The Secret Underground Ping-Pong League (which is perhaps not quite so secret anymore)

The first (and indeed the founding) tournament of the SUPPL happened yesterday in the basement of Gillian's new house. The two teams present were the Hot Mamas, made up of Anna and me, and the Freak Picassos, which was comprised of Gillian and Derek. While it cannot be said that there was a lot of grace and skill being displayed at the games, there was much laughter and excitement. The SUPPL follows slightly different rules than the ordinary ping-pong audience would expect. For instance, the ping-pong table is present merely as a suggested target. The ball is still in play when bounced off of ceilings, walls, floors, and other players. Indeed, such maneouvers are encouraged as they add to the excitement of the game and the enjoyment of the players. Before beginning each round, the players must assume the proper standing position of having their butts sticking out as far as possible and balancing thusly on the balls of their feet, which can be quite challenging (and incidentally, having all the players do so may reduce at least one of them into hopeless giggles for a matter of minutes (and incidentally, this player may be me)). The other main difference between traditional p-p games and those played within the SUPPL is that SUPPL rules require the players to use sound effects when they hit the ball with their paddle. Acceptable sound effects include frightened shrieks, Batman sounds (e.g. "Bam!" "Pow!" "Bop!") or any other word or sound that comes to mind. The SUPPL has deemed it unfun to keep score at its matches, so the players play for the pure joy of ping-pong.

Future matches will potentially include custom-printed T-shirts for team members, spandex, and black light, although these plans are still preliminary.