September 20, 2010

TERRA ALTA, WV — The birthplace of cornhole is widely recognized as being within the State of Ohio, probably Cincinnati. However, the residence of the King of Corn, the most coveted title in all of cornhole, is definitely Wheeling, West Virginia. In each of the first five years of Golfapalooza's King of Corn competition, the singles championship trophy has made the 120 mile journey from Terra Alta back to West Virginia's northern panhandle. Reigning champion Mark "Sleepy" Kaniecki and brother GStan each have a title. And James "JT" Thomas has captured three, although rumors have begun to float about that he has lost his throw, in much the same way he lost his golf-swing, (several times), throughout his Golfapalooza career. In addition to the title holders, newcomer Aaron "Whitey" White also made headlines in 2009 with his final four run that began with a first round knockout of then reigning champ JT.

Thomas says he doesn't know why Wheeling has been able to produce such dominance on the cornhole courts. "It is what it is guys," explained JT. "I don't have any need to figure out why. Look at the finals matches over the last five years. Nine of the ten spots have been filled by Wheeling guys, with only Melick spoiling our perfection."

"I don't ever even play cornhole, except at Golfapalooza," says GStan, although probably lying. "It just seems to me that there is no competition at all in Columbus throughout the year, so the field is not pushing each other to get better." GStan was asked why Ohioans have been able to grab the first two Golfapalooza Doubles Tournaments. "That actually can be easily explained. For Golfapalooza Doubles, the A-players, you know, the guys from Wheeling, are paired with D-players, while B-players, you know, the guys from everywhere else, are paired with C-players. Victories by the B-C combinations over the A-D combinations only shows that the Cs beat the Ds by more than the As were able to beat the Bs."

The Golfapalooza Cornhole Calcutta is scheduled for Thursday evening, with tournament play beginning shortly thereafter.

Only 2 days until GXIV.