Cornhole at the Backyard BBQ: Friendly Fun or Fierce Competition?

I’ve been throwing cornhole on a regular basis for over a year and a half now, and like most who throw regularly or competitively have to work hard to improve your game. When I first walked into my Cornhole group at church, I knew absolutely nothing about different bags, different boards, different conditions, or the game of cornhole in general. Along the way, the people who I threw with at my church group began to help me and teach me. Since that time, my game has much improved and I’m more competitive then I was a year ago.

Being competitive has always been in my nature, but how far should the competitive nature go? I’ve been to a couple of Backyard BBQ’s this year where the competition isn’t exactly there. I began to ask myself, do you continue to show off your game or do you help those you’re throwing against? On the Facebook Group ADDICTED to CORHOLE , I posted this question. Party Etiquette Question: If you are at a family and friends BBQ, and you know you’re the best thrower there; do you show off your skills or do you let your opponents in a little to keep the game interesting? Here are some of the responses I got on that post.

“No mercy brother! Unless someone wants to bet you lol. I won $180 in ten minutes the other day lol.” -John Culberson
“Strike first, strike hard, no mercy!” -Kyle Ochoa via Karate Kid and Cobra Kai
“I smoke family, kids, babies, grandparents, or whoever lol.” -Billy Taylor
“Destroy all comers!!!” -Roger Hochstedler
“You bait them in for a money game”- Julio Olivo Jr.
“If it’s your family and friends. You beat all of them!!! No mercy.” -Tommie Seifert
“I let them play and whoever shakes out as the winner, then I humiliate them in front of their kids.” -Mike Cramer
“I find the drunkest person who will put four on the floor every time to be my partner…then I have a grand old time.” -Chantha Luk
“For me it touchy. I have friends who won’t play anymore. Now I’m limited to who I play with.” -Kris Flint
“I’m lucky I have a bunch of friends and family that can compete, but if I’m playing someone who I know I’m better then, I usually try to coach them a bit if they want it.” -Ken Sady
“Friends and especially family you beat like a drum.” -Andrew Flanagan
“Smash everyone there at least once then sit down and let them play it out!” -Charles Givens
“Back off your game and play to keep everyone happy.” -Tom Tallon
“Let them win until they want to put a little money on the table.” -Jeff Harris

As you can see, there are a lot of different responses and attitudes when it comes to the sport. None of them are right or wrong. It is really about your attitude, personality and how competitive you want to be. For me personally, I will still throw my game but teach those in the process. The group that I started out with was kind enough to teach me, help me and show me the right way. I feel it is the right thing to do to give back and help others. The sport of cornhole is a growing at a pace and every week there are tournaments all over the country. They are not hard to find or to get into. I want to be one of those people that someday win a tournament and be able to thank those who helped me a long the way. With that same attitude, I want to watch someone I helped get better win a tournament and know that I did something good.

I believe that throwing in a competitive tournament and throwing with a friends and family in the backyard are two completely different scenarios. I also believe that you can still throw your game while helping those get better. Some might say that you don’t help others when you play a street game of basketball, a sandlot game of baseball/softball or any other sport for that matter. For some reason cornhole is different. The sport has only been on TV for only a few years. The market for bags, boards, and tournaments is surging at a time where there are not a lot of activities to do. In order for the sport of cornhole for the long-term, the sport is going to need good throwers. If you see someone with the potential and passion for the game, I would personally go out of my to help them to make sure they succeed and the sport survives.