Is It a Dynasty?

This weekend I switched up my studying schedule so I could attend the Fourth Annual Maryland State Beer Pong Tournament. My partner and I managed to get a wild card bid and had to face our arch rival in the first round. We've been doing this for four years, we do have an arch rival. Needless to say, we lost, and then we lost again. And were out of the tournament in a quick two games. This was neither surprising or unexpected. Neither of us play as much as we used to and the competition has gotten a lot better over the past few years.

The tournament started out with the National Anthem. A girl near me scoffed and made a comment about this not being a sporting event. She obviously hates America and is quite possibly a terrorist, who else makes insults during the National Anthem. Say what you will about beer pong, but it is very competitive. Ask most of the 56 teams that competed on Saturday. Or come watch another tournament. You have over 100 guys(mostly) competing against each other for a trip to Vegas to play in the World Series of Beer Pong for $50,000 and the title of Maryland State Champions. Tell me anywhere you can get that many people together and have it not be competitive.

I'll be honest, for my team, it was more about blowing off steam, hanging out with friends and an excuse to drink at noon on a Saturday, but even we came to play. Plus, its always fun when two girls can beat two guys at pong, even if it didn't work out for us this week. The team that actually won this tournament was the same winner as last year, Wet Ballz. They consistently rank in the top three in League Championships. You get the idea, they are the elite of the beer pong world. After losing in the first round they managed to fight their way through the losers bracket and to beat Redonkulous in two games.

I didn't actually manage to stay until the end. The beer and hunger got to me. Who could possibly have predicted that as a tiny girl I would be hungry and drunk before six hours of beer pong had finished up. I left to go get food and watch some college basketball and didn't make it for the final rounds of the tournament. I'm told that the matches were hard fought through multiple overtimes. So it looks like a Wet Ballz dynasty.

Major tournaments are springing up all over the place. There are leagues forming in most major cities and even an international tournament in Jamaica. And of course the World Series in Vegas right after New Years. So look for a league or some tournaments in your area.

Before you get too critical of MDbeerpong.com and similar organizations keep in mind that most of the people playing are young professionals who like to compete in every situation. Most of them developed a love of this game during college and don't see a reason to give it up because they now have graduated and moved on. It's not only about the competition, it's another way to socialize and have fun and maybe win some money and at least win some bragging rights. But a lot of is about competition.

Photo: Taken by me of Wet Ballz