Out Of Many, One

I go to college, so I've obviously drank my fair share of alcohol and played my fair share of drinking games.  All other games fall short of one, the game that essentially bonds all college students together: beer pong.

I don't know what it is about that game.  But it loved by nearly every college student in our generation.  We all play by different house rules, but the object is still the same.  We all have different shooting styles, but we still aim at the same cups.  We all prefer different beers, but we all drink beer.  

Playing is easy; being good at it is not.  It takes a rare combination of skill, luck, emotional control, and having a 0.20 BAC while still being able to shoot a ping pong ball straigh.  Some have much more skill than others; some have a lot more luck than others.  Some would be passed out with a few beers, some can drink a whole 30 and still be (relatively) "fine".

The game itself, once you get relatively good, or think you are good, becomes very frustrating.  That shot that feels so good coming of your fingers, in a perfect arc toward the center of a cup, only to hit the rim and bounce away with authority, as if to say, "you cocky son of a bitch, I'm not going in."  The more it happens, the more pissed off you get.  Don't lie.  You do.  The key is controlling the anger and sink that next shot.  Having a good partner also helps.

As the night goes on, the games get more and more competitive, or at least "heated," because the alcohol takes its toll.  It certainly gets interesting.  What should be a friendly competition turns into World War III sometimes, except without bombs, and guns, and soldiers, and Germany instigating shit.

The game of beer pong is played at virtually every level, ranging from recreational to national tournaments.  The game of our generation is insanely popular.  Rick Reilly even wrote an article for ESPN Magazine about the game.  Will our generation ever stop playing beer pong?  Certainly we will stop binge drinking, but will we ever stop playing?  It's hard to imagine a world were we aren't playing the game that we spent four (or five, six, twelve?) years in college playing.

There are many different variations, techniques, and rules of what is a simple game.  But, regardless of all these differences, it is still one game.  One we all love.