Spring Break
Beirut Or Beer Pong: Can You Decide?
Tara Maroney
Issue date: 4/21/06 Section: Focus
For a game that seems so universally played, no one seems to agree on a set of rules, penalties for table misconduct or a name. People seem to be divided into three categories: those who passionately call the game beer pong, those who only refer to it as Beirut and those who don't really care one way or the other.
There are almost an equal number of groups dedicated to each name on Facebook. Beirut players consistently argue that true beer pong is played with paddles, and thus the game being played on college campuses is Beirut. Beer pong fans argue that Beirut is a city in Lebanon, and not a game.
The premise of the game is simple. Two people or a team of two compete against one another to shoot ping pong balls into cups. Ten (or six) cups are set up on opposite sides of a long table in the shape of a triangle. If the ping pong ball lands in a cup in front of your opponent, they remove the cup from the triangle and drink it. The first team to hit their ping pong ball into all of the cups wins. The loser then must finish the contents of the remaining cups on the table, according to www.beirut-guide.com.
"I usually call it Beirut because it sounds cooler," said Mike Sortito, an 8th-semester molecular and cellular biology major. "I call it both but Beirut usually. I think it's bogus because there is no difference between Beirut and beer pong in my way of playing."
Sortito may not have a strong preference in the name, but other students do.
"[I call it] beer pong because that's what my friends have always called it [in] high school and college," said Stephen Smith, an 8th-semester acting major. "I think Beirut's a stupid name. The name sounds stupid. Beer pong makes sense. There's beer and there's ping pong balls. Beirut is for people who want to be pretentious about their drinking habits."
The other side of the argument is a historical one, or so claims one student.
"You call it Beirut because we dropped bombs on Beirut in the Gulf War in 1991," said Meredith Pickett, a 2nd-semester student at Tufts. "Throwing a ping pong ball in a cup is like dropping a bomb, or so they say. We here at Tufts are a totally Beirut school, if you call it beer pong you look silly. We have a different game called beer pong - it involves paddles and actually resembles ping pong, except with drinking."
There are almost an equal number of groups dedicated to each name on Facebook. Beirut players consistently argue that true beer pong is played with paddles, and thus the game being played on college campuses is Beirut. Beer pong fans argue that Beirut is a city in Lebanon, and not a game.
The premise of the game is simple. Two people or a team of two compete against one another to shoot ping pong balls into cups. Ten (or six) cups are set up on opposite sides of a long table in the shape of a triangle. If the ping pong ball lands in a cup in front of your opponent, they remove the cup from the triangle and drink it. The first team to hit their ping pong ball into all of the cups wins. The loser then must finish the contents of the remaining cups on the table, according to www.beirut-guide.com.
"I usually call it Beirut because it sounds cooler," said Mike Sortito, an 8th-semester molecular and cellular biology major. "I call it both but Beirut usually. I think it's bogus because there is no difference between Beirut and beer pong in my way of playing."
Sortito may not have a strong preference in the name, but other students do.
"[I call it] beer pong because that's what my friends have always called it [in] high school and college," said Stephen Smith, an 8th-semester acting major. "I think Beirut's a stupid name. The name sounds stupid. Beer pong makes sense. There's beer and there's ping pong balls. Beirut is for people who want to be pretentious about their drinking habits."
The other side of the argument is a historical one, or so claims one student.
"You call it Beirut because we dropped bombs on Beirut in the Gulf War in 1991," said Meredith Pickett, a 2nd-semester student at Tufts. "Throwing a ping pong ball in a cup is like dropping a bomb, or so they say. We here at Tufts are a totally Beirut school, if you call it beer pong you look silly. We have a different game called beer pong - it involves paddles and actually resembles ping pong, except with drinking."
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 12
Anonymous
posted 4/21/06 @ 12:29 PM EST
The first version of the game that I played was called Beirut for the reasons specified by Miss Pickett. However, the rules are as such:
1) 10 Cups in pyramid shape, must use one standard size pitcher per side per round to fill the cups. (Continued…)
Anonymous
posted 4/21/06 @ 1:24 PM EST
Just a comment about the name Beirut. How would you like it if someone from the middle east called his drinking game 9/11? The insentitivity and cluelesness of american youth is quite dumbfounding. (Continued…)
Anonymous
posted 4/22/06 @ 2:33 AM EST
I would just like to let you know that during the first Golf war the US did not bomb Beirut...actually in the early 80's it was your embassy in Beirut that was blown to pieces. (Continued…)
Sarahk
Sarahk
posted 4/22/06 @ 3:05 AM EST
And then you ask... "oh but why do they hate us???? What did we do to them we just allow our government and president to kill them under the stupid pretext of democracy!!!" Is imposing your view on others a democratic move???
And how about your stupid names of "freedom fries" ahahahah don't you all have better things to do????
But I'm pretty impressed that American youth actually know where Beirut is. (Continued…)
Anonymous
posted 4/24/06 @ 12:53 PM EST
Beirut is technically played with bottle caps, NOT ping pong balls. There really isn't a 'right' name for the game we all love to play, but I argue that since beer pong as least includes ping pong balls, the name is more appropriate. (Continued…)
Anonymous
posted 7/01/06 @ 2:13 PM EST
just for you information that the gulf war had nothing to do with beirut ,check your history record.Beirut is the capital of lebanon ,its called Beirut Bombs because there was civil war in lebanon and Bombs where all around , so it has nothing to do with the gulf war smart ass. (Continued…)
sb
posted 2/06/07 @ 11:33 AM EST
Beirut vs. Beer Pong
See the results from schools nationwide
http://www.collegehumor.com/pongmap
What do you call throwing a ping pong ball into a red solo cup. (Continued…)
Beer Pong Tables
posted 7/10/07 @ 5:14 PM EST
Beirut is a city in lebanon!
I call it Beer Pong, I've always called it that nobody in my home town ever called it Beirut, and up here at Suny Albany I don't hear anybody call it that. (Continued…)
Wildman
posted 1/05/09 @ 8:12 AM EST
You say Beer Pong, I say Beirut...
http://www.beerpongguru.com/you-say-beer-pong-i-say-beirut.html
Dimo
posted 5/09/09 @ 7:15 PM EST
I grew up calling it Beirut and since I'm from NYC the game is called Beirut end of discussion. This is confirmed in the movie Beerfest as well.
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