It began, like many traditions at Boston College, with the ancient Greeks … or so say many legends about the immensely popular drinking game Beirut, a game now banned on campus. Try arguing that with your Resident Assistant or Hall Director next time you are caught playing the game.
In Kattabos, the moniker for a game played by the ancient Greeks, two players separated themselves with a table, in the middle of which stood a large stand topped by a bronze disk almost 12 feet off the ground.
Player one would chug his glass of wine and throw the remaining residue up towards the disk, the object being to knock the disk down. The first one to knock it down won, but if both players missed, they would refill their wine, repeat the chugging, and try the process again.
As the game became more popular, tables were constructed and marketed for all the Greeks to enjoy. Sound familiar?
Though the game has evolved quite a bit since the ancient Greeks, its competitive spirit still lingers.
Legend suggests that Beirut became popular in America on college campuses in the late ’50s or early ’60s, when co-educational life came into existence. Males and females, allowed to mingle and party together without chaperones for the first time, discovered the fun of competitive drinking games.
Interestingly enough, this development coincided with the invention of plastic cups, making drinking games like Beirut easier to play, particularly as it eliminated broken glasses and ceramic cups.
Others suggest that the U.S./Beirut conflict in the early to mid-’80s was responsible for the game’s popularity, a game in which lobbing ping pong balls into opponent cups seemed strikingly familiar to bombs dropping from the sky in the Lebanese town.
Beirut most likely derives its roots from another game – beer pong. The game differs in its use of a ping pong table and racket. Perhaps students found it easier just to pick up a ball and throw it in a cup, and the fun of Beirut spread from campus to campus, as new versions of the game cropping up as its popularity grew.
“Everyone has a different style of playing Beirut,” says Alexandra Barrett, A&S ’03. “That’s the fun of it all – you can adapt and change the rules with each game, depending upon who you play, as long as both teams agree beforehand.”
Though some students create their own Beirut tables using plywood or fold out tables to play their games, companies like Byte Bulb offer custom made tables for reasonable fees. The cost rises with the addition of school logos, type of wood (from birch wood to maple mahogany), and amenities such as spill guards, cup holders, and collapsible travel hinges.
“The beauty of playing this game is that you can play it almost anywhere,” says Alex Eswar, A&S ’03, “provided you have a table and ping pong balls. Almost every room on campus has a different table, which makes the game even better.”
In fact, Beirut has gained so much national attention that it is considered a competitive sport, one worthy enough for a national championship.
Though the NCAA will not be sponsoring this event, qualifying tournaments will be held this year in 16 cities nationwide in a quest to identify the nation’s best players. The competition comes to Boston this February.
Maybe you have some friends off campus or at nearby schools who will let you practice…
Elizabeth Reh
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