09.06.2007 JAYPLAY
scene 07
A Tender Toss of Fun
But that doesn't mean the competition isn't tough
By Adrienne Bommarito
You walk into your friend's house and see an eight foot table in the middle of the room. Two people stand on each side of the table and 10 others stand around watching.
"I've got next game!" you yell.
Gently lobbed across the table by one team, the ping pong ball does a swirley around the top of the cup and lands hard in a pool of beer.
"Yes! Drink up suckers!" hollers the thrower.
One cup is taken away and downed by the opposing team
Whether it's pre-gaming before hitting the bars, competing in a tournament or tailgating before a football game, beer pong is everywhere.
Created at Dartmouth College in the 1950s, beer pong was used as a means for students to entertain themselves
"There wasn't much to do
there except get drunk and break things," says Chris Robinson, doctoral student and 1986 graduate of Dartmouth College. "Back in the day, students had to be creative to amuse themselves."
Dartmouth College students took the game of ping pong and added one cup of beer at each end of the table. Using ping pong paddles, the objective was to get the ball in the beer.
The game changed in the 1980s when Lehigh University students took the game of beer pong and tweaked it to create Beirut. Following the same rules and objectives of today's beer pong, Beirut removed the paddles and added more cups on each side of the table.
PHOTO BY LISA LIPOVAC
To put it plainly, the beer pong that students play today is actually Beirut. Traditional
beer pong is played with paddles.
Just as students host beer pong tournaments today, Dartmouth College students made beer pong an organized sport in the 1970s, and it became an intramural sport organized by the athletics department. At the time the campus was not dry and the drinking age was 18.
Even though Kansas doesn't have an intramural sport of beer pong—maybe it should—students take matters into their own hands to create the same competition and sportsmanship.
Austin Berk, Stilwell senior, says he enjoys the rivalry.
"A lot of people are competitive and this way they can drink and have a competitive game at the same time," Berk says.
Students go to extensive lengths to play beer pong.They
take old doors and flip them to create tables and downsize tables to fit into small areas such as dorm rooms.
The heat weighed down on Berk as he played beer pong this summer. Getting creative, he, along with friends Bryce Katz, Overland Park senior, and Nick Lockrow, Overland Park senior, created a beer pong table for the swimming pool.
The trio found a foam board at Whealan's Contractor's Supply, 1516 W. 6th Street, and cut it to a 5 by 3 foot plank. By affixing pool noodles on the longer sides of the foam board, they were able to create a floating beer pong table—mini-size me.
The table lasted for approximately 10 games before apartment management enforced the no-alcohol rule.
"It's just really funny how it turned out," Lockrow said. "We had a pretty sweet floating beer pong table for awhile there."
Despite students' love for the game, parents and teachers worry about students' safety when consuming excessive amounts of alcohol.
Christian Crandall, professor of social psychology,says he worries about students drinking excessively.
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"Universities are very interested in suppressing binge drinking," Crandall says. "They have an interest in their students and in themselves. Universities don't want to be a place where students get sick and die."
PHOTO BY LISA LIPOVAC
Crandall says students enjoy drinking games because they break down barriers and give them confidence in situations that may make them feel shy or awkward.
"We like them because they are fun, and because they allow us to drink more, and some people are seeking that," Crandall says.
Agreed—some students like the idea of getting drunk fast. However, other students just want to play.
When Colin Pate, Lawrence junior, attended Benedictine College, life was boring and beer pong was played frequently. They played so often that if they didn't have beer they would use water.Practice makes perfect.
Whether you are playing to get drunk or just practicing the craft, pick up that ping pong ball and tenderly toss it through the air. If you're successful at the game you won't have to drink at all, and your opponents will be chugging away. Happy ponging.
10 Tips to Succeed at Beer Pong
1. "Use the bounce shot." Nathan Hardman, Lawrence sophomore
2. "Aim for the rings on the inside of the cup." Tom Herring, Kansas City, mo. freshman
3. "Drink beforehand and you'll have better aim." Kelsey Smith, Lenexa junior
4. "Don have a girl as your teammate." Brett Schulte, Lawrence junior
5. "It's all about the arch.
You have to visualize the bottom of the cup." Mark Burghart, Topeka junior
6. "Keep your elbow in."
Ethan Patterson, Olathe grad student
7. 'Just try to toss it high in the air like you're shooting a basketball." Ashley Eicher, Rose Hill sophomore
8. "Play against people who haven't played before." Jeni Watts, Salina senior
9. "Clean the balls because they get gross sometimes depending on where you're playing." Jess Smith, Lawrence freshman
10. "Don't be on my team,
because I'm not very
good." Alan Fogleman,
Olathe senior
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