Baseball has its World Series, the NFL has its Super bowl, and now UR can enter the upper echelon of competitive sports competitions with the very first Rochester Beirut Championship.
That’s right, on Friday, Dec. 12 at 4 p.m., there will be a Beirut Tournament held in Wilson Commons which will determine once and for all the most prolific players of our beloved late night game.
The sign-ups for this exclusive event will begin next Monday, Dec. 8, in Wilson Commons and last through Wednesday, Dec. 10. Players will choose either lemonade or water as their beverage of choice, and there will be a cost of $5 per team of two to enter the tournament, which will award prizes to the top three teams.
It will be first come, first serve for the 64 spots which will make up the single elimination, no holds barred, championship, so make sure to get there early and reserve your spot.
The tournament’s existence actually serves a dual purpose for UR. For one, it serves as an exhibition to the administration about the harmlessness of Beirut, and how it acts more as a social forum than it does a drinking game.
Additionally, Beirut, as we all know, has grown to become a way life at UR. It is the center piece of every major party on campus, and the source of countless hours of entertainment for an eclectic mix of players.
The game penetrates every inch of campus living. From the elegant tables of fraternity house basements to the closet doors laid across chairs in Sue B., the game provides a universal language for Rochester students.
However, for those who chose to partake, there is one unanswerable question, “Who is the best Beirut player on campus?” Many, who have spent countless hours mastering the skill of throwing a ping pong ball into a cup which sits eight to ten feet away, and who have permanent horizontal stains upon their pants from leaning into the saturated table, will claim this honorable title.
In fact, I myself have won a few games in a row and declared to the world my status as the undisputed deity of the Beirut world, however until now, the true master of the game has yet to be determined.
So to all those who have admonished their friends at home for calling our beloved game “beer pong.” To all who have played countless games and only quit when the sun has risen. To all who have seen ping pong balls in their dreams and who have high fived and declared themselves champions, now is the time to step to the plate, swallow your pride and play for the Rochester Beirut Championship.
Voetsch can be reached at avoetsch@campustimes.org.
