I had the biggest urge to play beruit tonight. I just pictured myself and James (my usual teammate) standing on the end of a table sinking cups one after the other for hours on end. God i miss that. It would be so nice to find that somewhere here. I wouldn't need it every weekend like we did at school; just once a month or so. There was something so perfect about it's simplicity. Nothing was expected of you except hitting cups, and that was easy after a while. The music was always perfect, just something to keep a beat. And you stood there with a brother, with someone who would say "dude, we'll just beat 'em next time" if we lost, and "just focus man, you can do it" if it's close. Sometimes it got intense; when you're at the table for so many games, the pressure builds, but it's a good pressure, it's excitement and if you eventually lose, you just think "damn, that was a good run."
Thinking about it now, i don't think there is anything else in life that's like it. I mean, other sports build brotherhood and teamwork and confidence and skill, but this is different. Maybe some of the difference comes into play with the amount of alcohol being consumed. Emotions seem to go so much deeper when you've had a few beers; especially for a guy like me, spending most of my time simply trying to hide emotion from other people.
One more thing to mention would be the ease of making a reputation for yourself. I was good some nights, and people understood that. Some would say, "oh shit, j&j's (jim and james) on the table," and i would respond with a silent but confident smile. And James, jesus, he was known all over campus; his technique although unusual (throwing underhand) won so many games. It was amazing.
Damnit, good times. I should start up a league or something, post flyers and get a bunch of VCU kids into it. If people caught on, we could designate houses to be pong houses and there would be an online forum signup preventing fights at the venue. I wouldn't even need to play, just stand in awe and maybe shamelessly flirt with a few girls who had proven themselves on the table. That would be amazing.