Monday, May 15, 2006

On Nate's Call For Cross-Blogging

Ok, so I have to admit that I don't really know what "cross-blogging" is, but upon reading Nate C.'s last post about possible cross-blogging topics I found one that was of particular interest to me: cornhole. For those who don't know, cornhole is a popular game on college campuses these days, especially at fraternity houses. I, however, refuse to take part in such a unentertaining an unstimulating activity.

So here's what you do when you play cornhole. You have a couple of wooden boxes with holes in them place about 20 feet apart. You have two teams. Each team tries to throw a set number of beanbags into the holes in the opposite box. You also get points for having beanbags sitting on the box, so you can try to knock your opponents beanbags off. That's about the extent of it.

Does this game sound familiar? It should, you probably played at your elementary school carnival when you were 8 years old, right after you placed 3rd in the musical chairs cakewalk. (By the way, I won the cakewalk one year and I was given a carrotcake as a reward.....what right-minded child wants a carrotcake as a prize?). Or perhaps you won your girlfriend a stuffed animal once by playing it at an amusement park. HERE'S WHAT YOU DID CORNHOLE: You took the popular carnival game "beanbag toss" and made it a team game. Then you named it Cornhole. That's what you did.

Let me propose a better solution to those of you seeking cheap summer entertainment. A few years ago I was throwing the tennis ball at the La-z-Boy in my living room because I was bored. Well one time I threw the ball and it got stuck in one of the many crevices that this particular recliner had. It got me to thinking......"I could make this a game". So I went to my right-hand man, Andy J. Henard, in the room next to me and showed him my new discovery. Needless to say, Andy was sold on his first throw of the ball into the chair. Thus was born our new creation, La-z-Ball.

It started off simple: we would throw at the chair from inside the living room only. Then we started to test our skills a little more by moving outside. We began to throw from the foyer. Propping the front door open, we would throw from the front porch. Then from the front yard. And then from the sidewalk. No one could conquer the sidewalk, so that was as far as we got.

Later we added a points system to the game: certain crevices in the chair were worth varying amounts of points. We began to include others into our fun. We even took the chair out in the back yard for an entirely new experience. That, my friends, was the Golden Age of La-z-Ball.

Bottom Line: La-z-Ball is infinitely better than Cornhole. Now if you enjoy Cornhole, by all means go ahead and keep playing it. I don't want to stop you from having fun. But remember that you are playing a game that is really a lie....there may be a hole involved, but there is no corn. Is this the kind of game that you want your children playing, a game that is lying to them, promising things that it can't deliver? La-z-Ball delivers on it's promise: you get a La-z-Boy, and you get a ball. It's that simple.

So next Christmas, don't buy your kids that bicycle or XBox 360. Don't buy your wife those diamond earrings. Don't buy your dad that DVD player. Buy them what they really want: a La-z-boy and 3-pack of tennis balls. And after you and your family have finished playing a round of La-z-Ball, you can relax in your nice La-z-Boy recliner. Now that's the gift that keeps on giving.

posted by Wes @ 1:57 PM

6 Comments:

At 5/15/2006 04:41:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

To learn more about cross-blogging, view comments to Nathan's April 19 "Expanding Our Horizons" blog. Be warned: if you slack on blogging, you will be cross-blogged!

In defense of cornhole, there is corn involved. You put the corn in the bean/corn bags. You might want to check out the American Cornhole Assocation -- www.playcornhole.org. I'm not aware that Bean Bag Toss or LazyBoy toss have their own associations!

 
At 5/15/2006 04:49:00 PM, Blogger JTapp said...

I've heard that the term "cornhole" actually is a curse word to certain elderly folks, particularly in rural areas. You may remember that Beavis adopted it to become "the great Cornholio," for those of us who used to watch MTV.

Does anyone know have any knowledge on this offensive "cornhole" subject they can share?

You should patent La-z-ball before Henard goes on American Inventor.

 
At 5/15/2006 06:40:00 PM, Blogger Liz Waters said...

I also wondered what all these people were thinking when they kept talking about how fun cornhole is. I mean, it's beanbag toss!!! I can't understand why it's such a big deal, except maybe if you are drunk (and many cornhole enthusiasts often are).

 
At 5/16/2006 10:54:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

converse tennis shoes
perfect syllables to use
blog slowly...you lose

*you have been crossblogged by People for the Responsible Use of Blogs...long live the PRUBs

 
At 5/16/2006 10:56:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

wes actually blogs regularly...THANK YOU from all the blog stalkers out here!!!! you were crossblogged with love!

 
At 5/17/2006 08:22:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am so disappointed in your hate towards cornhole. It is such a fun game! I must admit, at first you think it is dumb, but then when you start playing, it is actually very fun and addicting. Kenneth and I invite you to our house to come and play cornhole on our UK set.

 

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