Battle of Gettysburg Beer Pong, June 2006

June 23, 2006
(Franklin, MA)
For all you history buffs out there, tonight was the battle of Gettysburg Beer Pong. Peter Piper from Franklin, MA was there to represent as an alum from Gettysburg College. Wildman from Boston, MA was the supporting alum from Dickinson College. In a spirited game of beer pong, the duo begin their battle on the pong court on Pete's new table with a home court advantage just southwest of Boston. In spite of a delayed start and an 80 degree incline driveway that might cause some pongers intimidation, these veterans were not phased in the slightest. In true form, the two decided to play three styles of Beer Pong play. The first was "Dickinson Beta Rules". These rules are pretty self-explanatory - - classic lob, where points only count on sinks and drinks are doled out for mess-ups.The game was played til 5 points to get things going. Then the crew switched to Gettysburg style of pong in which interesting rules were in effect including serving off the ground and earning a variety of points (depending on which part of the cup was hit). Most surprising was that the person who was actually behind (and getting sunk on) had more points. In addition to point counting, hitting off the cups with a 3-tiered point system tended to accelerate this style of play. Lastly, the two wrapped up with a classic game of Vegas style of Beer Pong. A string was set-up to simulate the 30" Vegas net. Overall, this was a much more rigid game and the inability to make saves clearly was a handicap on both sides. In the end a valiant effort was made by Peter Piper, but Wildman generally cleaned house.

Dickinson "Beta" Rules of Beer Pong
- Points Count on Sinks Only
- Saves Count
- Drinks happen on Screw-Ups
- Not OK to hit the cup on the serve
- Game to 5
Comment: Wildman Dominated his alma mater Beer Pong style, although Pete did Rally for a throwback to help even the drinking. It should be noted that while Wildman was testing out several paddle types in practice for the upcoming 30th annual World Beer Pong Championship in Las Vegas, the Pig Paddle was tested once again and yielded an excellent bounce factor scoring 2 sinks of the 5. Still the new chinese paddle will likely be the entrant into the Vegas Tourney.

Gettysburg "Sigma Nu" Rules of Beer Pong
- Points: 1 Point for Hitting Side of Cup, 2 Points for Hitting Rim of Cup, 3 Points for Sink
- Full Chug for Knockover
- Following Point, Serve odone from on the Table called off the table
- Normally, however, serves must be done from the floor.
- OK to hit cup on serve
- Game to 50
Comment: Pete definitely had the edge in the rules and background of Gettysburg pong and the tallying of points was a bit challenging so Marcy had to even help from the sidelines. However, the sink tactics seems to bode well for Wildman - - counting as 3 points and a nice chug against Pete. One point was even scored off a serve from the ground. Pete maintained a close battle and regained some strength when he knocked over Wildman's cup resulting in a 10 point play. Nevertheless, Wildman proceeded to a victory in his first venture in the Battle of Gettysburg Pong.

Vegas "Price" Rules Beer Pong
- Diagonal Serves
- High 30-36" Net
- Must Make it in your quadrant
- Off the Tables = Penalty against your Team
- Cheapies OK for Points
- Game to 21
Comment: Once the crowd (i.e. Marcy) heard about the Vegas tournament, it was all over. Was Pete going to step up with Gettysburg friend to tag-team in this venture? While it remains to be seen whether these gurus would step up to the challenge, we figured it would be a good time to test out the Vegas rules and see how things panned out. Pete kept mentioning that he was not as good at traditional ping pong (and Vegas Rules have very similar nuances to Ping Pong) and generally Pete paid the price. In Vegas rules, with the intimidating net, you are generally focused on keeping your serves diagonally in-line and the ball on the table. Several times, points were lost do to the "off the table" factor. The lack of saving points was generally a frustration for both parties. As a newbie to this style of play, Pete played respectably, but has some practice ahead of him if he wishes to partake in the breakfast of champions in Vegas.

Quotes:
Pete: "It was a pretty tough night for the Gettysburg representatives."