Here is another thing I do not understand. Maybe this is just "I don't understand things" week but - like my strange attraction to Ron at the beach - what is the whoop with beer pong? My only problem with it is it appears to be a modest expenditure to achieve much the same beer game experience that the game "caps" provides for free or that game called, what is it, "idiot" where you slap a playing card on your forehead sitting with others in a circle doing likewise. Yet it is clearly bad bad bad:
The controversy isn't entirely surprising. The point of beer pong is to get your friends drunk — and parents and university administrators generally frown on that sort of thing. Last fall, Georgetown University banned beer pong, specially made beer-pong tables and inordinate numbers of Ping-Pong balls and any other alcohol-related paraphernalia in its on-campus dorms — even in the rooms of students of legal drinking age. The University of Pennsylvania, Yale University, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and Tufts University have also banned drinking games. "We're pleased that Tufts has put this in writing," says Michelle Bowdler, a health administrator at the school. "Although we understand that 21 is the legal drinking age, we don't want our students participating in activities that could do excessive harm to themselves or others."
That is from an article in TIME magazine called "The War Against Beer Pong" and note that it appears to be about imposing standards on adults - sure, they are goof balls but still adults in a democracy. Nice touch about the "inordinate numbers of Ping-Pong balls." Granted, a beer pong manufacturer once gave me fifty bucks or so to run a review but I don't think I am off on this one, am I?
Is it really a war? And if it is a war, why do we only hear about this in relation to campus life and not, you know, an early twenties working Joe in, say, the basement on the weekend beer ponging away with his pals. Is this a crime against youth or only a crime against youth with university degrees in their future. How about grad students - can they pong safely ? And can't one be a social beer ponger? You know, maybe a beer or two and twenty minutes of ponging before you head out to a movie. Must there be a binge? That I do not know - just another thing I do not understand - but whose job is it to decide the eternal question that has plagued mankind, to pong or not to pong?
Comments
Scoats - August 1, 2008 7:39 AM
It's CYA legal BS from the schools.
Ironically, if people are playing beer pong, they probably aren't doing the type of non-stop heavy drinking that lands students in the hospital or the morgue.
Queen of the Universe - August 1, 2008 7:58 AM
Life TIME couldn't find ANYTHING else to thoughtfully discuss? Like nothing ELSE in the world needs a bit of review and introspection? WOW, I must be a liberal to see all the flaws in that editors decisions.
Geeze, now I need a beer. Anyone seen my ping pong balls?
The Beer Nut - August 1, 2008 11:14 AM
What annoys me about beer pong is that I keep getting beer-pong-related spam, despite never having played the game or spoken to anyone who has ever played the game or known of a game to have been played anywhere at all ever.
I already hate beer pong and I've no idea what it is.
Boak - August 1, 2008 7:58 PM
I assumed this was going to be a rant about brettonomyces.
I've just looked it up on Wikipedia, having also never heard of it. Seems an oddly complicated drinking game.
Keith Brainard - August 1, 2008 11:20 PM
I could never really get into drinking games. It sort of makes no sense. Like if you lose you have to drink, but really the point is to drink, so if you lose you win... Does that make it a win-win, or a lose-lose?
I especially love how the University took away everyone's ping pong balls, in case they were being used for beer pong. What a knee-jerk reaction.
Josh - August 5, 2008 5:45 PM
I just turned 21 about 2 months ago and I currently go to the university of delaware. Over my three years there I have found that while beer pong does focus on getting those involved drunk, I have found that it is much, much harder to get alcohol poisoning when playing drinking games then when you are forced to just take 10-15 shots in the span of 10 minutes (this being done because if RAs/other administrators/cops see you doing anything with alcohol you end up screwed). Beer pong and drinking games I feel put a sort of limit on drinking because it is extremely hard to drink ridiculously fast when playing drinking games (this being because u are forced to drink beer and mixed drinks and while mixed drinks may be strong, they come no where near just throwing back shots of 7.99 vodka as quickly as possible). Drinking games take time, so when you start feeling done....you are done. When forced to drink in a non social setting, you drink so quickly taht you don't know when you've hit your limits (Until you've been been dangerously drunk multiple times...like I was freshman year). Games make drinking fun and safer (of course not as safe as not drinking) than forcing underground pregaming)
Josh - August 5, 2008 5:49 PM
I forgot to mention (since I didn't realize this was a beer drinkers site....linked from time) taht beer pong is not a game if you want to enjoy a quality beer. I also have learned in my 3 years what good beer is and that it should in no way be wasted in drinking games...thats why the millers and coors (and keystone if money is short) is left for those games.
Marc Rikmenspoel - August 6, 2008 4:43 PM
I just turned 38, but I've worked with 20-25 year olds for many years, and thus I've had plenty of chances to play Beer Pong away from work. The object is to toss a pingpong ball across a table into the opponent's cup.
I never grew up enough to stop wadding up paper towels after washing my hands and drying them. I then throw the wadded-up towel across the room, trying to land it in a garbage can. It keeps me amused, and, I never knew until the past few years, it provides excellent practice for playing Beer Pong. After making baskets across the room, tossing a ball across a table is EASY. I've schooled a whole bunch of kids who are amazed that an old fart like me can outplay them at Beer Pong! Not drinking the crappy beer in the cups is added incentive for me to win ;-)
Jen - September 17, 2008 7:32 PM
Beer Pong is a fun way to socially interact with friends. I agree with Josh - the game is not intended just to get people overly intoxicated. It is actually considered a sport. (and you don't always have to put beer in the cups... non-alcoholic drinks ARE allowed). For those of you who do not know the rules of the game, check out this link....
http://quadpong.com/ and click on "Rules"
Paul Puszkarczuk - September 24, 2008 1:54 AM
Ok so my name is Paul and I play beerpong semi-professionally. I am a 26 year old male who graduated from the University of Delaware where beerpong was huge. Every party/weekend had a game going. Now that I'm older and am away from college, I found that I was looking for a bigger challenge. That is when I found real organized tournaments for money down in Maryland (check out www.mdbeerpong.com/)
I drive at least an hour and 15 minutes to these tournaments and compete against some of the best beerpong players in the country down in MD. Beerpong is a real sport and it is expected to overtake Darts as the #1 bar game in the US in probably the next 4-5 years.
To help spread the word about beerpong on the national level, there is a tournament that has been held in Las Vegas the past three years called The World Series of Beerpong. Top prize you ask? $50,000.00 to the winners. This new year's will mark the World Series of Beerpong IV where the tournament will be held at the Flamingo. There is also a documentary about beerpong that is out called "Last Cup: Road to the World Series" where I am actually featured in it because my partner and I from DE were the #1 team after the first day and finished 9th overall out of 248 teams. It is a sport and is gaining popularity whether people like it or not. For more details about the World Series and everything beerpong, check out www.bpong.com/
When I say I play semi-professionally, I have won a trip to Jamaica, a free trip to Las Vegas and other prizes playing in competitive tournaments. While I have a nice stable job, beerpong is a great source of fun, is great for meeting new people, and in my case when you excel at it, it can have a decent financial upside as well (don't worry, not enough to push me into another tax bracket or anything).
I found this blog like I do many things, googling beerpong and Delaware. If anyone out there in Delaware is serious about playing or getting something organized at a bar in northern DE, let me know. I have a couple of tables and know how to run a tournament. Post a comment on here with any questions or any interest in playing.
- Paul
The Beer Nut - September 25, 2008 7:59 AM
<i>Beerpong is a real sport and it is expected to overtake Darts</i>
Dammit, I missed all the darts action from Beijing...
Alan - September 25, 2008 9:15 AM
Maybe you were not watching the semi-pro Olympics.
Craig - November 12, 2008 6:05 PM
That's the thing, beer pong is just a game that people play to be social. It has nothing to do with binge drinking or the like. It's just something people do with their friends to have a little bit of fun.
And yes, there are people that play semi-professionally or even professionally, and they do win some cool prizes for winning tournaments. And for that, I tip my hat to them.
As for me, I just jump on any tournament opportunity that comes my way, thinking that one of these days I'll be a winner.
Ben - August 16, 2010 5:05 PM
People are going to binge drink no matter what. Doing funnels, playing chug, and so on. Better take their quarters out of their pockets too.You don't need a beer pong table to drink excessively.
John - February 22, 2011 12:33 PM
I understand that beer pong can be harmful if not played in moderation. But trying to stop kids from building <p>beer pong tables</p> and playing beer pong. You just need to explain the dangers of binge drinking and hope they use it.