Beer Pong On the Rocks - A Veteran's Insight - by Iceman (Week 1)

Beer pong is once again fresh in our minds as another school semester has started and yet another beer pong season is underway. For the GBPL/CHBPL, this will be the 7th season, and my 6th as a participant. My name is Iceman, and I've been a staple in the beer pong league since it's inception. I've seen it grow from infancy to the juggernaut that it has now become. I'd like to take this opportunity to reflect upon my current year and provide a veteran's viewpoint on this current season. I almost didn't come back to play this year, but like every crusty old veteran in professional sports, I just don't know when to throw in the towel. So I'm back, and I'm willing to offer up my observations about Season 7.

First off, I must mention a little bit about all of the hoopla surrounding the 1st week of play. In case you didn't notice the cameras, boom microphone and the people operating them, a documentary crew was in town to interview some of the members of the league for an upcoming film. I got the chance to sit down with them for over an hour on Thursday night, and I gave them a taste of what beer pong has meant to me over the past 4 years. I did get a little teary eyed when I recalled all of the precious memories, but I won’t dwell on that much longer. You'll just have to wait until the documentary comes out to see what portions of my ramblings made the cut. They did talk with us again briefly on Friday night during league play, but it was so hectic there that I didn't even notice that my team, No Time for Love Dr. Jones suffered our first defeat, but I'll talk on that later. Saturday morning gave us (Brodey, Balkman, Casey, Lorge and myself) one last opportunity to sit down with the documentary gang and reveal the rest of the information that they were seeking. After the cameras and microphones were put away, all that was left were a couple of friends playing beer pong, just like in the good old ol' days of the Cramer House Attic...

Season 7 started off with a bang, and I remember stepping up to the table feeling like a man past his prime. All of that changed when I grabbed a hold of a ping pong ball and sunk a cup. I then realized that in beer pong, it doesn't matter how old you are, because anyone can play the game. People here didn't care that I was anywhere from 1-7 years older than they were, all that they cared about was the fact that I was there. I've made a lot of friends over the years of playing beer pong, and it would be a shame to not be able to mingle with the crowd I "grew up with" over the last 4 years, although some faces are fresher than the others. I had two goals for this upcoming season - 1. to shoot a dead 50% and be perfectly reliable, especially in pressure situations, and 2. to open up the door and provide insights of the game to my rookie partner. I've known Joey Kanz for about 2 years; I met him through my younger brother so he is a good 5 years younger than me. His excitement for the game rekindled that feeling in me, because after season 6 I had "lost that beer pong feeling, o-o that beer pong feeling" (that one is for Brodey and Jeff.) I knew that his only ticket into the league would be to partner with me, so I took him under my wing and started this season with high hopes...

His inaugural game would not be an easy one. We were facing two established players, both of whom I had previously partnered with at some time during my beer pong career. Fresno/Hollywood Chris Lomascola is currently my roommate and was my partner seasons 3-4, 6 and at the 1st World Series of Beer Pong. Matt Salmon was my partner in season 5, which I still consider to be the year where I had the most fun because I didn’t expect anything out of our team. We didn’t care about stats or wins/losses, we just went out every week to play and have fun, which is what this game is all about (more on that later). They won game 1 by cup, we took game 2 by 1 cup, then they won game 3 by 1 cup. It was a very exciting match up, but Joey Kanz learned right away that it doesn’t matter how well you do on other beer pong tables, all that matters is how you play on Any Given Friday at the new beer pong house. I shot around 48%, which is close enough to my promised goal, but he shot in the low 30's, which rarely earns you that coveted W. But it's ok, because next week is a brand new week, and I'll sure as hell right there with you ready to play some pong. I apologize for not including any commentary on anyone else in league – I was simply too busy and overly tired to notice what was going on. Hopefully I will pay more attention to other games and use the information gathered there as a clever ploy to get you to read my articles hoping that your name is mentioned. We’ll see about that as the season unfolds…

Now I'll have some customary parting words (and for this article, the rational that I have for including them.)

Iceman's lesson of the week - This is where the Veteran in me will attempt to instill some knowledge to anyone trying to improve their game - The game is not over until the kill shot is hit. Until that moment, you still have a chance (albeit a rare chance sometimes) to win the game, so keep on trying as hard as you can to hit cups. Also, when a combine is reached, it's a whole new ball game because now you're back to arguably the easiest formation to sink cups.

You know what really grinds my gears? - Since I am old, there are some things that upset me that didn;t used to upset me when I was younger. This section will allow me to bitch and moan a little bit about how the league has changed, what beer pong was like when I was a kid, random stuff that irks me, etc. - It seems to me that some people (who I won't name) have forgotten that beer pong is essentially a game. Games are supposed to be fun. And this is even a drinking game, where you get to drink and play at the same time! I understand that every game has to have rules or else pure chaos would erupt, but when we are playing in exhibition , some people should relax on the rules and try to have fun. When we first started playing, we didn't really even have rules and we just played to hang out and get drunk. It was something to do on a Saturday night that didn't involve rubbing up on a bunch of guys in a sweaty basement house party with underage kids.

Iceman's shout-outs - Here I'll just throw out a couple of random shout-outs to all people.

Salmon - it's great to have you back in league. Your participation this year reminds me of all the good times in Season 5...

the Veterans - Without you guys, this league wouldn’t be the same because these new kids don’t understand what league was like during the early stages. You guys have been there every step of the way and we have so much history that it would be a shame to not have you involved...

people living at the new beer pong house - thanks for letting us mess up your house a couple of times a week. Without a proper venue, this league could not function. I apologize in advance if I ever help turn your house into a federal disaster zone.

Readers of this article – sorry that I wrote so much. I guess I just had a lot to say during week 1 that I needed to include in here. I promise to not get crazy in the coming weeks and force you to read on a non-school night. But hey, thanks for reading anyway.

Well, it’s time for me to rock and ride my friends, so I guess I’ll see you next time.

Until then -

Gonna rock, and roll this place -- With the power of the ninja turtle bass.
Iceman, ya know I’m not playin’ -- Devistate the show while the turtles are sayin
Ninja, Ninja, RAP! Ninja, Ninja, RAP!
Go Ninja, Go Ninja, GO; Go Ninja, Go ninja, GO!

- Iceman -

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