BEER PONG! The Game of Champions!

Probably one of my biggest passions right now is beer pong or beirut. I just get excited thinking about it – sinking that winning shot, going on a huge winning streak, carrying my partner on my back, having my partner carry me through games, ending other people’s winning streaks – I love it all and wish it were my job. There are a lot of controversies with the game and a lot of people are against it, but the fact of the matter is, it is by far one of the more fun drinking games around for people of all ages and its popularity is rising rapidly.

What is Beer Pong and how was it invented?

In a nutshell, the game has two teams on opposite sides of a table and each team has a certain amount of cups. The whole idea of the game is to sink ping pong balls into your opponent’s cups before they sink the balls in your cups. Whoever sinks all the cups first is declared the winner. Most people knew that. If you didn’t, well now you know. What I didn’t know is where they got the name from or how the game got started. There are so many different groups of people that claim to have invented the game but the one I’d like to believe is the story about the Theta Delta Chi fraternity from Lehigh University. In 1983, members of the frat began playing beer pong with ping pong paddles (2 cups) but broke all of their paddles. Afterwards, the frat brothers began lobbing the balls from one end of the table to the other trying to sink the balls in cups. Several cups were added, everyone enjoyed the game and tournaments were organized and it began spreading to other campuses.

The name “Beirut” stems from the capital city in Lebanon. The members of the frat were interested in foreign-policy and Hezbollah had committed a suicide bombing that killed 241 Americans in Beirut. Balls flying across the table in “Beirut” and landing on the opposition’s side and making a splash in the cup was seen as the US bombing Beirut in retaliation for the casualties.

Beer Pong Today

Today, beer pong is played on college campuses and in bars, and is most popular in North America. Five years ago, something called the World Series of Beer Pong (WSOBP) was created and held at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas. Originally 80 teams competed and the top prize was $10,000 and the title of best beer pong team in the world. Today, in year 5, the top prize is now $50,000 and there are over 800 participants. Here is the trailer for the 2010 WSOBP.

The game is gaining such popularity that it is being featured in magazines such as Time and Maxim, as well as on mega network broadcasting stations such as CNN, ESPN, NBC, and FOX. Jay Leno put a team in the WSOBP V tournament this year in Vegas and since then, he has been doing a weekly segment he calls “The Beer Pong Shot of the Week.”

Jimmy Fallon also does a segment on beer pong in his show “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” where he challenges other celebrities to a game of beer pong on the show. The video below is of him playing beer pong verse Betty White (sorry I couldn’t find the Anna Kournikova video).

Betty White Plays Beer Pong

He’s really bad!

This video below was a feature on Time’s website and there was an article published in August of 2008 talking about the growing popularity of the game. In this video, the two time defending WSOBP champs give their thoughts on the game and whether or not they think beer pong is a sport.

Time Video on Beer Pong

My favorite part is that “the people that excel in this sport are all athletes.” Don’t be discouraged if you are not an athlete though! The game is so much fun and the best part is if you don’t win the game, you still win because you get to drink! This blurb was in Time Magazine: ”For some beer pongers, the appeal is the thrill of competition. "I like to beat people," says Chris Clark, 22, who plays on Team Premier, a group of the six best players at the Hangout. "When I come here, I win pretty much 75% of the time, and it's 100 bucks in my pocket." For others, beer pong is a social tool. "You can go into a party where you don't know anyone and just jump into a game, and by the end of it, you know everyone," says student Kristin Catlin, 22. In college, beer pong's acculturative role makes it just like any other team sport, says Gaines: "It is kind of the same thing as swimming." Except, you know, for the hangovers.”

I remember in like the early 2000’s when poker began taking off and people began to quit their jobs to just play poker! We are starting to see that with beer pong! These people make an average of $15,000 a month! Playing a drinking game! CNBC wrote an article talking about how people can in fact quit their jobs and play beer pong due to the amount of money tournaments offer the winners. The great thing I’ve learned about the beer pong tournaments is that “At the World Series, you have your typical frat guy, but you also have accountants, you have lawyers, you have people who don’t know what they want to do with their lives yet.” The game is for everyone and it grows by the day. This video below shows that you don’t have to be in your 20s to play beer pong.

Look at the excitement on her face!

Because of the growing popularity, people are trying so hard to be the best at this game and just like in basketball there is the NBA and And1 or street ball, in beer pong there is also the WSOBP and trick pong. Check out this vid of trick pong! Pretty sick!

The New Beer Pong Industry

Since beer pong has taken off so much in the past few years, people are making a living off of the game – not necessarily playing it – but creating products related to the game. Spencer Gifts is one of the most notable shops to get WSOBP merchandise including official tables, balls, cups, and shirts. BPONG.com is the official store to buy pong products from. Bing Bong Inc is the most notable company that sells customized beer tables that are very unique. Even though all these sites sell beer pong tables, that doesn’t mean that people can’t be creative and make their own tables. Many people have ventured out and have made some really awesome and unique tables that will blow your mind! Here is a site showing some of the most bad ass beer pong tables!

33 Best Beer Pong Tables

Students at Northwestern University hated having to clean up spilled beer all over their floor and table from cups spilling everywhere so they invented a triangular rubber mat that keeps cups in place so they don't spill over. Their products are now being sold at www.drinkingstuff.com.

Probably the best exposure for beer pong is the two recent movies that have come out regarding the game: "Road Trip 2: Beer Pong" and a documentary titled "The Last Cup" that was seen at many international film festivals in 2009. The documentary follows four competitors in the first WSOBP around as they compete for $20,000 and the title of WSOBP champion. Here is the trailer for the movie.

I am actually really intrigued and really, really want to see this movie!

I still cannot believe how much this game is growing and this video completely blew my mind! They are now making a beer pong video game for the Nintendo Wii! The game is part of something called “Frat Party Games” and the way it’s set up allows you to pick where you play (either someone’s basement or a bar, most likely places to play pong) and it’s really realistic in the sense that there are posters on the walls in the basement, and people watching. You get to pick the table and the player (which are totally people who would be playing beer pong). Only problem is it got a lot of bad reviews and it is unrealistic (besides the drinking part). The game was featured in Time Magazine in August 2008.

Variations of the Game

Slam Pong- this game could get you drunk quick. Each team has two cups placed far apart from each other. You need ping pong paddles. You combine ping pong and volleyball. If you hit your opponent’s cup, you get one point. If you sink it in their cup, you get two points. If you slam the ball down and knock over your opponent’s cup you get five points. Games are usually to 5 points. Drink each time the ball hits a cup.

Assassin Pong- same rules as basic beer pong except you need to call each shot. So if you are aiming for the front cup and hit a back cup, nothing happens.

Civil War Pong- this game has the same objective as beer pong except there are three players on each team. Each person has six cups in front of them. When one of your cups get sunk, you have to drink it. Each team doesn’t take turns shooting. It is a mad scramble. So if a team shoots, they can run and get the ball quickly and come back and shoot again. If an individual’s six cups are done, they cannot shoot any more but they can pass the balls to their teammates. Once all 18 cups on one side are gone, the other team is declared the winner.

Flip Pong- a mix of flip cup and beer pong. Teams of two lineup on opposite sides of a table and set up four cups in a straight line. Each team has one ball. First person shoots at their partner’s cups. If they sink it, the partner has to drink the cup and flip it. The partner then shoots and the teammates go back and forth. Once one partner has sunk all the cups, the other partner must keep shooting until all of the teammate’s cups are sunk and the last cup is flipped. First team with all cups flipped is the winner.

Negatives of Beer Pong

Because people are sharing cups, beer pong has been linked to the spread of the flu, mononucelosis, and herpes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) actually got involved and did a study on the problems with beer pong and found that herpes was up 230% in 2008 over 2007 among 17-21 year olds! (as if they did that study!) A really funny spoof of the study can be found here.

Discard cups after every use, reusing cups can compromise their protective integrity.

Get tested regularly.

Stacking cups can spread the risk of transmission of HSV.

Beirut is not a safer alternative to beer pong.

Remember! Alcohol may impair the ability to practice pong safely!

Tournaments

Beer pong tournaments are the highlights of my weekend (besides chaying)! I love the excitement from drinking and playing a competitive game or sport. I have run some amazing tournaments in the past and want to share tips on how to make them run smoothly.

1) Best to get kegs – each keg has the equivalent to 168 beers in it. Each beer pong game requires 4 beers (2 per team) which means you can get 42 games out of each keg (assuming no side drinking). If you know you are going to have more people, figure out the approximate number of games you are going to have to determine the number of kegs you need.

2) Round robin or elimination? – it is very easy to do elimination tournaments but people may complain that they don’t get enough playing time. If you have time to preplan a tournament, get teams to register and you can create a round robin before the tournament starts.

3) Have a wingman or wingwoman helping you during the tournament – being a tournament coordinator can get tough so it’s always good to have someone helping you.

4) Define the house rules before you start playing – gather everyone up and explain the rules of the game so there are less controversies. Drunk people are going to want to argue but as the organizer you need to prevent this as much as possible to ensure everyone has a good time.

Pong Pictures

Check out these pics from past pong tourneys!

I love this game so much and want to play it all the time! The game is such a growing phenomenon and the scary part is that it is going to continue to grow for years to come! The truth is, beer pong is a sport. It just happens to involve alcohol.