Cornhole, it's a great American pass time widely beloved at barbecues and parties,
frat parties especially, but for some,
cornhole is a deadly, serious, competitive sport.
So Ashley Fetters Malloy of the Washington Post went to South Carolina to
report on the American Cornhole Leagues, the
ACL World Championship Tournament, the World Championship.
Okay, here's what she found, stretching out
across the prairie of hardwood floor under
fluorescent lights are 132 cornhole courts, every
one occupied by either two or four players.
A gigantic American flag looms over the expanse, the air
smells like sweat, $2 pizza slices and the occasional discreet
puff of vape smoke [CROSSTALK] [LAUGH] despite PSAs ringing out
now and again to remind attendees that vaping is off limits.
So, many of the cornhole players are so dedicated
that they're spending their free time practicing as well.
So, 19-year-old Alex Rawls, Richards's co-number
one graduated high school this year.
He practices up to three to four hours per week.
No, for up to three hours per week, not more than three, each weekday at an LA
Fitness near his home in Jacksonville, Florida that lets
him set up the boards in the dance studio.
So- [LAUGH] >> He's dancing with cornholes.
>> Yeah, I wouldn't let him do it.
All right, so Jamie Graham, 24, who's ranked number three.
So, these are rankings, these are ranked players, behind
Richards and Rawls, throws hundreds of bags every day.
His girlfriend, 20-year-old, Kaylee Hunter, a
rising cornhole star herself [CROSSTALK] [LAUGH]
>> [CROSSTALK] Tell the story.
>> [CROSSTALK] [LAUGH] I mean, we all know the second meeting, don't we?
Okay.
>> [LAUGH] >> I see 132 corn holes before me, and it
is a sweaty place, [CROSSTALK] but I'll tell you this rising cornhole star.
Okay, all right, we're all supposed to ignore it.
Okay, go ahead, no.
>> No, he's right.
We'll explain the double meaning.
I can hardly get through this.
Okay, they throw at their home in Hamlet, North Carolina.
Cornhole players must carefully pick what beanbags they throw.
There's all kinds of different kinds of bags that they have.
There's different kinds of shots that they have.
We can get into that if we would like to, but let's open it up.
This is just so ridiculous.
>> Yeah.
So, I just can't get past the name and I don't know if they-
>> Cornhole?
>> Yeah, if they all know it and they're
in on it, and they're like, yeah, we know it's
hilarious and that's why we drink so much and vape
so much, in which case I'm totally down for it.
I'm cool, I'm good or if they're just all ignoring it.
But anyway, maybe it's like an old
school thing because I watch Beavis and Butt-Head.
>> Of coursse you do.
>> And so I know exactly what a Cornholio is.
Okay, [LAUGH] but I think a lot of the young
people and stuff didn't even know anyway, it means anus.
But apparently, it's also this game.
So, Rick, you cover sports on TYT Sports, is
this one of the largest topics on your channel?
>> You'd be surprised, it is.
No, it's not.
Do you know what the other name for this sport is?
No.
>> Bags.
>> Well.
>> Do you prefer bags?
>> Well, that also has a double meaning, but it's not as obvious.
>> [INAUDIBLE] point.
>> Okay.
>> Do you just hate people that love stuff?
>> No.
You're terrorizing, you're no fun police.
>> He was supporting the bears drug thing.
>> Right, you'll support low libido, but you won't support cornhole.
>> [LAUGH] >> It's so amazing to be the big-
>> No, [CROSSTALK] cornhole advocate.
>> No, you're not.
>> [LAUGH]
>> These kids have found something that they wanna take up, they have a passion.
>> Indeed.
[LAUGH] >> God damn it.
>> They do have a passion for it.
>> They do have a passion for cornhole.
But what I will say is if you're on the beach, if you're at a party, if you have,
I don't know, a backyard, a front yard, summer, people come over, it's great.
It's awesome.
It's a great time.
>> Mainly in the backyard.
>> Front yard too.
But, anyways.
>> Jesus Christ.
>> Okay, now my serious opinion, I don't know why I
have to have a serious opinion but, okay, it's mandated by law.
No, of course have [INAUDIBLE] you crazy?
This is super fun.
And I played rugby and drinking was a big part of rugby.
I mean theoretically it shouldn't be, but it's part of the
cultural rugby and part of the reason why I like a lot
of us played in college instead of, and why we could have
played football, a lot of us could have played football, all right?
And a lot of us played football in high school,
pretty good at it, but it took up too much time.
It swallows your life in college.
Rugby, you go, and I didn't drink in college, but everyone else did.
I mean, they drank before the game, they drink in the middle of the game, they
drank tons and tons after the game and a great time was had by all, right?
And so these guys are drinking, having a good time doing a competitive sport.
And let's be honest, right now could I do a competitive sport?
Hell no, could I do cornhole?
I guess.
[LAUGH] >> I mean, I think you could.
>> I'm upset by this story because I think
if there was one party game, if you can call
it a game, it could be a sport that
became something where people were competing for prize money, right?
There's prize money involved with the cornhole, $595,000
in prize money last week, and that's insane.
>> Wow.
>> That's different.
>> I've got a whole new point of view on corn holes.
>> Me too.
You left that out until the end?
[LAUGH] >> [LAUGH]
>> But why not beer pong?
>> I had a feeling you were going to beer pong.
>> Come on.
>> No, look, hey if people are watching,
and they're making money off the gate and/or
whatever, however they're making money, and they're sharing
that with the cornhole athletes, [LAUGH] they're great, wonderful.
>> You know what's actually been on like ESPN too?
I swear to God, is that beach game with the ball and the trampoline?
What is it like spike ball?
>> Spike ball.
My guy, Edwin, spike ball, do you know about that one?
>> No, no.
>> Super competitive.
[CROSSTALK] >> That sounds much harder than cornhole.
>> I guarantee it.
>> Yeah.
>> Do you know what it is?
>> I've seen people play this.
My God.
This is- >> It gets crazy.
>> It does.
>> It gets super intense.
>> It's super difficult.
Wait so they could win $600,000 between four people?
>> Just about.
So, yeah, we have a quote from someone in the Sports Business journal here.
So this is Brett McCorMick, and he said the ACL founder
and CEO Stacey Moore, CEO and founder of the ACL.
Okay, said that the ACL whose sport has an estimated
150,000 players globally and which paid out roughly $595,000 in prize
money, last weekend alone, is closely looking at international expansion
which will dictate whether it goes out for a funding raise.
And the ACL is holding their first ever ACL tournament in Europe, which is open
in a few weeks in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and this is a very technical game.
There's all different kinds of words for how you
throw the bag onto the thing and their strategy.
It's really intense.
We have another quote from the reporter
who went to South Carolina to the tournament.
Cory Gilbert, 33, has opted for the sniper, set from his sponsor Lucky Bags.
It's the middle-of-the-spectrum, Goldilocks option, not the firmest
or the floppiest, neither the silkiest, or the craggiest.
>> Wow, what a sentence.
>> But it will slide comfortably on the
boards which have been playing on the slow side.
It also suits both his own rocket-like
throws and his doubles partner's loftier, softer tosses.
They really get into this.
They have their own language, their own lore.
>> There is a lot of ways to toss into the corn hole that is fair.
And so, look guys- >> You're unbearable.
>> That is totally true.
So, there's some logic in it, though, halfway through the article, I
was like, I wonder if I should invest, because other sports are difficult.
Like American football is near impossible because you need pads and
nobody's got like expensive pads and a helmet lying around, right?
Cricket is hard because it lasts forever.
>> Yeah.
>> So this one's so super easy.
That's why soccer is so popular.
You just put two rocks down, and that's your goal, and you go play, right?
So with cornhole, you don't even need an
official cornhole thing, throw things into a hole, right?
And then now all of a sudden there's prize money, anybody can do it.
I was like, you know what?
That's not that bad an idea.
Maybe you hit that cornhole hard.
>> I'm worried by the trend that when Jake and I are on bonus episodes together,
things always get dirty, but not the firmest
or the floppiest, silkiest on the slow side.
All of these, it's- >> They know.
>> They know what they are doing [LAUGH] >> They know [LAUGH]
>> Poor Rick [LAUGH] >> How is Rick the mature one on a panel?
How did that happen?
[LAUGH] Okay.