"Beirut" or "Beer Pong"?

As I sit here, wasted at 2:20 a.m. listening to MMG's wedding album ("Red Neck Yacht Club" is playing), I think it's time to clear something up.

I recently got home after playing a tournament in which myself and a partner competed against two other players in a game many of us know well. Some of us call it "Beirut," some of us call it "Beer Pong," and some of us -- well, only Side Bar -- call it "Throw Pong." Though I did not win tonight's tournament, I feel that the name of the game deserves some attention.

Here's all there is to it: If what you're doing is throwing a ping-pong ball into one of several cups, you are playing Beirut; if you are actually using ping-pong paddles to swat a ping-pong ball into a cup, you are playing Beer Pong.

It's really that simple.

I've played both, and I must say "Beer Pong," played properly, is a lot of fun. And does it not earn its name? You actually use paddles to hit a ping-pong ball.

I have no idea why "Beirut" is called "Beirut." But if you are throwing a ping-pong ball into a cup -- using only your hands, as opposed to a paddle -- you're playing Beirut.

If you've never used ping-pong paddles to try to knock a ball into a cup, I recommend you do so right away. Until then, you have never played "Beer Pong." It's really quite fun. Here's a quick tutorial:



These days, "Beer Pong" is advertised all over the place. There's even a World Series of Beer Pong. So that has become the accepted name of the game.

Incidentally, during that tournament tonight in which I competed, I had to throw a ball into my opponents' cup. It was called a "Beer Pong" tournament. There were no paddles.

I didn't mind what they called it. Know why? Because if I lost, I drank a lot. If I won, I got to drink more. It's a win/win, right?

Beirut/Beer Pong. Potato/Po-tah-to.

(Oh, and if you haven't checked out the Beth and Val Show yet -- which I have recommended in the side bar [not the Side Bar who calls it "Throw Pong" like a douche] -- check this one out.