If you hadn't heard of cornhole before this year, chances are you've heard of it now. Cornhole you ask? The game involves 2 wood platforms, 8 bags, and 2 teams. The bags are thrown at the opposing platform and aim for the hole towards the top of the board. The game has been a mainstay in the midwest for quite a long time and has recently gained some momentum, thanks to the mention in some national news outlets.

The national media couldn't really avoid convering the sport. Whether they were at a baseball game or a football game, the person doing the broadcasting couldn't help but take notice at the large amount of people throwing bags in the parking lot. There was also the newspaper articles in popular nationwide newspapers, the game even had a front page story in the WSJ as well as a prominently placed story in the Sun-Times. And to top it all off, plans for a movie about cornhole were announced this year! It sounds strange, but a mocumentary is planned for release in the near future by a man who originally hails from Cincinatti.

So why is it so popular? There are many reasons why it's grown so quickly. Most of the reason is because it's a very easy to understand game and it's innocent. You don't need to be physically fit, anyone can play, and the game is portable so you can bring your boards anywhere to play. Horseshoes is the clostest substitute, but there is a danger factor there as well as the fact that the equipment can tear up your lawn. With cornhole, you can just put the sets in your car and be off to the next summer party. LOts of new products even make it easy to play during the night, or you could just opt for a set of floodlights.

The explosion of the game might have come as a surprise to the people around the country who have never heard of the game. But to people in the midwest, the game has been a constant during the summers and will continue to be. Once the spring comes, the boards come out and everyone enjoys the midwests favorite summer pasttime.