Recreation - Sports

 

In 2003, Texas Hold'Em was a relatively unknown sport, until Chris Moneymaker went from a common man to the World Series of Poker champion and turned $40 into $2.5 million. Quickly the sport took off and soon enough you noticed poker tables in every superstore and just about every poker event was televised on ESPN or GSN. It looks as if another game, previously know only in certain circles, is about to make its breakout. The cornhole game has exploded from its modest roots in Illinois and Ohio and the momentum keeps growing year after year.

Since there are only a couple of pieces of equipment that you need, a lot of people will look to buy the cornhole bags. While most people can muster up the skills to construct a set of boards, they don't have the patience or desire to learn how to make cornhole bags. While most people have a hammer and some nails, a sewing machine is a little harder to come by. Plus, unlike a set of cornhole boards, the bags do go through quite a bit of wear and tear and if you don't know what you are doing, they can break after just a little bit of play . That's why a lot of people will tend to just buy their bags from a local retailer or look to purchase them online

The game is easy and when you explain the rules to rookie, virtually everyone can think of a time or two in the past when they've been exposed to some variation of the game. The nice thing about the game is that you don't need much to play, just a set of bags and cornhole boards. And better yet, it's a game that nearly anyone can play. The young can play on the same team as the old, the out of shape with the most sculpted athletes, and males can play against females. That is why the game is so popular for summer BBQ's and parties, just put all the names in a hat, draw out random teams, and then have a great time. A first timer can unseat a veteran in any game, at any time.

Most players that have some carpentry skills, will build their own set of bean bag boards. They do this because it can be expensive to have them shipped across the country. Since the boards measure 4 feet by 2 feet, they tend to cost a bit to have them shipped. So, the option is to bring out your hammer, nails, and wood and make one for yourself to save a few bucks. The dimensions for the boxes can be found on the internet so its generally pretty easy for people with some carpentry skills to put the boards together. This will save you the expense of having them sent to you, but you'll make up for it with your time. Others find that they don't have the tools, skill, space or desire to put a set together, so they resort to buying a set on the internet and paying the extra expense.

The orgin if the game is a little hazy, but we have a pretty good idea The rumor is that some German farmer invented the game to take advantage of some extra corn and to kill some downtime. For the last few hundred years the game has only been popular in small groups in certain areas of the country. We have it easy now though, up until the last few years if you wanted cornhole sets then you needed to construct them on your own . Even larger stores like Dick's Sporting Goods or Sportmart are carrying a plastic version of the game. Now plastic isn't the choice of most players, but it does at least show that the game is popular enough to warrant placement in a large store. Most people that purchase the game, though, purchase them through local retailers or from an ecommerce store that sells cornhole products.

A lot of the appeal of the game comes from its simple nature. People can play against whoever, no matter what the skill set, and you can have a competitive game. Will the game grow as fast as Texas Hold Em'? Well that remains to be seen. Online poker has really helped everyone practice their poker game anytime of the day, in any season of the year, and against a wide variety of players. But, cornhole has its own online version of the game. Some sites are now featuring virtual cornhole games so you can brush up during the winter. I can already see cornhole as the newest Olympic sport!