Phantom Blooper
01-26-06, 06:19 PM
By: Kristen Rennie
Issue date: 1/26/06
Ten plastic party cups were racked in a diamond shape at both ends of a table filled slightly with beer. The object of the game is to hit the ping-pong ball into each of the opponents' cups. The real object of the game however is to get drunk.
Requiring teams of two members challenging each other, this party ritual is the well-known game of Beirut, or as it's sometimes referred to "beer pong." Each team member has one chance to make the ping-pong ball into the opponent's cups per turn.
"Beirut is definitely one of the most popular drinking games at parties," said junior Brian Marchitto.
The turns alternate and as the ball lands in a cup, that same cup is taken away and drank. Each team aims to get rid of all the opponent's cups.
"There are some variations of the game, and you generally go by house rules-meaning whoever lives in the house can decide what rules must be in place," said junior Alex Losicalpo. "For example, sometimes the cup is pulled away after a ball lands in it, but sometimes it stays in place until both team members have had a turn."
Tuesday night it's Winchester Court rules. Every Tuesday there is a Beirut Tournament that takes place off campus at Keene State College. Students call or show up at the house Tuesday mornings to sign up to play that evening. It is $10 to play, and the winning team makes a little over $100. The rest of the money goes to the owners of the house. This tournament has no affiliation with the college whatsoever.
"The tournament is a lot of fun. A lot of people show up and there's good competition. Some Tuesdays I'm there pretty late because the more games you win, the more you play," said an underage KSC student who preferred to remain anonymous.
In the basement of the house, there are two separate games of Beirut taking place at a time. An organized bracket of winners and losers is made weekly by the owners of the house, so the participants will know when to play. Each team will play at least three games, even if they lose.
"It's obviously nice to see girls there, even if they're not playing Beirut," said Losicalpo.
There are people at this tournament who aren't participating and are just observing the games, usually drinking. The majority of the participants are men, although women are allowed to play if they choose.
"I like to play for fun but the boys are so competitive, for example if you stand next to them during the game they push you out of the way," said sophomore Kathleen O'Keefe. "And I would never want to play with my partner being a boy because I would be too nervous and not be able to enjoy it."
This college-wide "sport" was promoted by the Anheuser-Busch company by selling "tables, balls, and glasses to wholesalers across the United States," according to an article in USA Today from October.
While it may be well-known that Beirut is played with beer, and the players can end up intoxicated, the Anheuser-Busch company intended otherwise.
This promotion was halted recently because "Bud Pong" was being played with beer, instead of its intent-water, according to the same article in USA Today.
The Budweiser website promotes drinking responsibly, and no merchandise was available promoting "Bud Pong" as of recently.
In the KSC bookstore however, ping pong balls that say "KSC" on them are sold above beer mugs, with shot glasses on the shelf to the left.
"They know exactly what we're doing with the KSC balls. They're not stupid," said junior Andrew Denley.
Beirut is not only popular at KSC, but nation-wide among colleges and high schools.
"I went to Keene last year and transferred to UNH this year, and Beirut is just as popular in both schools" said sophomore Gina Tonelli. "I see it going on all the time and I definitely hear about it non-stop."
Not only has the game been accepted as a party favorite among many high schools and colleges, but it has been played since before most of the KSC student body was even born.
In fact, one legend of how the name "Beirut" came to be is from October 1983.
"A Hezbollah suicide bomber dropped on an American camp in Beirut, killing 241 U.S. Marines. Duane Kotsen, president of Lehigh's Theta Delta Chi frat in 1985, said he thinks the drinking game's name drew an 'analogy between the ping-pong balls flying across the table and landing on the opponent's side and an idea that the U.S. should bomb Beirut as a result of the casualties in the area,'" according to a Princetonian article written by Laura Berner.
"I'm pretty sure my parents played Beirut when they went to college, but I have no idea how the name "Beirut" came to be, I doubt they would know either," said Denley.
Issue date: 1/26/06
Ten plastic party cups were racked in a diamond shape at both ends of a table filled slightly with beer. The object of the game is to hit the ping-pong ball into each of the opponents' cups. The real object of the game however is to get drunk.
Requiring teams of two members challenging each other, this party ritual is the well-known game of Beirut, or as it's sometimes referred to "beer pong." Each team member has one chance to make the ping-pong ball into the opponent's cups per turn.
"Beirut is definitely one of the most popular drinking games at parties," said junior Brian Marchitto.
The turns alternate and as the ball lands in a cup, that same cup is taken away and drank. Each team aims to get rid of all the opponent's cups.
"There are some variations of the game, and you generally go by house rules-meaning whoever lives in the house can decide what rules must be in place," said junior Alex Losicalpo. "For example, sometimes the cup is pulled away after a ball lands in it, but sometimes it stays in place until both team members have had a turn."
Tuesday night it's Winchester Court rules. Every Tuesday there is a Beirut Tournament that takes place off campus at Keene State College. Students call or show up at the house Tuesday mornings to sign up to play that evening. It is $10 to play, and the winning team makes a little over $100. The rest of the money goes to the owners of the house. This tournament has no affiliation with the college whatsoever.
"The tournament is a lot of fun. A lot of people show up and there's good competition. Some Tuesdays I'm there pretty late because the more games you win, the more you play," said an underage KSC student who preferred to remain anonymous.
In the basement of the house, there are two separate games of Beirut taking place at a time. An organized bracket of winners and losers is made weekly by the owners of the house, so the participants will know when to play. Each team will play at least three games, even if they lose.
"It's obviously nice to see girls there, even if they're not playing Beirut," said Losicalpo.
There are people at this tournament who aren't participating and are just observing the games, usually drinking. The majority of the participants are men, although women are allowed to play if they choose.
"I like to play for fun but the boys are so competitive, for example if you stand next to them during the game they push you out of the way," said sophomore Kathleen O'Keefe. "And I would never want to play with my partner being a boy because I would be too nervous and not be able to enjoy it."
This college-wide "sport" was promoted by the Anheuser-Busch company by selling "tables, balls, and glasses to wholesalers across the United States," according to an article in USA Today from October.
While it may be well-known that Beirut is played with beer, and the players can end up intoxicated, the Anheuser-Busch company intended otherwise.
This promotion was halted recently because "Bud Pong" was being played with beer, instead of its intent-water, according to the same article in USA Today.
The Budweiser website promotes drinking responsibly, and no merchandise was available promoting "Bud Pong" as of recently.
In the KSC bookstore however, ping pong balls that say "KSC" on them are sold above beer mugs, with shot glasses on the shelf to the left.
"They know exactly what we're doing with the KSC balls. They're not stupid," said junior Andrew Denley.
Beirut is not only popular at KSC, but nation-wide among colleges and high schools.
"I went to Keene last year and transferred to UNH this year, and Beirut is just as popular in both schools" said sophomore Gina Tonelli. "I see it going on all the time and I definitely hear about it non-stop."
Not only has the game been accepted as a party favorite among many high schools and colleges, but it has been played since before most of the KSC student body was even born.
In fact, one legend of how the name "Beirut" came to be is from October 1983.
"A Hezbollah suicide bomber dropped on an American camp in Beirut, killing 241 U.S. Marines. Duane Kotsen, president of Lehigh's Theta Delta Chi frat in 1985, said he thinks the drinking game's name drew an 'analogy between the ping-pong balls flying across the table and landing on the opponent's side and an idea that the U.S. should bomb Beirut as a result of the casualties in the area,'" according to a Princetonian article written by Laura Berner.
"I'm pretty sure my parents played Beirut when they went to college, but I have no idea how the name "Beirut" came to be, I doubt they would know either," said Denley.