When sports fans think of collegiate athletics images of football and basketball normally dominate the thought process, a thought process that is becoming increasingly crowded with memories of playing college beer pong.
While certainly not recognized by the NCAA as being any sort of officially sanctioned sport even respected former Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly, long known for being old school, has converted to believing that beer pong (sometimes called Beirut) is in fact a sport - at least to the extent that darts or billiards are sports. For generations the youth of American packed football stadiums and basketball arenas to cheer on their schools and form lasting memories with life long friends. While the Cameron Crazies at Duke and the Fighting Irish at Notre Dame are no less passionate about their athletic programs an increasing number of students are creating their fondest memories with peers around beer pong tables as opposed to student cheering sections.
The once closeted college social life of drinking in dark fraternity house basements depicted in the movie Animal House has now become mainstream as students from coast to coast are publicly enjoying college beer pong above ground and outdoors any time the sun is shining. Not surprisingly different colleges and universities have taken varying positions on this topic. Elite universities like Tufts, Yale, and fellow Ivy League school the University of Pennsylvania have all banned drinking games while Georgetown University in Washington D.C. has specifically singled out and banned beer pong.
While a select few colleges have specifically outlawed the playing of beer pong the vast majority of universities (particularly very large ones) have simply either turned their backs on the issue or pretended that the campus behavior is just business as usual. Some schools are directly stating that they choose to treat their students like adults and in doing so provide an opportunity for students to make their own decisions in dealing with the realities of choice and consequences when weighing the risks and options in much the same way that they will eventually do so in the real world.
As a generation of college beer pong players have left their alma maters behind and began professional careers and started families a surprising amount of graduates have discovered that while they may be physically older they do not necessarily have to leave all of their youthful pursuits behind. This has resulted is a massive spread in the popularity of the game that for decades spread, grew, and stayed confined to college campuses. The founders of beer pong (now in their seventies) that started the game at Dartmouth fraternity houses in the 1950s are surely pleasantly surprised to see the mainstream popularity that the game now enjoys. From feature pieces in publications like the Wall Street Journal and Time magazine to video games and even an annual World Series of Beer Pong the "sport" has clearly grown leaps and bounds from its earliest days.
A recent poll showed that a majority of Americans look back on the years they spent in college as being the best time of their life. As with most things in life human beings have a way of using selective memory to focus on the good times while conveniently forgetting about the bad times. Perhaps this poll merely demonstrates that it is easy to forget about final exams, being strapped for cash, and turbulent break ups while focusing on tailgate parties and having Fridays off from class. In much the same way aging Americans try to hold onto their youth by playing what is essentially a college game. As the years fade into decades the majority of people will easily remember dramatic come from behind beer pong victories while conveniently forgetting about arguments over controversial beer pong rules [http://www.beerpongrules.biz/2009/08/controversial-rules.html] and various other low points in the career of a beer pong player.
Whether or not college beer pong will end up being a fleeting fad that is quickly replaced by the next popular thing that comes along can be answered only in time. While a consistently increasing population of adults continues to enjoy the game at back yard barbecues the sustainability of the sport is dependent on future generations to carry on the tradition. All great traditions have their roots in a rich past. The history or origin of beer pong / Beirut [http://www.beerpongrules.biz/2009/08/history-of-beer-pong.html] is no exception.
While certainly not recognized by the NCAA as being any sort of officially sanctioned sport even respected former Sports Illustrated columnist Rick Reilly, long known for being old school, has converted to believing that beer pong (sometimes called Beirut) is in fact a sport - at least to the extent that darts or billiards are sports. For generations the youth of American packed football stadiums and basketball arenas to cheer on their schools and form lasting memories with life long friends. While the Cameron Crazies at Duke and the Fighting Irish at Notre Dame are no less passionate about their athletic programs an increasing number of students are creating their fondest memories with peers around beer pong tables as opposed to student cheering sections.
The once closeted college social life of drinking in dark fraternity house basements depicted in the movie Animal House has now become mainstream as students from coast to coast are publicly enjoying college beer pong above ground and outdoors any time the sun is shining. Not surprisingly different colleges and universities have taken varying positions on this topic. Elite universities like Tufts, Yale, and fellow Ivy League school the University of Pennsylvania have all banned drinking games while Georgetown University in Washington D.C. has specifically singled out and banned beer pong.
While a select few colleges have specifically outlawed the playing of beer pong the vast majority of universities (particularly very large ones) have simply either turned their backs on the issue or pretended that the campus behavior is just business as usual. Some schools are directly stating that they choose to treat their students like adults and in doing so provide an opportunity for students to make their own decisions in dealing with the realities of choice and consequences when weighing the risks and options in much the same way that they will eventually do so in the real world.
As a generation of college beer pong players have left their alma maters behind and began professional careers and started families a surprising amount of graduates have discovered that while they may be physically older they do not necessarily have to leave all of their youthful pursuits behind. This has resulted is a massive spread in the popularity of the game that for decades spread, grew, and stayed confined to college campuses. The founders of beer pong (now in their seventies) that started the game at Dartmouth fraternity houses in the 1950s are surely pleasantly surprised to see the mainstream popularity that the game now enjoys. From feature pieces in publications like the Wall Street Journal and Time magazine to video games and even an annual World Series of Beer Pong the "sport" has clearly grown leaps and bounds from its earliest days.
A recent poll showed that a majority of Americans look back on the years they spent in college as being the best time of their life. As with most things in life human beings have a way of using selective memory to focus on the good times while conveniently forgetting about the bad times. Perhaps this poll merely demonstrates that it is easy to forget about final exams, being strapped for cash, and turbulent break ups while focusing on tailgate parties and having Fridays off from class. In much the same way aging Americans try to hold onto their youth by playing what is essentially a college game. As the years fade into decades the majority of people will easily remember dramatic come from behind beer pong victories while conveniently forgetting about arguments over controversial beer pong rules [http://www.beerpongrules.biz/2009/08/controversial-rules.html] and various other low points in the career of a beer pong player.
Whether or not college beer pong will end up being a fleeting fad that is quickly replaced by the next popular thing that comes along can be answered only in time. While a consistently increasing population of adults continues to enjoy the game at back yard barbecues the sustainability of the sport is dependent on future generations to carry on the tradition. All great traditions have their roots in a rich past. The history or origin of beer pong / Beirut [http://www.beerpongrules.biz/2009/08/history-of-beer-pong.html] is no exception.