JAMBOE Cup I is in the books...

About 4 months ago, my good friend Mike and I took it upon ourselves (and got some major help from David Knight and Ben Beaumont) to plan an event to get our friends together to play our favorite lawn and tailgate game (seen above at a tailgate) that we call JAMBOE.

-It is known as cornhole in the north, or Bag-o, and since we didn't care for the name we came up with a new one.  The first boards ever made were made by Mike and his lifelong friend Joel, so the name they came up with was "Joel and Mike's Bag-O Extraveganza" --JAMBOE.

Before the matches began, KJ, Mikey, and The Godfather

So, Mike and I decided we would be the captains of two 10-12 man teams and have a Ryder Cup Style event one Saturday afternoon.  It had rules, rounds, jerseys, cold beverages...basically it had everything.  Mike even built a new set of boards (all in all 5 different people brought their own set of boards, but we only used 3).  There were, however some rough spots.  To fill out the rosters, some guys that none of us really knew save were invited, making it awkward to heckle them when they were throwing.  Some of those same guys didn't understand the rules of game, but with the aid of their beverages, thought they did and acted accordingly. That made it necessary for the saner individuals to calm them down.  But these were all minor patches of turbulence in an otherwise smooth ride.  

The team Mike captained was named "The Shenanigans" for the phase of the game when you try to screw up your opponent.  My team was named "The Heartbreakers," which is what it is called when you put one in the hole on the last throw of the round, thus breaking the other team's heart.  

What we envisioned for JAMBOE Cup I...men tossing bags in a spirit of competition.

Ian, Rob (keeping the official score), Lo, and Capt. Jackson monitoring

 The Heartbreaker's progress.

Sometimes in pursuit of the Cup, brother must battle brother. Jason and Adam Reese.

A good look at the jersey in action.

A rare moment of sportsmanship shown by Jason Reese and Ben Beaumont

After a round of individual matches, The Heartbreakers led by 10 points, each match being worth 5.  In round 2, there was a random pairing system, each match worth 10 that The Shenanigans took advantage of.  They took the lead and were ahead by 10 points.  All they needed was 3 more match wins before they would hoist the Inaugural JAMBOE Cup.  

In the final round, the two teams paired off their players, ranked the two man teams 1-6, and then played the corresponding ranking team - each match worth 15 points.  The sixes went first then 5 and so on, culminating in the top two teams playing.  My #1 ranked team finished our game early cutting the Shenanigan lead down to 10, with one decisive match left - the battle of the #2 seeds.  As Dave Knight tossed in the winning JAMBOE, chaos ensued.  The Heartbreakers had come from behind!  They had won the Inaugural JAMBOE Cup.  After the individual awards were passed out (Most Clutch - David Knight; Most Valuable - Jay McPhillips; Most Mary Ellens i.e. not getting it to the board at all - Jason Reese; and Least Valuable Player - Adam Reese), the JAMBOE Cup was presented, filled with beer, and passed around for a taste of victory.  As you can see, Lo's taste trickled down his chest a little:

Heartbreakers: Front L-R: Jason "The Lo" Lee, Tyler Reese, Seth Grissom, Tyler Franks, J.D. King, Jay McPhillips;

Back L-R:  "The Godfather" David Knight, Garrett Dean, Kent Jackson, Jason Reese (dressed in his Mary Ellen Award).

When I got home, I saw that Dana had made this banana pudding desert...

How awesome is this day?!