"Beer pong is NOT a game, beer pong is a sport!" authors Ben Applebaum and Dan DiSorbo write in their new instructive manual, "The Book of Beer Pong." They write that, "In the beginning there was beer, and the beer was with pong, and the beer was pong, and it was good." The book discusses cup sizes, shooting orders and all other things related to the authors' favorite college extracurricular activity.
"The Book of Beer Pong" is a 200-page handbook on the glorious sport (not game) of beer pong. The front cover accurately describes it as "the official guide to the sport of champions." Containing almost every fact about the sport's history and a thorough description on how to become a beer pong champion, the book's authors hit on the importance of signature songs, dramatic comebacks and pre-pong stretching in a satirically informative matter.
Each of the manual's 10 chapters covers a specific aspect of beer pong. Some topics include the sport's history, rules, game variations, basic skills and recommended equipment. These chapters cover everything from trash-talking do's and don'ts to appropriate ways for celebrating to proper stances, throwing angles and gripping variations. Need a suggestion for an awesome team name? Simply turn to page 148 for a list of 100 certified name suggestions including "Cup Fever," "Ball Breakers" and "Pongimus Maximus."
One of the most important topics discussed in the books is re-racking cups, a crucial action that most beer pong players fail to learn and end up executing poorly. Readers will learn how to re-rack cups in different ways, and when it is appropriate to do so during the game. An important etiquette rule to remember: check with the opposing team before re-racking cups to prevent any fights over racking faux pas.
Lots of useful beer pong facts and tips are included in the pages that can help improve one's use of distraction methods - pelvic thrusts and continuous chest bumps, anyone? The authors' pointers should help increase one's overall focus and skill level while battling against the opposing pong team. Most readers will likely skim through the book looking for select information about a certain beer pong topic; only die-hard beer pong players are likely to read the entire manual.
Some of the interesting facts and tips found in "The Book of Beer Pong" include the top four qualities to look for in a teammate, as well as the revelation of the special names for the different cups in the 10-cup formation (the "bitch cup" is located in the center of the pyramid). The history of beer pong is also discussed (it is thought to have started at Dartmouth College about 60 years ago), and, arguably most importantly, the book's official beer pong glossary is full of terms a good beer pong player needs to know. (How else could one know that they've just witnessed a "beeracle" - a miracle caused by beer-related events such as making 10 straight cups in a game.
"The Book of Beer Pong" is now available in stores.
You can reach this writer at thescene@theeagleonline.com.
