abolishment of the elbow rule.

“Barack and I disagreed on a lot during our campaign, and he’s still a lying son of a bitch, but he’s right about the elbow rule,” Romney said. “What these people in North Korea need are basic human rights: Food, water, shelter, not a damn elbow rule.”

In a state-issued news release, Kim Jung Un said the following:

“우리가 북한의 팔꿈치 규칙을 폐지하기 전에 우리는 미국을 공격합니다. 맥주 테이블은 테이블을 가로 질러 기대하고 이것은 맥주 테이블이라는 인치 공을 떨어 포함되지 덩크 테이블을 닫은하지 않는 기술의 게임이다.”

Loosely translated from Korean, the statement reads, “We will attack the United States before we abolish the elbow rule in North Korea. Beer pong is a game of skill, which doesn’t involve leaning halfway across the table and dropping the ball in. Elbows, man!”

This story is still developing.

In the meantime, buy a beer pong table, and see how far you can lean to show North Korea what’s up.








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Winning with momentum

You just hit last cup and your opponent has four cups to rebuttal. You’re already thinking about how you’re going to spend that prize money. You and your partner are both relaxed. All smiles.

Your opponent makes the first rebuttal shot, leaving three on the table. You quickly re-rack and roll the ball back. No biggie, no way they hit three more, right?

They make the front cup on the three-rack and just like that, there’s two cups left. A feeling of uneasiness sets in, but you guys aren’t completely worried yet. The other team takes their time shooting at the two. Many players consider two side-by-side cups the hardest rack to hit in beer pong. Usually, it separates the pretenders from the contenders. You’ve been quiet for the last half of the game, but desperation is starting to sink in. You talk a little trash and maybe try a distraction to throw them off. No luck, they sink the left cup and there’s only one left.

The trash talking gets ramped up a little bit now. The crowd is into it, hoping they see overtime. If you’re one of those guys that like to throw cups and smash them and pour water over yourself, now’s the time to do it. All you need is one big miss. You take your time centering the cup and your opponent takes their time preparing to shoot. Everyone is yelling and you are a bit nervous. You thought this game was over a few minutes ago and now you’re helpless. They shoot.

Overtime.

A few moments later, your opponents are now spending that prize money you could have sworn was yours. You didn’t shoot terrible, but once they hit those four rebuttal shots, you didn’t stand a chance.

I don’t have any mathematical data to back up my theory, but in most cases, I believe the team that successfully sinks a series of rebuttal shots goes on to win the game. Momentum and confidence is everything in beer pong. Once you sink four, you know in the worst case, you can sink the three in overtime. Overtime becomes an exercise in jockeying for cup position. The team originally shooting the rebuttals becomes the aggressors, and once they sink the final cup first, it’s usually a losing proposition for the other team.

If you’ve been paying any attention to competitive beer pong, you’re most likely familiar with the finals of the World Series of Beer Pong III. Iron Wizard Coalition hit the final cup with four left for Chauffeuring the Fat Kid to rebuttal. The rest is history. Sorry Baker, I know you’re still haunted by this.

Obviously, there are exceptions to this, but I think in most cases the rebuttaling team uses that momentum to earn the victory. They put the other team back in the spot of making a big shot, and in many cases, once they sink the final cup and think victory is theirs, they lose that intensity needed to battle back in overtime. They get shook and it’s a helpless feeling when you see your opponent continually sink multiple rebuttal shots.

The same theory applies for the team that emerges from the loser’s bracket to earn a place in the finals. This team has already experienced adversity in the tournament. They’ve been playing more and are on a roll. The winner’s bracket finalist likely has been waiting a while to play, and if the loser’s bracket team can win the first game of the finals they normally go on to win the second.

Like in any sport, it’s the “hottest” team, not the “best” team, that usually takes home the trophy.






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What’s in your cup?

Beer pong players are resourceful. You wouldn’t think so by looking at a group of beer pong players at first glance, but when the idea of playing beer pong comes up, us degenerates turn into MacGyver. We can turn almost anything into a beer pong table. No cups or balls? No problem, we’ll figure something out.

But what about what we put into our cups? This is a trickier situation. I’ve never met a beer pong player who was extremely picky about what kind of beer they put in their cups. Obviously, light beer is preferred for most people. Coors Light, Bud Lite, Miller Lite, Natty Lite, Beast Lite, etc. For a lot of us, whichever is cheaper is the best beer to play with.

But playing with the wrong beer can sometimes become a disaster. Some beer is meant for drinking and enjoying, and some beer is made to be pounded in games of beer pong, flip cup, cards, or whatever crazy drinking game you’re playing.

I always think about playing beer pong with the wrong beer every year around St. Patrick’s Day.  A few years ago, I spent St. Patrick’s Day at a bar that had an awesome special: $20 all-you-can-drink Car Bombs and Guinness. That’s impossible to turn down, right? Maybe pre-gaming all morning wasn’t the best way to prepare for it.

As the day went on, someone had the amazing idea to fill the cups on the beer pong table at the bar with Car Bombs. Most of us kind of forget how we used to play “house party” beer pong, when you had to drink before you shoot and making or missing cups meant a lot more. Needless to say, I didn’t play that well and drank way too many Car Bombs. I went to Ireland later that summer and visited the Guinness factory, and the taste still kind of turned my stomach. Years later, I’m only now able to drink it again.

One summer, we ran out of beer and only had Yuengling in the fridge. For those of you on the West Coast, Yuengling is a little darker and heavier than your typical light beer. Before that night, Yuengling was my favorite beer. After a night playing beer pong with it, I could barely stand it.

One of my beer pong pet peeves is when people play with drinks other than beer in the cups. You’ve got girls pouring in Smirnoff, cranberry vodkas, etc. into the cups. Once those people leave the table and you get stuck drinking beer out of those cups, it’s disgusting.

What are some of the worst drinks you ever played “beer pong” with?






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True Life: “I Play Competitive Beer Pong”

Do you try and keep your “real life” separate from your “beer pong” life?

A lot of us try to separate our “beer pong lives” with our real lives. I’ve been asked by people not to use their real names in blogs and articles, because they didn’t want their employers or clients to Google their names and find some less than desirable videos or things written about them. I totally understand that. Some of the things done or said in the heat of the moment on the beer pong table are best not publicized.

For the most part, I’ve always been pretty open about my beer pong hobby. I’m not ashamed of it. I think it’s funny and interesting. The first time I told co-workers years ago that I had won a beer pong tournament I thought they would laugh or judge me. Instead, they seemed fascinated and wanted to come out and watch or play in the next one.

Or, if they kind of laughed at me, they saw the money I made in cash games the night before and suddenly my “hobby” became more credible. Back when I was a better player and played more, beer pong was more lucrative for me. Now, I settle for bar tabs for winning tournaments, but there are many of you that make a decent living solely off beer pong.

One of my favorite parts of being a part of the beer pong community is watching the expressions of casual spectators when they see it in person for the first time. When we’re in Las Vegas for the World Series of Beer Pong, people can spot us from a mile away. They assume we are just there to get drunk and rowdy. Have you ever been in the elevator on your way to the ballroom, and some old lady asks you about the beer pong tournament and the prize money? They kind of laugh at you until you tell them you’re playing for $50,000.

I love the reactions of people who walk into whichever bar or restaurant we’re holding our local tournaments at. At first, they wonder what the hell they got themselves into. But then they stick around after they eat or drink and seem genuinely captivated by what they are watching.

Once, during a league night, my partner and I were playing during a league night and saw a group of older women watching our game. We could tell they were interested, and after a few minutes they came up to us with a question about our game.

She asked us, “Do you have to eat the hard-boiled egg after you make it in the cup?”

This woman thought we were throwing hard-boiled eggs into cups of beer. I can’t make this stuff up.

Have you had any crazy reactions from people about your beer pong hobby?






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Tell Your Story to BPONG!

Are you tired of reading about the same old beer pong players all the time?

Would you like to be profiled on the BPONG.com website?

Are you a rookie training for the Masters of Beer Pong $100,000 Tournament or the World Series of Beer Pong that’s going to shock the world?

Do you have an amazing beer pong story you have to share?

Well, BPONG would love to tell your story!

If you’re interested, please comment below with your name and someone from BPONG will contact you shortly!

Happy Pongin’ this weekend!






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Since U Been Gone

Seeing your pong partner play with someone else is worse than your girlfriend cheating on you.

Isn’t it though?

On all levels of beer pong, it sucks when your partner leaves you for someone else. Sometimes, it’s a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. In other cases, you’re getting dropped for a better player.

Remember that time you were running the beer pong table at some house party, left the table to go to the bathroom, came back and found your partner playing with someone else? Couldn’t they have just waited a few minutes? You’ve got to go scrambling to find someone to call next with. Or there’s some girl or guy begging to get on the table and your partner just can’t resist. But at the end of the day, it’s just a house party so it’s not the biggest deal in the world.

Losing a partner in the competitive beer pong world stings a little worse. It’s easy to simplify the simple game of beer pong and completely dismiss the idea of a serious partner, but make no mistake, the best beer pong partnerships are true relationships. Chances are that you aren’t going to win the Masters of Beer Pong tournament with some guy you picked up off the street. Well, unless your name is Ross Hampton.

In the course of a full year, you are probably spending as much time with your pong partner than your significant other. That’s kind of a scary thought. And beer pong relationships are significantly different than intimate ones. When you are playing for high stakes, with alcohol involved, things will get heated. You’re going to get slapped, spit on, punched, or all three in the course of one tournament (thanks Mantis). It’s just the way it is. But when the coin gets flipped for the next round, it’s all love again and you start fresh.

Sometimes, the most dysfunctional partners make the best teams. Look at Michael “Pop” Popielarski and Ron Hamilton. Their team, “Smashing Time,” won back-to-back WSOBP titles, took a break, and came back to make the final table at World Series of Beer Pong VIII a few years later. Lock them in a room together they are likely to kill each other.

bpongpartner

Like a bad relationship, you complain about your beer pong partner all the time, but when they finally leave you, you want them back. You forget about that time you misrepresented your shooting percentage while throwing them under the bus, or the time you passed off that last rebuttal because everyone was watching and you didn’t want to be the one that missed. Like looking for a new job, you start putting out applications before you give your two-weeks notice. No one has dropped a solid beer pong partner without having a back-up plan.

Eventually, the time comes when a partnership has reached its end. Sometimes it’s mutual, but in a lot of cases it’s not. Then what?

I’m sure everyone is different, but for me personally, I want to bury my ex-partner. You want to measure your success against his (or hers). You want to advance further than them, shoot better than them, and appear that you are having more fun than them. Yeah, you may be “happy” for them if they win the $100,000 prize, but would you really be? Maybe you’re a better man than me, but I don’t know if I really would be.

I’m going to make a broad generalization here, but competitive beer pong is a “catty” sport. Let’s face it, most of us who play seriously are guys. Most of us weren’t involved in the day-to-day high school drama most girls went through growing up. But the way some of us talk about our beer pong partners, you’d think we were women in a salon.

And we hate seeing our exes with someone new.






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Become Beer Pong’s Joe Flacco

Chances are, if you are alive and breathing right now, you probably watched a few minutes of this year’s Super Bowl. In case you missed it, the Baltimore Ravens beat the San Francisco 49ers, 34-31.

The MVP of the Super Bowl was none other than the embattled Ravens Quarterback Joe Flacco, one of the most polarizing sports figures in Baltimore history. Flacco had a record-tying postseason, throwing 11 touchdowns to zero interceptions, tying the great Joe Montana. Flacco followed up that performance this week by signing a $120.6 contract extension, the richest in NFL history.

Most people will say he doesn’t deserve it. They will look at his regular season stats and fantasy projections and dismiss him as average or above-average. He’s got a unibrow and is awkward and goofy on camera. He is usually quiet and reserved.

All he does is win games.

I’m about to take the “is beer pong a sport” to a whole new level. But at the end of the day, being a great quarterback is a lot like being a great beer pong player.

Bring up the topic of rankings and you will get a vicious debate no matter what the subject. What’s the best album? What’s the best movie? What’s the best food? Who’s the best quarterback? And my favorite: Who’s the best beer pong player?

Let’s take a look at some of the things that make a beer pong player (and quarterback) great:

 

  1. Talent

A pong player has to have some kind of talent. Some people are naturals and need little to no practice at all. Some need to work harder at it, but with a certain amount of practice can shoot just as consistently as others. In comparison, a quarterback in the NFL needs to have the ability as well. Quickness, arm strength, quick decision making, etc.

 

  1. Stats

Too many players are judged solely on stats. Sure, stats are important, but they aren’t the most important. On Day 3 of the World Series of Beer Pong, your 12 satellite victories don’t matter. In the NFL, your regular season passing records don’t matter. The most important stat is wins, not your shooting percentage.

 

  1. Chemistry

On the football field, the quarterback needs to have chemistry with his offensive teammates. The offensive line needs to be in sync, the receivers need to be on the same page, and the running back needs to get involved. Knowing where and when to throw the ball is the same as knowing when to take the third shot and who takes the rebuttal. A great player speaks up for the shot when he’s feeling it, and knows when to pass it off when he’s not.

 

  1. Focus

A great beer pong player can silence his opponent by staying focused on his shot. Trash talk and distractions rarely affect top players. In the NFL, a great quarterback drowns out the 12th man.

 

  1. Character

Great beer pong players and great quarterback have all the intangibles. The great ones know how to step it up for big shots and in big tournaments, just like a great quarterback knows how to win the game with two minutes left and the length of the field to drive. Great players feed off the intensity of the crowd and the magnitude of the game. Great players don’t throw their partners under the bus after poor shooting, or place the blame on the wide receiver that dropped the big pass.

 

Is there a magic formula that makes a great beer pong player? No. For now, the big money in beer pong comes from playing with someone else. No one is writing checks for $50,000 or $100,000 for singles players. You need a teammate and you need to play like a team. The two most talented players don’t win every time. Teams with character win championships and go far into tournaments. Beer pong is more than how many hundos you shot.

Has Joe Flacco ever played beer pong? I’m not sure, but I bet he’d be pretty damn good.

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Nice Rack: Beer Pong’s Most Famous Boobs

Once upon a time, many years ago, a beautiful young woman decided to pursue a modeling career. After all, you can only post so many Facebook, Instagram, or MySpace photos if you want to be taken seriously. Every model needs a real portfolio.

So this beautiful young model responded to some kind of ad and landed her first photo shoot. She was excited. This would be her stepping stone to Hollywood. Before long, she would be starring in blockbuster movies and gracing the covers of Victoria’s Secret and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Or at least, so she thought.

Instead, this beautiful young model became an internet sensation. She may have singlehandedly fueled the beer pong sensation which has culminated in the upcoming $100,000 Masters of Beer Pong™ tournament. And sadly, no one knows who she is.

Today, I wanted to salute this woman with no face. I wanted to salute the woman who brought us two of the most cliché beer pong team names of all time: “Nice Rack” and “Get Your Balls Wet,” and countless variations of the two. In honor of her, I would like to review her growing online portfolio.

 

For starters, let’s see where it all began:

boobs1

I think we can all agree with the slogan on her shirt. The “Get Your Balls Wet” is a classy touch, and you have to be impressed with the hindsight of whoever designed this poster. Beer pong racks wouldn’t become popular until years later.

 

boobs2

Luby’s could have done a much better job with our model’s work. While at least they had the decency to include the complete original design, this is one of the more terrible beer pong fliers you’ll see. But who doesn’t want to win house cash?

 

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I’ve had some fun times at McFadden’s in Philadelphia, but they lose points here for a lack of creativity. Not only do they cut off the bottom, but they replace the logos on the ball with their own. At least it’s a “real-life tourney,” as opposed to a fictional tourney, like “King of the Cups.”

 

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The fine folks at CV Sports Bar know what they are doing. A simple grasp of basic Photoshop skills allow them to remove all traces of the original work. In addition to making the flier look more original, the removal of the logo across the chest highlights our model’s nipples. Well done.

 

boobs5

Glo Bar didn’t even try here. Two DJs on a Tuesday night, but a terrible beer pong flier.

 

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When you think of America, you think of beer pong, boobs and beer. These kinds of things are universal. Judging by the web address, people in Bulgaria have the same interests. I don’t speak Bulgarian, but I’m assuming this says “Get Your Balls Wet.”

 

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Oh my, our model now has a black top. This is a good look for her, I think. Free beer for tournament players and ladies running the bar? Good job, bar One.

 

boobs8

Sink it – Drink it. That’s catchy. Someone should use that in a team name or something. There are a few things going on here. Apparently, our model now has exposure in China. So congrats to her for that. According to the flier, every Wednesday night is Men’s Night, but why is it 80 yen for guys and 60 yen for girls? Something doesn’t quite add up.

 

boobs9

Our Bulgarian friends are back. There’s more stuff on here I can’t read, but I’m guessing it says “Get Your Balls Wet” and “We Don’t Pull Out But Our Couches Do” or something like that.

 

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Jillian’s requires you to be 21 to enter this tournament, however a high school education is not necessary. The winner “recieves” a cash prize, which is way worse than receiving one. “I” before “E” except after “C,” come on.

 

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Stripper Bar can’t be bothered to create a higher quality image, but even low-resolution photos can’t keep our model from shining. Stripper Bar sounds like a solid venue for a tournament, too.

 

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I wonder who won this trip to Lake Tahoe. I’d love to go sometime. Also, the answer to the future trivia question of “When was ‘THE FIRST EVER’ Beer Pong Tournament?” is November 15, 2007.

 

boobs13

Our model is back in China, celebrating Halloween. I didn’t know they celebrated Halloween in China. The Snake Pit changed the logos on the balls, but our model would have looked pretty good with the bat symbol across her chest.

 

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You have to love txbpong.com, which no longer appears to be in business. By offering the same $20 per team cash prize to 1st, 2nd and 3rd place, it’s no wonder they went out of business.

 

Sure, our model may have lost that “Nice Rack” by now. And sure, we may never know who she is or what she looked like. But her boobs are sure to live on and inspire a new generation of beer pong players.

The End.






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Beer pong, pool parties and $100,000? Yes please.

I’ve been to Las Vegas almost a dozen times now. More than half of those times I’ve made that trek it has been to attend the World Series of Beer Pong. Don’t get me wrong, it’s always a great time. As the December days pass and New Year’s Day approaches, I get more and more excited for five days of heartache and punishing my body.

Las Vegas is, at least to me, starting to lose a little bit of its luster. This may be more common for West Coast players or those in or near Vegas, but unheard of for most East Coast residents. I usually look at the WSOBP as a business trip. I know I will have fun, but I also know it’s going to be all about beer pong, all of the time. I still have that mindset even though I know I have only the slightest chances of winning. For the elite guys who are expecting to legitimately win, it’s probably even worse. I used to tell my fellow players considering trips out there not to bring their girlfriends. There just isn’t much time to be a “tourist” in Vegas. If you still have energy at the end of Day 1, you’re doing it wrong. Or you’re just a lot younger than I am.

I’ve never been to Las Vegas in the summertime. I’m almost always there in the winter, or early in the spring. If I do manage to leave the casino and walk the strip, it’s usually cold as shit outside. I see the pictures of Las Vegas online with the pool bars and girls in bikinis, and I think to myself, why can’t they have the World Series of Beer Pong in July? Flights are cheaper, the weather is nicer, and a lot of us have vacation time to spare.

Well, BPONG did us one better with the first ever Masters of Beer Pong™ tournament. You can’t even be disappointed that they are not offering the same prize pool as the World Series of Beer Pong since they just went ahead and bumped it up to a cool $100,000. Not to mention, the whole thing is taking place at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. Not a bad way to spend the Fourth of July, huh?

Years back, there was a Summer Beer Pong Cup that was held in Negril, Jamaica for two glorious years. Due to a variety of reasons that I am not at liberty to discuss, the event was cancelled after its second year. I only went that second year, but it was some of the most fun I ever had playing beer pong, and the beer pong was the smallest part of what made it a great time. I was really hoping BPONG would do something like this somewhere down the line.

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While all the week’s events have yet to be announced, from the sounds of things it sounds like it’s going to be an awesome time. Since we all have to put up with guys like Ron Hamilton taking their shirts off, why not have it be poolside in Vegas? See you guys in July!

mobp-sign-up-button-for-blog-posts

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Drinkin’ Smokin’ Straight West Coastin’ Wins WSOBP VIII

 

The final table at this year’s World Series of Beer Pong was filled with familiar faces. But in the end, a new champion was crowned as Drinkin’ Smokin’ Straight West Coastin’ beat two-time WSOBP champion Smashing Time to win the World Series of Beer Pong VIII.

The teammates from California, Michael “Sonoma Joe” Sievert and Timothy “Byron” Findley, long considered two of the games premier players, have tasted success before. Both players have won numerous high-stakes beer pong tournaments, both individually and as teammates. But in what is rumored to be their final World Series of Beer Pong appearance, DSSWC finally claimed the elusive title of World Champions and its grand prize of $50,000.

“Feels pretty incredible,” Michael Sievert said of the win. “In everything I have ever done in life I have strived to be the best at what I do, and I have finally accomplished that with beer pong and it feels great.”

Making the final table for their first time in WSOBP play was no easy task. In winning their pod, they outlasted WSOBP VI champions “Standing Ovation” and one of last year’s winners, Ross Hampton, of “DanegeRoss.” As a reward for their difficult pod, they had the luxury of facing the only two-time World Series of Beer Pong champions, Michael “Pop” Popielarski and Ron Hamilton of “Smashing Time,” winners of WSOBP IV and WSOBP V in the finals.

While the day started with 160 teams hoping to take home the giant-sized check, the field was quickly narrowed to 128 teams after the single-elimination play-in round. The winners of each of the 16 pods then played in the Sweet 16 round, which left Smashing Time vs. Zach Gilkison and Ricky Posada of “The Blueprint” and DSSWC vs. Richard “Chewie” Patchett and Paul Toland of “Captain Esquire” in the Final Four.

Team “Albuquerque Owes Us Handjobs” was the #1 overall seed heading into the final day of competition with a 12-0 record in prelims and record +63 cup differential. Teammates Nolan Jones and Grady Hunt lost in the finals of Pod 1 to “Boom Goes the Dynamite,” teammates Michael Gramer and Ryan Rossell. Boom Goes the Dynamite was later eliminated by “The Blueprint” in the Elite 8.

Please check back soon for photos and more coverage of this year’s World Series of Beer Pong.

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WSOBP VIII Day Two Recap and Final Day Preview

Day Two of the World Series of Beer Pong concluded this evening in record-breaking fashion, with “Albuquerque Owes us Handjobs” earning the #1 seed entering the final day of competition.

Teammates Nolan Jones and Grady Hunt earned the top spot in style, breaking the two-year-old cup differential record with a 12-0, +63 margin. Over 12 games, the duo from the West Coast won each game by 5.25 cup games. Team Bangarang, tied for first place after Day One, finished preliminary play in second place with a 12-0, +58 cup differential.

While 372 teams hoped to make the final day and play for $50,000, only 160 were able to move on to tomorrow’s final round. The bottom 64 teams will play in a single-elimination round to advance into double-elimination pool play. The winner of each “pod” will play in two double-elimination brackets in the Sweet 16.

Here are the top seeds from each pod:

Pod 1: Albuquerque Owes us Handjobs (Nolan Jones and Grady Hunt)

Pod 2: Why you Mad? (David Talamantez Jr. and James Alanis)

Pod 3: Bangarang (Thomas Reap and Kris Fraser)

Pod 4: Don’t Crap Out (Mantis and Andre Mirzayan)

Pod 5: Hank&Dank (David Peacock and Brad Mosdell)

Pod 6: DanegeRoss (Ross Hampton and Dane Ellis)

Pod 7: PongZillA (Ben Robelin and Mark Pettitt)

Pod 8: SLEEPYFOX & SANCHEZ (Lenny O’Rourke and David Zajac)

Pod 9: This Ain’t Sea World (Mike Wan and Peter Rusch)

Pod 10: We Invented Swag (Mark Pimental and Arnold Colela)

Pod 11: Substance Over Style (Nick Barbera and James Riebl)

Pod 12: Super Squirrel Swag (Aaron Smith and Zach Johnson)

Pod 13: Indelible Ink (Andy Decaluwe and Scott Frew)

Pod 14: Boozingear.com Presents Clinically Proven (Chris Kingsbury and Christopher Cross)

Pod 15: Sunny Side Up (Kevin Kwiatkowski and Michael Kloiber)

Pod 16: Bang Cup (Antonio Ayala and George Garcia)

Be sure to check http://firstgen.bpong.com/external/bracketviewer/BPONGBracketViewer.swf?eventid=1654 throughout tomorrow for up-to-the-minute stats and results.

Good luck to all teams playing tomorrow!

 

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WSOBP VIII Day One Recap

The World Series of Beer Pong VIII officially kicked off this morning at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. When former Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman opened the competition declaring beer pong the official sport of Las Vegas, the 372 teams in attendance erupted in cheers.

Day One of the World Series of Beer Pong is always a celebration. Every team starts with a clean slate and an equal chance at making a run at the $50,000 grand prize. Everyone is a contender on the first day. Teams do their best to rack up the wins and positive cup differential, positioning them in the best possible spot for a high seed in the third and final day of competition.

At the halfway point, the separation between the contenders and the pretenders begins to widen. While 41 teams remain undefeated win six wins at the halfway point, two teams sit tied in first place with the highest cup differential of +34. BoozinGear.com presents Clinically Proven and Bangarang are the two teams everyone will chase tomorrow. Chris Kingsbury and Christopher Cross, members of BoozinGear.com presents Clinically Proven, finished second overall in last year’s WSOBP. Both teams are poised to break the two-year-old cup differential of +60, set by Last of a Dying Breed two years ago.

DanegeRoss, last night’s East vs.West champion, finished the day at 6-0 with a +22 cup differential. Ross Hampton of DanegeRoss was part of last year’s WSOBP VII champion, Seek N Destroy. WSOBP VI champs, Standing Ovation, finished the day at 4-2 with a +20 cup differential. WSOBP IV and V champs Smashing Time, reuniting after last year’s hiatus, also finished the day undefeated with a +16 cup differential.

After the second half of preliminary games tomorrow, 160 teams will move on to the final day of competition. The bottom 64 teams will play a single-elimination round with the winners advancing to 128-team double-elimination pool play. The top 16 teams will advance to the Sweet 16 round, where they will play in two double-elimination brackets. The top 2 teams from there will play for the giant-sized $50,000 grand prize.

Tonight’s side events will feature Men’s Singles and Female Singles competition.

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DanegeRoss wins the East vs. West Tournament

It may be a new year, but it was the same old results for defending World Series of Beer Pong Champion Ross Hampton. Along with partner Dane Ellis, “DanegeRoss” won last night’s East vs. West tournament in the Eldorado Ballroom at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, kicking off the first official event of the World Series of Beer Pong VIII.

Hampton and Ellis, teaming up in their first official WSOBP event, are one of the favorites to win this year’s WSOBP $50,000 main event. The duo outlasted a field of 128 and beat RGVP, Cameron Chappell and Adrian Gonzales, representing, McAllen, TX, in the finals.

Smashing Time, two-time WSOBP champions reuniting for the WSOBP after a brief hiatus, finished third in the tournament. David Glaser and Edan Hemphill finished in fourth place. Kevin Kessler and Vince Catizone (Moment of Truth) tied for fifth place against Bangarang, Thomas Reap and Kris Fraser.

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The day we’ve all been waiting for

As I type this sentence, I am four hours and thirty-one minutes from landing in Las Vegas, Nevada for the World Series of Beer Pong VIII. Thanks to the trusty Wi-Fi from Southwest Airlines, I can tell the rest of the beer pong community is just as excited as I am by looking through my Facebook timeline.

This WSOBP will be a little different for me. For the first time, I will be making the trip out to spectate, not to compete. A veteran of WSOBP III, IV, V, and VI, my flights out to Vegas on the first of January are usually filled with a nervous excitement. Like everyone else, I’ve convinced myself it’s my turn to win the $50,000 grand prize. At this point I’m normally wondering where the cash games will be and who we’ll be facing on Day One.

Unfortunately, last year I could not get off work and had to miss the trip. It was the first WSOBP I had missed in five years. And for the first time, I realized how much it sucked to be stuck at home, living vicariously through my Facebook friends and text message updates. The WSOBP is an event that must be experienced in person to appreciate.

If there’s one thing the WSOBP has lacked over the years, it’s a lack of updates during the tournament. Things start promising enough, but once the ballroom sucks out your cell phone battery, the alcohol starts setting in, and the grind of the tournament starts to take its toll, the updates become few and far between. This year, I’m going to change that.

Later today, I’ll post a list of teams I will be paying particular attention to. While I’m not going to predict a winner at this point, I will highlight the teams I think will go far into the tournament. As the tournament progresses, I will keep you updated on featured matchups, highlights, etc. As there always is, I am sure we will see some sleeper teams play their way into contention. I’ll also do my best to provide updates during the side events as well, beginning with tonight’s East v. West Tournament brought to you by Trudeau’s reusable Red Party Cup.

In the meantime, please feel free to comment below if there are any teams you think I should be following closely.

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It’s a Beer Pong Table, Not a Flip Cup Table

It’s a Beer Pong Table, Not a Flip Cup Table

It’s Friday night and you feel alright and the party is on the Westside. You’re having a great time partying with your friends, drinking, and playing some beer pong. Maybe you have just won or maybe you just lost and quickly signed your name on the inside of an
empty 30-pack to call next game. And then it happens.

“Hey guys, let’s play flip cup instead so more people can play!”

Is there anything more annoying than being nagged about playing flip cup when you’re busy playing beer pong? Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind flip cup. It has its moments and it can be fun at times. I especially like “Survivor Flip Cup,” when the weakest link of
the losing team gets voted off after each loss. But flip cup isn’t beer pong.

These days, Americans are too soft. Everyone wants to be politically correct. Every kid in little league these days gets a trophy, because they don’t think anyone should feel left out. Kids aren’t punished or spanked anymore, unless you want your child taken away by social services. Shit, they wouldn’t even let us play dodge ball in high school because they were afraid of kids being hurt. Flip cup is the equivalent of that. Why shouldn’t everyone get the chance to play at once when you’ve earned the right to stay on the table?
The worst is that dude that loses in beer pong and then starts advocating for flip cup.  Let’s call it what it is. Flip cup is for people who aren’t good at beer pong.

Beer pong is truly the survival of the fittest. Everyone gets a chance to play. If you win, you get to continue playing. If you lose, you either need to find a better partner and wait for your chance at redemption, or suck it up and go play Asshole at the kitchen table with
the other people who aren’t good enough to play beer pong.

No one remembers an awesome game of flip cup, but we can all remember with great detail some of our greatest beer pong triumphs. We remember the times we ran the tables all night. We remember how many games we won in a row and how many shots we
made. We remember playing for drinks or money. It’s the greatest combination of getting drunk and playing sports that you can easily find. And since we all think we’re the best, we have no shortage of people willing to challenge us.

And then there are the distractions. I think we’ve all seen in person or on certain websites the things some people are willing to go to distract the opponent. How can you not love watching that stuff? You can’t distract people or talk trash in flip cup. If you’re playing
cards, it’s enough of a task just to remember the rules while you’re playing, let alone talk trash. But it’s half of the fun in beer pong.

Beer pong is also a great way to meet people. If you’re shy, you can use it as an icebreaker. I once dedicated a few shots to a girl at a party and made them. We ended up dating. Who knows, maybe your partner will be impressed with your skill. Even for someone terrible at beer pong, they will still get lucky and make a shot or two. You can’t mingle during a flip cup game. If someone is terrible at flip cup, they will fail at flipping the cup a few times and the game is over. It’s not nearly as fun.

So next time you’re running the beer pong table at a house party and someone suggests flip cup, tell them to find another table. Or a beer pong partner.

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Everything you’ve read about the history of beer pong is bullshit.

Everything you’ve read about the history of beer pong is bullshit.

I’ve read countless articles about the history and origin of beer pong. It seems that every one comes back to some particular fraternity or college. Apparently, modern day beer pong was invented in almost every small liberal arts college up and down the East Coast. To think, some college kids just looking to entertain themselves when it was freezing outside decided to invent a drinking game to play inside. What a groundbreaking revelation!

According to Wikipedia, which is the definitive source for any kind of research, beer pong started at Dartmouth College sometime in the 1950s and 1960s. But at the same time, Bucknell University claims to have invented the game in the 1970s. They called it “throw pong.” What kind of stupid name is “throw pong,” anyway? These are college kids, and the best they can come up with is “throw pong?”

The whole name debate also bothers me. I’ve met maybe a handful of people my entire life who referred to the game as “beirut.” It’s called beer pong. There is no game called “beirut.” If you use a paddle, it’s called ping pong, not beer pong, not beirut. Beirut is the
capital of Lebanon and probably not the best place to spend a Friday night with a 30-pack of Keystone Light. Ping pong is played with paddles and does not include beer, unless you are drinking it on the side. Forrest Gump used to hit ping pong balls into a bedpan
during the Vietnam War. You mean to tell me Forrest Gump was playing one of the earliest forms of beer pong ever documented? I may not be a smart man, but I know what beer pong is.

Too many people try to complicate the simple game of beer pong. It’s not rocket science, guys. Beer pong is throwing a ping pong ball into a cup. If you’re at a house party, you’re probably drinking the contents of said cup afterward. If you’re playing WSOBP rules at a
bar, you probably aren’t drinking the cup because that would be illegal in some cities. Beer pong is like ramen noodles, everyone has their own way. Personally, I don’t like to follow the directions. I boil the noodles, drain the noodles, add the chicken seasoning and add some cayenne pepper and call it Buffalo Chicken Ramen Noodles. It’s delicious.

I know a guy who breaks an egg into his while it cooks. That’s good, too. Not to get sidetracked, but I’m always looking for good ramen noodle recipes, so please share your favorite. But the fact remains: There is no wrong way to play beer pong.

Sure, there is a World Series of Beer Pong which has its own set of rules, but that’s not the only way to play. In case you live under a rock, WSOBP rules basically consist of playing with 10 cups and a special rack to keep the cups in place. There are automatic re-
racks on the six-cup, three-cup, and one-cup formations. If you make both shots, you get one bring-back. When the last cup is made, the opposing team generally gets a one ball and a shoot-till-you-miss opportunity. It can get more complicated, but that’s the basics. Oh yeah, there is no elbow rule. We’ll save that discussion for another time.

While WSOBP rules are fun and all, I still have love for “house rules.” Most of us grew up playing beer pong according to specific house rules. From my experiences, I’ve found most house rules consist of playing with 6 cups or 10 cups, depending on how many people are waiting to play. Usually you get unlimited bring-backs, shoot-till-you-miss rebuttal shots, and rules dictating that you have to drink before you shoot. And no, you can’t lean across the table. If you win, you get to stay on the table. Of course, house rules vary depending on where you are playing, but those tend to be the most common.

There is no right or wrong way to play beer pong. The important thing is that you’re playing beer pong. What rules did you play by? Which rules do you think are the best?

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Beer Pong Players: The Old and The New

Beer pong players are, for the most part, creatures of habit. We like to stand on certain sides of the table. We have preferences over what cup formations we shoot at. We have certain rules and equipment types we like to use while we play. When these preferences get altered, we resist.

And it’s not just beer pong players, but humans in general. Most people reject change. We don’t like to have our way of life disrupted. But without change, it’s impossible to grow.

I’m not sure if Charles Dickens has ever been mentioned in a discussion about beer pong.  Maybe his name was used in a not-so-clever fashion to make a team name, who knows.  But Dickens once wrote, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” And in
terms of beer pong, he couldn’t be more accurate. It’s the best of times and it’s the worst of times.

In a few weeks, hundreds of beer pong players will travel to Las Vegas to compete in the World Series of Beer Pong 8. I think that’s amazing the winning team at the inaugural WSOBP took home only $10,000, while last year’s champions, Seek N Destroy, took
home a giant-sized check worth $50,000. The growth has been impressive, to say the least.

In addition to the overall growth, the beer pong community has, as a whole, never been stronger. The major national tournaments have evolved from a chance to meet everyone to just simply catching up with them in person. Chances are, if you’re reading this, you’ve played someone across the country in a game of Skype pong or you’ve chatted on Facebook or the BPONG forums. It sounds corny, but we’ve all kind of become one big, severely dysfunctional, messed-up family that enjoys playing beer pong together.
In the prehistoric days of competitive beer pong, we only knew each other through one another’s BPONG screen names.

On the surface, everything appears to be going great, right? What’s the problem? For anyone who has been playing since the beginning of the Bush administration (guilty as charged) it’s no secret we have started to see a changing of the guard over the last few years. Speaking only for myself, I’ve now got more grey hairs than tournament wins the last few years. Some of us are getting old, and for the ones that were already old, they’re getting really old. It’s a time when a lot of us have walked away or are seriously contemplating walking away from the game in which we’ve invested so much time, energy and money over the greater part of the last decade.

For older players like me, the change is bittersweet. The Michael Jordans of our beer pong careers are being replaced by the new Kevin Durants of beer pong. Some past WSOBP champions don’t even make the trip out to Vegas anymore. Cash game money goes to the diapers fund for some players. It’s the end of an era for a lot of us.

But it’s also exciting to be ushering in a new era of beer pong. For a lot of the younger players that will be making their first WSOBP appearance, all they’ve known during their legal drinking ages are WSOBP rules and BPONG cups and tables. They never had to adjust their games through years of different table lengths, rules changes, cup sizes, etc.

They’ve had years to post anonymously on YouTube talking shit about how they were going to crush every player at the WSOBP when they turned 21. It’s exciting and I think the beer pong community needs a breath of fresh air.

I love the fact that there will be dozens of young players this year who have no idea who Kessler is or why he is wearing a Duke jersey small enough that his kid will be wearing it in a couple of years. They won’t know who Ron Hamilton is why they should be scared
of him. They’ll see Vince Catizone and wonder what the rest of the Jersey Shore cast is doing while they are in Vegas. Times they are changing, indeed. Hopefully the new players will respect what the older players have given to the sport and start to build their
own legacy.

I can’t wait to see what the WSOBP 8 has in store for us. Will a past champion reclaim his throne? Will a veteran finally earn that coveted WSOBP title? Or will a new player rise from the ranks of the unknown to stake his (or her) claim as the world’s greatest beer
pong player?

We’ll find out in a few weeks…






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WSOBP 8 Countdown

In less than a month, hundreds of beer pong players will travel to the Flamingo Las Vegas Casino & Hotel for the World Series of Beer Pong 8 and a chance for the $50,000 Grand Prize.

The month before the WSOBP is one the most exciting times for any kind of beer pong player. For the casual player, the idea of going to Las Vegas for a week of drinking, debauchery, gambling and a little bit of beer pong is exciting enough. For the serious player, the WSOBP is the culmination of something much more.

Starting with that first beer pong tournament we play in late winter or early spring, most of us have our eyes on the $50,000 WSOBP prize. You start to put feelers out for serious partners and look for the players that will help carry you deep into the tournament. You start the difficult task of finding and winning a satellite to pay for your trip, or if you are one of the top players, amassing a collection of bids to sell to your friends and anyone looking for a discount. Partnerships are formed and friendships are strained, all for the
chance to be the ones holding that novelty check at the end of the day on January 4th.

But things change in the final month leading up to the WSOBP. Shit gets real. When that deadline approaches, it becomes time to put up or shut up. You find out if that dude who has been swearing for months that he will play with you really will, or if you need to scramble at the last minute to find a capable partner. You put in that vacation time at the last second with your boss and hold your breath that it gets approved. You start looking for the cheapest flights possible, even if you need to switch planes four times to get to
Las Vegas.

One of the best parts of signing up for the WSOBP is simply signing up. Once you see your team name pop up on the list of official teams, it all sinks in. You can breathe a sigh of relief and just worry about the holidays and getting ready for Vegas. You start sending Facebook messages to the guys you haven’t kept in touch with often to find out if they are going, when they are going, and who they are playing with. Beer pong players are giddy like school girls the month before the WSOBP. For a lot of us, it’s the only time
of the year we can get away with practicing beer pong every night of the week without getting in trouble or landing in the doghouse.

The greatest thing about the month before the WSOBP is that, for right now, it’s anyone’s game. Have you ever noticed that almost everyone thinks they are the greatest beer pong player in the world? Sure, there’s trash talk and altercations in other sports, but I think we see so much of it in beer pong because most players genuinely think they are the best. We’ll throw down $100 for a cash game without thinking about it because we don’t expect to lose. We’ll qualify our losses by making excuses or blaming our partners.
We think we’re either the best or capable of being the best. And unless you’re heading out to the WSOBP just to dress as a woman, wear a costume or just black out, you think you are going to win. Have you ever seen someone post a Facebook status on January 1st
that said, “Heading to Las Vegas to not win $50,000 playing beer pong?”

The month of excitement ends on January 1st. You’re there. You’re checked in and you have the list of teams you play. You start sizing up your competition and asking anyone and everyone for scouting reports on your competition. And when you get herded into the ballroom like cattle and they call those first games over the speakers, you know it’s time to work. The butterflies in your stomach go away, the beer tastes delicious, and all is right with the world.

Of those hundreds of players heading out to WSOBP 8, only two will be able to win that final game of the tournament and hold up that big ass check.. The rest of us get to sulk on our flights home, swear off playing beer pong for good, and suffer through the almost guaranteed chance of being sick with the Pong Flu.

But for right now, there’s excitement in the air. It’s anyone’s game.