Beer Pong Lives (in Baltimore, at Least)

Feb. 12, 2009— -- Baltimoreans are free to pong in peace now that a state senator has abandoned his quest to ban a popular drinking game after a barrage of angry e-mails from players.

Maryland state Sen. George Della Jr., a 26-year veteran of the state Senate, put the kibosh Wednesday on his proposal to prohibit Baltimore bars, bottle clubs and retail stores from allowing beer pong or any other drinking game on the premises.

"Baltimore's got a lot of problems; beer pong's not one of them," said Austin Lanham, co-founder of MD Beer Pong, which spearheaded the protest effort.

MD Beer Pong's league players inundated Della's inbox in the last several days, leading him to ax the bill the day before it was due to go before a hearing committee.

Della didn't respond today to messages left with his office by ABCNews.com. But he told the Baltimore Sun that he got so many e-mails, "I don't have the time to fool with it."

A representative for Della's office in Annapolis said Della was the only one who could speak to the reason behind his proposal, why he decided to drop it and how many e-mails he got in protest.

The measure called for fines and suspension or revocation of liquor licenses for any establishment that violated the would-be law.

"I just hope that if people continue doing it, they do it in a way that there's not excessive drinking and disrespect for the surrounding neighborhoods," Della told the Sun.

While the name of the game may conjure up images of slovenly college drunks chugging beer while a raucous crowd cheers them on, true beer pong enthusiasts are in it for the sport.

In the MD Beer Pong leagues, which have seen more than 1,200 teams cycle through since 2005, drinking is optional and the cups are often filled with water.

"We're not just trying to get drunk," Lanham said. "That way, if you are the designated driver, you can still play."

While beer pong rules vary among the nation's colleges and universities, MD Beer Pong plays two players to a team with 10 cups each. Each player takes turns trying to land a ping pong ball in another team's cup. If the ball goes in, the cup must be removed. The first team to lose all its cups loses.

While some college students require players to drink alcohol for missing the cup or for missing the table all together, MD Beer Pong doesn't impose penalties for misses.

Beer Pong Ban a Waste of Time

Teams can earn cash prizes -- up to $1,250 in the Baltimore league -- paid for by entry fees. Tournaments are played at area bars.

Lanham, who works as an engineer and only plays beer pong during sanctioned tournaments, said he sent out e-mails and posted a message on the organization's Web site asking players to voice their opposition to the bill. He didn't know the response would so effective.

"It's not that our intentions were to inundate his inbox, but that's what happened because so many people had an opinion," Lanham said.

One MD Beer Pong player blasted Della in an e-mail, likening him to the John Lithgow character in the '80s flick "Footloose" who tried to ban dancing.

"When I first heard this story of the attempt of a Baltimore City senator trying to pass 'No Beer Pong' legislation, I laughed uncontrollably," he wrote. "No way could this be true!!! Having half a brain and an ounce or two of common sense, I sat back and thought to myself, with the rampant violent crime and "stop the snitching'" mentality prevalent in this city, there is NO WAY any competent elected official would waste their time and our tax money on the prevention of people having fun."

Other players took a softer approach.

"I feel like the negative connotations and stereotypes surrounding the game of beer pong have influenced the decision to have this bill passed," another player wrote. "The majority of these players are professional, taxpaying citizens with careers and homes in Baltimore. It would be a shame to rob them of this game."

And aside from protecting his hobby, Lanham said he's glad this is no longer an issue so Della can get to work on other projects.

"I don't want to see things like that taking the time of my politicians," he said.

The history of beer pong is a bit hazy, with Dartmouth, Bucknell and Lehigh universities all claiming credit. It is thought to date back to the 1980s when players called the game Beirut. Although leagues and nonorganized players have varying rules, some play with paddles and others play by hand.

Thousands of Beer Pong Web Sites

There are now thousands of Web sites devoted to beer pong game play, history and accessories, including tables, paddles, branded cups and even a floating beer pong raft for swimming pools.

Though Della's attempt to crack down on beer pong may have caused a bit of panic among players in the Baltimore area, there have been several attempts, some successful, in other towns at colleges and universities to ban the game.

The Oxford City Council in Ohio sparked a heated debate when it tried to ban drinking game tables from being set up outdoors during the daytime at Miami University. Despite numerous meetings on the proposal, it failed in March 2007.

Georgetown University, which is Catholic and Jesuit, not only bans peer pong, but also paraphernalia, including beer pong tables and, according to several reports, inordinant quantities of ping pong balls. Also on the school's no-no list are alcohol-related board games such as Shots and Ladders and Keel Over.