Whittingham 1
Scott Whittingham
Rider
English 2
27 October 2009
Beer Pong: Search for the Last Cup
Music blares over the heads of a crowd one hundred strong, and voices are straining to
communicate over it. Beer in hand, these party goers are having the time of their life. Many
here are taking part in different activities, but all are here for the same reason, to get their buzz
on. Behind the crowd though, is the back bone of any large party, Beer Pong. Across the table
from me are my opponents looking to end my winning streak, and by the way they are playing
they have more than a good chance. It’s our turn to shoot, so we take the balls out of the water
cup. My partner prefers to shoot his wet, but I dry mine in my pocket. We are behind with four
cups left to one. I see my partner cast a side glance at me and a small body gesture tells me he
wants me to shoot first, and that he has a plan. I center myself in front of the table, and choose
my cup. As I concentrate the sound of the crowd and music is drown out. Even further
intensifying my concentration I don’t see the opposing team trying to distract me with their
waving hands. I can see only this cup surrounded by nothing and a beam of light cast down on it.
The cup is the size of a five gallon bucket now. My heart rate is slow and calm as I bring the ball
back. I extend my elbow, snap the wrist, and release. At the instant I release I am overcome
with a sense of perfection and I know there is no way this ball is missing its target. The ball sails
forward in a beautiful arch, it then reaches its apex and begins its downward path. Having
waited for just the right moment my partner catches our opponents watching the ball. He
Whittingham 2
seizes the opportunity and throws a bounce across the table. It is a very low and fast trajectory
making it difficult for the opposing team to swat away, but it is on line and just high enough to
have a chance. With his incredible timing our shots both seem to sink into the same cup in
perfect unison. With the beautiful sound of splashing beer and knock of keg cup plastic we win
the game.
Beer Pong is a game that has become a cultural phenomenon across the globe. With the
concentration of twenty-somethings, Beer Pong has become largely popularized in college
towns. I myself had only heard whispers of the game before moving to Chico. I couldn’t have
imagined the magnitude of a simple drinking game. Companies have been popping up left and
right to capitalize on the ever expanding popular game. Most starting very small, websites like
beerpong.com, which eventually became bpong.com, started selling custom tables out of their
garage. Thanks to the expanding popularity they grew into a large scale company that sells all
types of merchandise, including regulation cups, balls, apparel and accessories. The World
Series of Beer Pong (WSOBP) is hosted by bpong.com, and is the largest Beer Pong tournament
in the world. WSOBP IV was held in January 2009 at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas,
Nevada, and had a $50,000 grand prize.
This popularity has also caught the eye of the media. Beer Pong has been featured in
such outlets as the Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine and ESPN Magazine. The game has also
appeared on popular TV shows such as The Colbert Report and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,
where host Jimmy Fallon played against celebrities such as Betty White, Serena Williams, Anna
Kournikova, and Charlize Theron. Morgan Spurlock, who did the documentary Super Size Me, is
Whittingham 3
producing another documentary Last Cup: Road to the World Series of Beer Pong, set to come
out on DVD December 29th, 2009.
Over the years it came to my attention that Beer Pong does not segregate. I have never
played Beer Pong outside of Chico, yet I have played with people from all over the world. I find
the world of drinking is a huge melting pot of different kinds of people. Drinking is embraced in
almost every culture, but that isn’t what brings them together. It is the social engagements
during drinking that bond these people despite sex, age, or ethnic backgrounds. These
engagements are the spawn of drinking games, and most importantly Beer Pong.
“Beer Pong is a game open to everyone.” says Thomas, a twenty one year old college
student, when asked if he thinks there are certain people who shouldn’t be allowed to play.
“There are going to be people who enjoy it more than others, but it’s going to be different from
person to person. For example I play all the time, but my older brother Mike doesn’t like it at all,
and he is an even bigger drinker than I am.”
There are tons of different ways to play Beer Pong, but the same basic rules for
everyone go something like this. Beer Pong, better known as Beirut on the east coast, is a
drinking game in which players throw a ping-pong ball across a table with the intent of landing
the ball in a cup of beer on the other end. The game typically consists of two two-player teams
and multiple cups set up on each side set up in triangle formation. Rules vary widely, though
usually there are six or ten plastic cups arranged in a triangle on each side. The goal of the game
is to eliminate the other teams' cups before one's own cups are eliminated. When a ball lands
in a cup, which is generally 1/4 to 1/3 full, that cup is eliminated and the defending team must
consume all of the beer inside that cup. The losing team must consume all the beer remaining
Whittingham 4
in the winning team's cups. Although the preceding guidelines are common, the rules are
subject to a wide variety of modifications and additions that often vary based on the area of the
country, the state, or even the house in which a particular game of Beer Pong is played.
To list all of the existing rules of Beer Pong would take more time than I would care to
take and I’m sure more pages than you would care to read. To keep it short I am simply going to
lay out the rules that I play with. The table can simply be any surface used to play on. This can
be anything from a simple piece of plywood to a kitchen counter. Personally I play on a 3’ X 9’’
table my friends and I constructed that is a replica of the Sacramento Kings basketball court.
Most tables are going to be a length of about six feet. Centered on both ends of the table are
going to be ten standard keg cups. Each team will be given three beers containing around 5%
alcohol (ex. Coors light), and are to be distributed somewhat evenly through their cups.
Typically, when it comes to beer, you are going to want to focus on quantity over quality.
Both teams will also have one water cup to rinse the ball before their shot. If this is the
first game, each team is given one ping pong ball to decide which team shoots first. These two
opposing players are to keep eye contact as they shoot at the same time. If one player makes a
cup then the team that player belongs to shoots first. If both players miss or both make their
shots, then it rotates to their partners and continues until only one team makes their shot. The
made cup remains and the game begins. The shooting team is to keep their elbows behind their
side of the table during the full motion of their shot. Should they break this rule the other team
can request that a cup be pulled. When a player makes a shot the cup is to remain until both
team members have taken their shot. After which, the cup is to be pulled and contents
consumed by opposing team. Should both members make different cups, both cups are
Whittingham 5
removed and balls are returned to the scoring team. Should both balls be made into the same
cup an “Explosion” occurs causing the made cup and all other touching it to be pulled, and balls
returned. Should only one or no shots be made, it is then the opposing teams shot.
Sometimes when a shot is attempted it makes it into the cup but is spinning inside. If
the ball has yet to touch beer, a male player is allowed to use up to two fingers in an attempt to
quickly flick the ball out of the cup. If the player is female, she is allowed to make an attempt to
blow the ball out of the cup. Timing and skill is required for both. While a regular shot is only
worth one cup, a bounce in is worth two. A bounce is achieved by throwing the ball short of the
opposing cups, allowing it to hit the table and carry over into the opposing cups. Should an
attempted shot or bounce not make it into a cup and bounce back, it is considered a “Live Ball”
and may be retrieved by either team. However, if it hits the ground then it is dead. If the
throwing team retrieves the ball, then may make a second attempt by throwing the ball behind
the back.
When a team has possession, they are allowed two reracks anytime during the game.
When a rerack is requested the opposing team must fit the remaining cups together in any
shape the requesting team desires. The last rule I’m going to include in here is “Death Cup”.
When a cup is pulled but not consumed, the opposing team may make attempts at this cup. If a
shot is made into this cup while beer is still present, then the shooting team wins the game. So,
remember way back when I said Death Cup was going to be my last rule? I lied, I almost forgot
one of the key elements of Beer Pong, getting skunked! Getting skunked is when one or both
players have lost the game after not making any cups. There are a lot of different and creative
ways to deal with somebody who has been skunked. We used to enforce a streak around the
Whittingham 6
house rule, but only about half of the people would actually follow through. Eventually we
adopted the “Trolling” rule. When someone get’s trolled, then they have to sit underneath the
table (like a troll) and do whatever they are told, which usually entails drinking a large amount
of beer. They are to remain down there during the entire duration of the next game, and are
finally relieved of the troll position when the game has concluded.
“We use the streaking rule.” Explains Kevin, a 19 year old college student. “Of course,
not everybody does it. In that case we change their name to Fruit. So say your name is Steve
Smith, if you don’t streak around the house, your new name becomes Steve Fruit. It stays until
they streak, and works as a label and eventually pressures people into doing it.”
There are several types of players. The most common would be the social player. These
players are simply there to have a good time and get some beer in them. They enjoy playing the
game, but aren’t too concerned with winning. These players typically don’t take advantage of
things like bouncing, and aren’t too strict about the rules. Then there are the competitive
players. These players are there to show their supremacy and skill on the table. These players
will do what they have to to win. Often using tricks like asking you to help find the ball, and
then bouncing it when you aren’t looking. They also become very aggressive when rules like
“live ball” are in effect. They are also typically the biggest smack talkers, and a strict about
enforcing the rules. The drunk players are there to quickly consume as much beer as possible.
Like the competitive players, they want to stay on the table as long as possible, but just to drink
more beer rather than win games. For these players, there are no losers in Beer Pong. Nondrinkers usually have their partner drink all the beer and are typically frowned upon. These
Whittingham 7
players are usually inexperienced, making the game quite frustrating for their partner when
they have to drink so much beer.
“I can’t stand losing.” Says Gavin, a 23 year old fraternity member. With his backward
hat and polo shirt with the color popped and two sizes too small, he fits a common description
of the competitive players. “I’m the fuckin’ best player around and I play to show people just
that. On the rare occasion that I lose, I do what I have to to get right back on (the table). These
guys won’t know what hit them” Following his interview Gavin went on to lose every game he
played.
Different shots are also adopted by players. It’s been my experience that people who
are new to Beer Pong often use the “laser” shot. This is a quick throw straight at the cups. With
such a low angle, the mouths of the cups are smaller, making this an often unsuccessful shot.
The ball will often bounce off the rim with a laser shot. A laser shot is also likely to cause the
ball to spin at a high rate in the cup allowing an opposing to plenty of time to finger or blow the
ball out. However, the laser shot isn’t entirely poor. When surprise is of the essence, a laser
shot is a good one to use when making an attempt on a death cup. More experienced players
will often choose the “arc” shot. The arc shot allows mouth of the cups to open up and be fully
utilized. The down side to an arc shot is it is harder to be accurate. Most players will try to find
their own equilibrium between a laser shot and an arc shot. There is also the bounce. The
bounce takes some practice, and differs on all types of surfaces. Usually only used by more
experienced players. From there, players develop their own kinds of shots that best suit them.
My friend Kris will sometimes utilize the “floater”, which is more of an underhand arc.
Whittingham 8
I asked Iver Iverson, a 23 year old mine driller, what type of shot he prefers. With a smile
he replied “Most of the time I use a simple arc shot, but I also like to use the Iverson Sling.”
After seeing a what-the-hell-is-the-Iverson-Sling look on my face he explained “What I do is,
keeping my arm almost straight above my head, and starting at the shoulder I use my arm like a
whip. Basically it is like a laser shot from higher up, allowing the mouth of the cup to seem
bigger. Works pretty well for me actually. It’s just about finding what works best for you.”
Ok, so now that we are all nice and familiar with this legendary phenomenon that is
Beer Pong, it’s disclosure time. I know this isn’t what most of you want to hear, but it needs to
be said. Recently national news sources had spread that the Center of Disease control had done
a study showing that Beer Pong is a contributor to the spread of herpes. When I first heard this
I felt crushed and was fairly paranoid for some time after. I could imagine all my fellow students
on their knees with dramatic music playing screaming “NNNOOOOOO!!!”. However, to the
relief of the thousands of players around the globe, this study turned out to be a hoax. The CDC
was quick to put out a statement saying just that. Although the CDC debunked the herpes myth,
the U.S. National Institute of Health discourages sharing any eating utensil to lessen the chance
of contracting diseases such as herpes. This would include those all-too-familiar plastic cups set
at each end of the table. There are simple steps you can take to avoid these problems. Make
sure to rinse the ball or cups if the touch the ground to avoid virus’ such as E. coli. Rinse off the
cups before each game is another good idea, especially for the water cup.
Above all, be responsible and safe. I know right now you are thinking “gee thanks mom”,
but I’ve seen a lot of my friends get hurt by someone not making the decision to simply slow
down their drinking. In itself, drinking is not a bad thing, but too much can be harmful to
Whittingham 9
yourself and those around you. According to the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse
Services, more than 150,000 thousand students acquire some type of health problem due to
alcohol abuse each year. Although it probably isn’t entirely true, I like to blame this gut that
swings in front of me on my drinking. Like any other kind of junk food, beer is best taken in
moderation. Beer is basically liquid bread anyways…right?
Beer Pong has become something more than just another drinking game. It has brought
all types of people around the world into something everyone can enjoy. Thanks to the drunken
nights of today’s thinkers and tomorrows runners of the world, we have been blessed with such
a unique and worldly game. This game is only going to grow in popularity and will entertain the
generations to come. So, take a minute to close your text book, grab a couple friends, and
partake in the incredible phenomenon that is the world of Beer Pong.