Cornhole is Growing Up

Last week the news was released that the American Cornhole League had taken capital investment from two outside sources.  If you told me 4 years ago at my first blind draw that I would be writing the words “Cornhole” and “Capital Investment” in the same sentence I would have spit my 2 dollar Miller Lite all over you.

The reality is that in the past 5 years the sport( yes I will call it that) has absolutely exploded and what used to be a game for over the hill ex athletes is now all over the TV and being played by the Hollywood Elite(We see you Shemar Moore). 

Let me take a moment to say that yours truly came out aggressively against the ACL when they came out with the stamp on the bags and the fee placed upon bag makers.  I am here to say that while I don’t agree with every aspect of the bag policy I DO think it is in the best interest of the game.

From a business perspective it’s obviously a great revenue generator for the league and I believe the new limit on turnaround times is the best news Cornhole has seen since Matt Guy first picked up a 1 pound bag.

While very different, Cornhole is in the midst of the same explosion we saw with Poker when Chris Moneymaker steamrolled the WSOP and won a million bucks on ESPN.  Next thing we knew everyone and their brother was hosting a tournament and millions of people were playing online poker.   Then the darkness set in for Poker.  Online was shut down by the government and people couldn’t get their money off the websites…..then allegations of online cheating.  Soon Poker had fizzled for most of America.

What we can learn from Poker’s meteoric rise and then quick fall is that once a sport or game gets some stink on it…..it’s very hard to get it off.  Which brings me to the bag policy and turnaround time……it is absolutely paramount that if people are getting into the game that they can get their ACL stamped bags in reasonable time.

 Can you imagine being a newbie, jumping on to order a set of bags and then finding out you wouldn’t get them for NINE MONTHS!!!!!   That’s a quick way to get people looking for a new game to play.

Now, I fully realize that people who make bags experienced growth at such a fast rate that keeping up has been difficult but I now think we are at the point where you have to put up or shut up.   

To get the general public to buy into this game you have to make it legitimate and worthy of people’s attention.  I look at the ACL like the gateway drug of cornhole.  You see it on TV, you buy some boards and throw bags then you’re playing blind draws on the regular. 

Cornhole is growing up and I think that’s a good thing for the game we obsess over!