World Series of Beer Pong 4

Rick Reilly (formerly of Sports Illustrated and current writer for ESPN) was on hand to check out the WSoBP for a future column and to watch his 2 sons compete in the event. I stood next to him, but didn't work up the courage to introduce myself. Apparently his status as a great sportswriter didn't stop my friends Mike, blank and blank for posing with him for a now classic picture.

Mike and Baker form the IWC (Iron Wizard are one of the most exciting teams in all of beer pong. They have been a consistent contender every single year, and their games have been some of the most exciting that I have ever seen at any level of the game. Plus they are two of the coolest and nicest guys that I've met in beer pong. They should've won year 3, but that was last year's story...

Our longtime friend, former co-worker and founding member of the CHBPL Davis Rank (far left) just happened to be in Las Vegas with his family. I swear it was a coincidence, or else he would have been playing in the event. But he convinced his siblings to come out and check it out, and it was great to have 4 more fans cheering from the sidelines. Hopefully Davis will play in the WSoBP next year.

I'll have to admit that I had a really good time watching this match, even though I knew that I would be unhappy with the results. No matter who won, someone that I cared about was going to lose. Losing is never fun, even if the loss benefits a dear friend. With the victory, Balkman and Brodey got one step closer to Day 3, but on the flipside Hummel and Katie J got one step further away from Day 3. It's the sad reality of this competition, but that's why the great philosophers always said that all is fair in love and beer pong. I'm pretty sure that if I had a phone booth time machine and I went back to ancient Greece, Socrates would certainly have said that. It's that kind of cool stuff that they leave out of the history books, which is one of the reasons that I never studied. If they ever put good stuff in those books, I would've been nose deep 24/7. No lie. And I'd be smart too because of it. But I don't study, I play beer pong.

From a bystanders perspective, it seemed like someone forgot to tell Balkman and Katie J to show up for this game. Those two combined for less than 5 cups (out of a possible 20) as everyone was treated to the Brodey/Hummel show. Those two went back and forth nailing cups, but Brodey and Balkman eventually prevailed.

There are over 430 teams out here, and each team plays 12 games. The tournament is set up in a random draw format, so with that many exponential possibilities, you'd think that you wouldn't play a team you know, right? Apparently that line of thinking is wrong. Brodey and Balkman were randomly scheduled to play against Hummel and Katie J. Good for Brodey and Balkman, bad for Hummel and Katie J. Brodey + Balkman are hands down a better team. I say that with no offense, because I don't think that anyone will argue with me over that statement. They've played with each other for what seems like an eternity and are now playing together at the WSoBP for the 4th time. I also think that they have more raw skill and experience, but anything can happen on the table at any given time. Hummel and Katie J bring a wild card aspect to a match like this, and they have enough heart to make Jimmy McGinty proud. Hell, they could even summon Captain Planet with that heart. Although heart helps, it's making cups that wins beer pong games. It always comes down to who can make more cups faster.