Monday, October 27, 2008

Battles of Middle America: Bags v. Cornhole

I got the idea for a new section on "One Lost" the other day that I think all of you will enjoy. Every few days (or how ever often I am inspired) I will post a summery of the greatest issues and controversies of the Midwest. Now, these are issues that can't even be resolved within the peace-loving, friendly confines of America's Breadbaskets, and thus, I will make no attempt to judge or endorse one side or the other. These are just the facts, plain and simple.

Your first Battle is the controversy surrounding that ubiquitous tailgating game of bags/cornhole. For those of you unfamiliar with this...er...highly exciting game, it essentially involves throwing beanbags at a board with a hole in it. Points are scored by landing and sticking a beanbag on the board (1 point) or putting it through the hole (3 points). Teams of two compete in a game that runs to 21 or 25 points. The winner presumably gets to choose the first bratwurst off the grill or some other obscure Midwest honor.

Now, the issue, other than why this game is so popular (and admittedly, fun), is what to call it. Those from the Chicagoland (another silly Midwest idiom) insist that the game is "Bags," named for the beanbags being thrown. Another school of thought proports that the activity is called "Cornhole," named for the act of throwing the bag through the hole.

Early research suggest that the cornhole school exists primarily within Ohio and Wisconsin. I have it on good authority that "Cornhole" is the common term in Toledo, OH as well as parts of N. Wisconsin.

So long as Midwesterners are grilling sausages and going to sporting events, the "Bags v. Cornhole" issue will rage. Perhaps some sort of coalition could be formed to bring this issue to a resolution. Unfortunately, the result of such a meeting would most likely degrade into a Bags...er...Cornhole...er...whatever shouting match.

So West Coasts, just be glad that you have Montana and the Dakotas to seperate you from the issue

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

your blog is getting much better.

Kelley said...

Hahahaha, best part of this: "The winner presumably gets to choose the first bratwurst off the grill or some other obscure Midwest honor."


PS: Thanks for being loyal. You're right you aren't so bad.

I'm actually not voting for Obama, believe it or not. It was just a very cool experience being there.