Just a few days ago, I received a letter
from a club owner asking me the question "What the hell is
beer pong?" Apparently, he had overheard a group of
young patrons discussing a so call competition they were involved
in the weekend before at another bar in the area.
The game has its roots in colleges aging
back over 50 years ago. According to some sources beer pong
is the rapidly becoming the nations leading drinking game, second
only to quarters. But it doesn't surprise me that many
people still haven't heard of it. Beer pong has made the transition
from a basement party game to fully recognized and bar / nightclub
sponsored tournament event. The game is so popular that
custom beer pong tables
are available specifically for this purpose. Of course, any
flat surface will do the trick.
Basically, the game goes down like
this. Two teams try to land a ping pong ball into cups of
beer. When one team scores a hit the other team
drinks. The game can be played with or without ping pong
paddles. With paddles is often referred to as Beirut,
without is called beer pong. As simple as it has been
described above, there are many
variations of the game which like vary by region.
There are several sites that can provide more information on the
variations and specific rules, such as the National
Beer Pong League.
Sponsoring tournaments is one way to keep
to generate some increased activity at your club, something to add
to your calendar of events. Posting game statistics will
also promote interest in the game. A good game can draw a
crowd and a whirl wind of excitement, especially if it is new to
your bar or club.
Now its quite obvious the game is a
popular one and can bring some attention to your bar or
nightclub. It has been said that it's a great way of
bringing people together and meeting new friends. Sure, you
get to drink, and that's fun too. But beer pong has its
critics as well. In fact, Anheuser-Busch put an end to its
"Bud Pong" promotion which rules stated that water
should be used as opposed to beer. Hmmmm..... sure,
that would work.
Alcohol awareness groups criticize beer
companies for encouraging irresponsible drinking and even
potentially targeting underage drinkers. So, as a club
owner, you may face some challenges with this double edged
sword. If you can keep responsible drinking and the
excitement of beer pong together in one package, you'll have a new
feature for pulling in the crowds. If you can't, you may be
up the creek "without a paddle."
Mike Sullivan
www.CoolBars.com
